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Languages of Singapore

Singapore is made up of many different people, from all walks of life, race and culture. The languages you will find here also recognize this multiculturalism. The Singapore government recognizes four official languages...

• English
• Malay
• Mandarin
• Tamil

Malay is the national language and many people speak it. English is mostly used as the language of business in Singapore or what they call a working language.

Slang or colloquial languages range from local dialects to that spoken on the street called Singlish, a combination of Singaporean and English

English, Language of Business

English was brought to Singapore by 1819, when the British first established a colony. English soon became the signature language of administrative deeds, the government and of book-keeping in the area. When Singapore declared and gained its own independance, the government decided to keep English as it was as a working language. This is strange compared to other countries within the borders of Southeast Asia, that have changed their language of business to the national language one of indigenous groundings.

Today, English acts as a common language, bringing together the different languages and dialects from across Singapore. Plus, as a language of business, commerce, technology as well as science, it helps keep Singapore in the global eye. English is also used as the main language in the educational systems of Singapore.

Malay, the National Language

Malay is the National Language of Singapore, and originally an Austronesian language. Not only is it spoken in Singapore, but also in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and East Timor. Historically, Malay has been a part of Singapore as it was originated in Southeast Asia and along the Pacific Ocean, as well as in continental Asia.



Mandarin

Although Mandarin is not the largest of the official languages, it is often supported and promoted by the government. It's use through the Speak Mandarin Campaign is to encourage its positive usage. In Singapore similar languages such as Hokkien and Cantonese are used, however they have been declining.

Tamil

Tamil, the last of the official languages is mostly spoken by the Indian populations within Singapore, with 60% speaking it as they native language. Other dialects that have tamil influences are also spoken by some people.

Bilingualism

Being bilingual in Singapore is quite a regular thing, especially with students having to have take a class in a Mother Tongue. They can choose between Mandarin Chinese, Malay or Tamil. Other than tamil there are some other options such as Hindi, Bangali, Punjabi, Gujarati or Urdu. It is not odd for most Singaporeans to be well-versed in two or more languages, mostly English, their assigned language usually based on race and the one that they use casually at home.


Languages at Home

Here's a chart found on Wikipedia on the languages spoken at home in Singapore.

Language most frequently spoken at home (%)
Language	1990	2000
English	18.8	23.0
Mandarin	23.7	35.0
Other Chinese Languages	39.6	23.8
Malay	14.3	14.1
Tamil	2.9	3.2

Singlish

Singlish is an interesting combination used in the streets of Singapore which takes a combination of Singaporean and English to form a language that is spoken casually. It is very much an informal approach to speech, howeber, it is used for communication in an easy for. The English, eased into Singlish through influences of Indian English and Baba Malay as well as Chinese began to take on its own spin as it was learned in a native way rather than straight from the source. This speech is very similar to that of Manglish which is a combination of those languages spoken in Malaysia and English.


References

Wikipedia. "Languages of Singapore". Accessed on July 22nd, 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore>