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Language in Singapore

The four official languages of Singapore are Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and English.

- Chinese is the most commonly spoken home language in singapore, spoken by 51% of the

population.Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chineseis generally spoken as the lingua franca among the Chinese community in

Singapore.[23]

Known simply as Chinese, it is the designatedmother tongueor 'ethnic language' ofChinese

Singaporeans, at the expense of the other Chinese languages. It was introduced to Singapore during the

time that it was a British colony in the 1920s, when Chinese schools in Singapore using Mandarin as the

teaching language began to grow in number.[24]

Malay languages

13% of Singaporeans speak Malay as their home language.

Malayis termed the "national language" of Singapore, and is written in theLatin script.[1]

To reflect

Singapore's Malay heritage, Malay is used in theSingapore national anthem[30]

and in military footdrill

commands. Malay is generally spoken by theMalays in Singapore, the indigenous people of Singapore.

Linguistically, most Malays in Singapore speak the Johore-Riau variant of Malay similar to that spoken in

the west Malaysian peninsula &Riau Islands. A few older Chinese, Indian and Eurasian Singaporeans can

also speak Malay, while some speak "Singlay" which is to Malay what "Singlish" is to English.

Indian languages

Main article:Indian languages in Singapore

[edit]Tamil

As of 2010, Indians make up 9.2% of Singapore's total population.[33]

About two-thirds of the of the Indian

population are Tamil speakers from the India's southeastern state of Tamil Nadu.[34]

As of 2005, about

38.8% of Singapore's Indian population speaksTamilfrequently at home.[29]

This is a drop from 2000, when

45.3% of the Singapore Indian population spoke Tamil at home.[35]

Tamil is taught in schools as a mother tongue, but there are schools which do not provide Tamil classes

due to low percentage of Tamil students in that particular school. Students from such schools attend

classes at the Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre (UPTLC) which offers Tamil (TL), Basic Tamil (BTL),

Tamil Literature (TLL) and Higher Tamil (HTL) outside curriculum time to pupils of secondary schools which

do not have a Tamil Language Programme.[36]

UPTLC was once known as the St. George's Tamil Primary

School which was closed down in 1975 and later began to function fully as a Tamil Language Centre .[37]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinesehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinesehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-BBC-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-BBC-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-BBC-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_tonguehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_tonguehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_tonguehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-countrystudies-24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-countrystudies-24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-countrystudies-24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_scripthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_scripthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-autogenerated1999-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-autogenerated1999-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-autogenerated1999-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majulah_Singapurahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majulah_Singapurahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majulah_Singapurahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majulah_Singapurahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malays_in_Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malays_in_Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malays_in_Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riau_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riau_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riau_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_languages_in_Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_languages_in_Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_languages_in_Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Languages_of_Singapore&action=edit&section=12http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Languages_of_Singapore&action=edit&section=12http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Languages_of_Singapore&action=edit&section=12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-33http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-33http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-33http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-34http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-34http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-34http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-singstat.gov.sg-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-singstat.gov.sg-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-singstat.gov.sg-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-37http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-36http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-35http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-singstat.gov.sg-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-34http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-33http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Languages_of_Singapore&action=edit&section=12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_languages_in_Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riau_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malays_in_Singaporehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majulah_Singapurahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majulah_Singapurahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-autogenerated1999-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_scripthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-countrystudies-24http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_tonguehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Singapore#cite_note-BBC-23http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese

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Singapore language

English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil are the official languages in Singapore, though English remains the most

widely spoken since the various ethnic groups find it easier to communicate with each other in English. However,

the dialect popularity known as 'Singlish' (a fascinating mix of English with dialects of Singapore thrown in for

good measure) is being widely used in Singapore. Interestingly the colloquial English spoken in Singapore

borrows heavily on Malay words!

Bilingualism and multilingualism

Quadrilingual warning sign written in Singapore's four official languages;English,Chinese (Simplified),TamilandMalay.

The majority of Singaporeans are bilingual in English and one of the other three official languages. For

instance, mostChinese Singaporeanscan speak English and Mandarin Chinese. Some, especially the

older generation, can speak Malay and additional Chinese languages such as Hokkien, Teochew,

Cantonese, Hakka, and/or Hainanese. While the Singapore government states that bilingualism in English

and Mandarin is increasing, in reality, multilingualism is in decline.

Malaysia

The National Language is Malaysian Language (Bahasa Malaysia) or formerly known as

Malay(Melayu). English is the official second language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Quadrilingual_danger_sign_-_Singapore_(gabbe).jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Singaporeanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language