"Language education in Singapore Singapore embraces an English-based bilingual education system. Students are taught subject-matter curriculum with English as the medium of instruction, while the official mother tongue of each student - Mandarin Chinese for Chinese, Malay for Malays and Tamil for ethnically Tamil Indians – is taught as a second language. Additionally, Higher Mother Tongue (HMT) is offered as an additional and optional examinable subject to those with the interest and ability to handle the higher standards demanded by HMT. The content taught to students in HMT is of a higher level of difficulty and is more in-depth so"
"Singapore English Singapore English is the English language spoken in Singapore, of which there are two main forms, Standard Singapore English and Singapore Colloquial English (better known as Singlish). Singapore is a cosmopolitan city with 42% of its population born outside the country. Singaporeans, even those of the same ethnic group, have many different first languages and cultures. For example, in 2005, among Chinese Singaporeans, nearly a third spoke English as their main language at home while almost half spoke Mandarin, and the rest spoke various mutually unintelligible varieties of Chinese. In the Indian community, most Singaporeans of Indian descent"
"The official languages amongst Singaporeans are English (80% literacy), Mandarin (65% literacy), Malay (17% literacy), and Tamil (4% literacy). Singapore English is based on British English, and forms of English spoken in Singapore range from Standard Singapore English to a colloquial form known as ""Singlish"". Singlish is discouraged by the government. English is the language spoken by most Singaporeans at home, 36.9% of the population, just ahead of Mandarin. Nearly half a million speak other varieties of Chinese, mainly Hokkien, Teochew, and Cantonese, as their home language, although the use of these is declining in favour of Mandarin and English."
"are English, Malay, Chinese (Mandarin) and Tamil. The national language of Singapore is Malay for historical reasons, and it is used in the national anthem, ""Majulah Singapura"". Persons of ethnic Tamil ancestry form about 60% of Singapore's Indian residents. Minority Indian groups include Malayalees, Telugu, Punjabis, Sindhis, Gujaratis, Sinhalese, and Hindi-speaking people, among others. In terms of actual daily language use, 39% of Indian residents speak mainly English at home, and a similar number use Tamil. The remainder speak either Malay (11%) or other languages, including other Indian languages and Kristang (11%).There are about 3000 families which speak Marathi at"
"are four main languages in usage in Singapore. The 'national' language of Singapore is Bahasa Melayu. This is in recognition of the Malay people as the indigenous community in Singapore. 85% of Singaporeans do not speak Malay. Malay is used in the national anthem, national motto and military parade drill commands. Tamil is an official language as a majority of South Asians in Singapore are ethnic Tamils from India and Sri Lanka. While most Chinese Singaporeans are descendants of southern Chinese migrants who spoke a variety of regional languages, it is the northern Chinese language of Mandarin that is official"
"also contribute to its use on a regular basis. The majority of Singaporeans speak more than one language, with many speaking three to four. Most Singaporean children are brought up bilingual. They are introduced to Malay, Chinese, Tamil, or Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish) as their native languages, depending on their families' ethnic backgrounds and/or socioeconomic status. They also acquire those languages from interacting with friends in school and other places. Naturally, the presence of other languages in Singapore has influenced Singapore English, something particularly apparent in Singlish. Both Singapore English and Singapore colloquial English are used with multiple accents. Words"
"Languages of Singapore According to the Constitution of Singapore, the single national language of Singapore is Malay, which plays a symbolic role, as Malays are constitutionally recognized as the indigenous peoples of Singapore, and it is the government's duty to protect their language and heritage. “The national language shall be the Malay language and shall be in the Roman script […]” (Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, PART XIII) Also according to the constitution, the four commonly used languages of Singapore are English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. The three languages other than English were chosen to correspond with the major"
"has four official languages: English (Singapore English), Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Although English is the primary language of business, government, and education, Malay is designated as the national language. This is due to the geographical and historical ties to Malaysia as well as the recognition of ethnic Malays (about 14% of the population) as the indigenous people of Singapore. Traditionally, the lingua franca among the different ethnic groups in Singapore was Bazaar Malay, a Malay-based creole. Since independence, the government has been promoting English as the main language of Singapore. The bilingual education policy requires students to study two languages:"
"citizen population), Malays (15.0%), and ethnic Indians (7.4%) making up the majority of the population. There are also Eurasians in Singapore. The Malays are recognised as the indigenous community. Since independence the demographics of Singapore are broadly organised under the CMIO (Chinese-Malay-Indian-Other) system of categorisation. There are four official languages in Singapore: Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil. Malay is the national language; while English is the main working language. Education in Singapore is bilingual whereby English is the main medium of instruction and students are also taught a second langugage which may be Malay, Mandarin, or Tamil. Religions include Buddhism,"
"Buginese, Minangkabau, Batak, Sundanese, Boyanese (which is a dialect of Madurese) and Banjarese, are also spoken in Singapore, but their use has declined. Orang Seletar, the language of the Orang Seletar, the first people of Singapore and closely related to Malay is also spoken near the Johor Strait, between Singapore and the state of Johor, Malaysia. Tamil is one of the official languages of Singapore and written Tamil uses the Tamil script. According to the population census of 2010, 9.2% of the Singaporean population were Indian origins, with approximately 76.7% who spoke Tamil most frequently as their home language. It"
"ethnic group, which sometimes can be his or her second language (L2). There are two main types of English spoken in Singapore – Standard Singapore English and Singlish. Singlish is more widely spoken than standard English. It has a very distinctive tone and sentence structure which are both strongly influenced by Malay and the many varieties of Chinese spoken in the city. A 2005 census showed that around 30% of Singaporeans speak English as their main language at home. There are many foreigners working in Singapore. 36% of the population in Singapore are foreigners and foreigners make up 50% of"
"speak Singaporean English and another language, most commonly Mandarin, Malay, Tamil or Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish). Singapore Standard English is virtually the same as British, Malaysian, and Indian Standard English in most aspects of grammar and spelling, though there are some differences vocabulary and minor spelling differences; for example, the word 'swap' is commonly spelled 'swop', as is standard in ""The Straits Times"". All Singaporeans study English as their first language in schools, under the compulsory local education system, and their mother-tongue language as their second language. Thus, most Singaporeans are effectively bilingual, especially the youths in today's society. There"
"accent on the job than with friends or while out shopping. Singapore is effectively a multi-lingual nation. The Singapore government recognises four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil. Students in primary and secondary schools learning English as the language of instruction also learn a second language called their ""Mother Tongue"" by the Ministry of Education, where they are taught Mandarin Chinese, Malay or Tamil. A main point to note is while ""Mother Tongue"" generally refers to the first language (L1) overseas, in Singapore, it is used by the Ministry of Education to denote the traditional language of one's"
"child's race, said Assistant Professor Ho Peng Kee, the junior minister who announced the change in Parliament. He explained the need for flexibility stemmed from the increasing diversity of Singapore's demographics, with the inflow of immigrants and more locals marrying foreigners. On the need to identify a dominant race, Ho said: ""Societal trends suggest that a child of mixed parentage tends to identify more closely with one of the two races."" English is generally spoken as a first language by almost all Eurasians in Singapore. A number of Eurasians speak Asian languages like Malay, Chinese (Mandarin or dialect) or Tamil"
"the national language, Singapore English is regarded ""de facto"" as the main language in Singapore, and is officially the main language of instruction in all school subjects except for Mother Tongue lessons in Singapore's education system. It is also the common language of the administration, and is promoted as an important language for international business. Spelling in Singapore largely follows British conventions, owing to the country's status as a former Crown Colony. English is the country's default ""lingua franca"" despite the fact that four languages have official status. Under the British colonial government, English gained prestige as the language of"
"a population of about 5 million. Officially, its ethnic composition is approximately 76.8% Chinese, 13.9% Malay, 7.9% Indian, while the remaining 1.4% are mainly Others, a miscellaneous category. Given this diversity, the language policy in Singapore aims at cultivating amongst its citizens a bilingual proficiency in the English language and a mother tongue that is officially assigned to the specific ethnic communities. Although the English language is excluded from the list of official mother tongues (Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu, Tamil), it is still recognised as an official language for practical reasons such as ensuring socio-economic mobility. This is because the ethnically"
"languages were identified as being spoken in Singapore, reflecting a rich linguistic diversity in the city. Singapore's historical roots as a trading settlement gave rise to an influx of foreign traders, and their languages were slowly embedded in Singapore's modern day linguistic repertoire. Malay is the national language of the country, although English is mainly used. English serves as the link between the different ethnic groups and is the language of the educational system and the administration. The colloquial English used in everyday life is often referred to as Singlish. The government of Singapore has been promoting the use of"
"are written in English, and interpreters are required if one wishes to address the Singaporean Courts in a language other than English. English is the native tongue for only one-third of all Singaporeans, with roughly a quarter of all Singaporean Malays, a third of all Singaporean Chinese, and half of all Singaporean Indians speaking it as their native tongue. Twenty percent of Singaporeans cannot read or write in English. Singaporeans are mostly bilingual, with English as their common language and usually the mother-tongue as a second language taught in schools, in order to preserve each individual's ethnic identity and values."
"million people in 2006, Chinese form 75.2%, Malays form 13.6%, Indians form 8.8%, while Eurasians and other groups form 2.4%. No breakdown by ethnicity is released for the non-resident population. There are four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Malay is the national language of the country, although English is the official language used. English serves as the link between the different ethnic groups and is the language of the educational system and the administration. The colloquial English-based creole used in everyday life is often referred to as Singlish. The government of Singapore has been promoting the use of"
"four official languages, English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. Malay is the ceremonial national language of the country and is the home language to 13% of the population. Although the majority of the population does not speak Malay, Malay is used in the national anthem of Singapore and also in citations for Singapore orders and decorations and military foot drill commands. Singapore English is the main language spoken by Singaporeans. It is officially the main language of instruction in all school subjects except for Mother Tongue lessons and is also the common language of the administration, and is promoted as an"
"Singapore. Bahasa Melayu the standardised form of the Malay language, is the national language of Singapore and one of its official languages. It is written in a Roman script known as Rumi. It is the home language of 13% of the Singaporean population. Malay is also the ceremonial national language and used in the national anthem of Singapore, in citations for Singapore orders and decorations and military foot drill commands, mottos of several organizations, and is the variety taught in Singapore's language education system. Historically Malay was written in the Jawi script, based on Arabic. Under the British and Dutch"
"speak either English or Tamil at home. The English language is now the most popular medium of communication among students from primary school to university. Many families use two or three languages on a regular basis, and English is often one of them. In the past, some children received fewer years of English education than others. As such, the level of fluency in English among residents in Singapore varies greatly from person to person. Singapore English can be classified into Singapore Standard English (SSE) and Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish). The language consists of three sociolects; Acrolect, Mesolect, and Basilect. Both"
"Indian languages in Singapore Indian languages in Singapore are mainly used by the country's 348,119 ethnic Indian residents, who form about 9.2% of Singaporean citizens and permanent residents. As a result of historical migration and settlement patterns, Singapore Indians came to the island from various parts of South Asia speaking a variety of Indian languages, mostly Tamil. Today, most ethnic Indians in Singapore are locally born second, third, fourth or even fifth generation descendants of immigrant forefathers. In addition, a substantial minority are recent immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. In Singapore, a distinction is made between the ancestral ethno-linguistic identity"
"last census in 2011 Singapore has four official languages. The four languages that are recognised by the Singapore Government are: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. They were chosen to correspond with the major ethnic groups present in Singapore at the time as well as for the following reasons: Mandarin had gained status since the introduction of Chinese-medium schools; Malay was deemed the ""most obvious choice"" for the Malay community; and Tamil for the largest Indian ethnic group in Singapore, in addition to being ""the language with the longest history of education in Malaysia and Singapore"". In 2009, more than 20"
"believed that this comes from the style of teaching that is implemented in Singapore. Teachers focus on making sure that each of their students thoroughly move through the syllabus before moving on. By doing this teachers in Singapore teach a much more narrow but deeper type of instruction. The main language of instruction in Singapore is English, which was officially designated the first language within the local education system in 1987. English is the first language learned by half the children by the time they reach preschool age and becomes the primary medium of instruction by the time they reach"
"Singlish vocabulary Singlish is the English-based creole or patois spoken colloquially in Singapore. English is one of Singapore's official languages, along with Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil.Although English is the lexifier language, Singlish has its unique slang and syntax, which are more pronounced in informal speech. It is usually a mixture of English, Mandarin, Tamil, Malay, and other local dialects like Hokkien, Cantonese or Teochew. There are a few loan words from these languages i.e. 'pek chek' is often taken as being annoyed or frustrated and originate from Hokkien dialect. It is used in casual contexts between Singaporeans, but is avoided"
"home. 3.1% of all Singapore residents speak mainly Tamil at home and it is one of the country's four official languages. Tamil is taught as a second language in most public schools. Tamil content (produced locally or abroad) is available on free-to-air and cable television as well as radio channels, and in libraries, cinemas, theatres and bookshops. Tamil is used in temples, mosques and churches catering to the community. Some business and non-profit groups, especially those in the Little India neighbourhood, use Tamil on a daily basis. Many Indian loan words are found in Malay, and, to a lesser extent,"
"1966. One of its primary objectives is to promote English as the common (and neutral) language among the diverse ethnic groups in Singapore. The designation of English as the ""first language"" is also intended to facilitate Singapore's integration into the world economy. In recognition of Singapore's linguistic and cultural pluralism, another stated objective of the bilingual policy is to educate students with their ""mother tongues"" so that they can learn about their culture, identify with their ethnic roots, and to preserve cultural traits and Asian values. Within the Chinese population, Mandarin is promoted as a common language and other Chinese"
"racially mixed. Tamil is the most spoken Indian language in Singapore and the only Indian language among Singapore's four official languages, alongside Mandarin, (the language of trade) Malay (the national language) and English (the language of administration), and 3.1% of Singapore residents speak Tamil at home. Singapore is one of the three countries in the world to make Tamil an official language, the others being India and Sri Lanka. As part of Singapore's bilingual education policy, Tamil is offered as a second language option in most public schools. As part of a policy to subsidise minority-language television programming, the government"
"However, usage of this language is discouraged by the local government, which favours Standard English. The Media Development Authority does not support using Singlish in television and radio advertising. Despite this, Singlish is still widely spoken across the island and viewed by most Singaporeans as a trait that identifies them as uniquely Singaporean. According to the population census, Mandarin and other varieties of Chinese are the most common languages spoken at home. They are used by 51% of the population. The table below shows the change in distribution of Mandarin and other Chinese varieties, as well as English, as home"
"confined to the Chinese Singaporeans (esp. the young people). The increase of English/Singlish speaking Chinese families in Singapore was a result of misperceived social and cultural values that the preservation of mother tongues is ""low-class"" resulting in desperate attempts to replace mother tongues with the English language. As of 2010, it was estimated that 32.6% of Singapore Chinese speak English at home. But at work or in the city and business district, English is the official lingua franca, but ironically the Hokkien dialect remains extant amongst Singaporeans, not limiting to the Chinese, and operates as an unofficial common language. Mandarin"
"usually speak Mandarin and their respective mother tongues with little or no English. There were of course a portion of Chinese Singaporeans who were bilingual, i.e. simultaneously educated with English and Mandarin as the medium of instruction, or who attended Chinese-based primary schools and subsequently transferred to English-based schools for their secondary education. After the 1980s, all schools (including former Chinese-based schools) in Singapore began to use English as the primary medium of instruction with Mandarin as a secondary language. Thus, Chinese Singaporeans educated in the post-80s are theoretically bilingual. English is supposedly the first language and therefore presumably spoken"
"for all peoples of the Malay Archipelago. The majority of Singaporeans are bilingual in English and one of the other three official languages. For instance, most Chinese Singaporeans can speak English and Mandarin. Some, especially the older generations, can speak Malay and additional Chinese varieties such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, and Hainanese. Singapore has a bilingual education policy, where all students in government schools are taught English as their first language. Students in Primary and Secondary schools also learn a second language called their ""Mother Tongue"" by the Ministry of Education, where they are either taught Mandarin, Malay, or"