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The languages of Singapore are English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, with the lingua franca between Singaporeans being English, the de facto main language. Among themselves, Singaporeans often speak Singlish, an English creole arising from centuries of contact between Singapore's internationalised society and its legacy of being a British colony.
Ever since 1965 when Singapore became independent, bilingual policy has become the pillar of Singapore's education. The first language of Singapore was English, while Mandarin was chosen as the "mother tongue" of Chinese Singaporean. Generally, most Chinese Singaporean can speak Mandarin fluently, but are usually weaker in writing Chinese. [19]
The use of English as the nation's first language serves to bridge the gap between the diverse ethnic groups in Singapore; English operates as the lingua franca of the nation. The use of English as a global language for commerce, technology and science has also helped to expedite Singapore's development and integration into the global economy ...
While the term "mother tongue" in general refers to the first language internationally, in Singapore's education system, it is used to refer to the second language, as English is the first language. [ 447 ] [ 448 ] Students who have been abroad for a while, or who struggle with their "Mother Tongue" language, are allowed to take a simpler ...
Both spoke English as their first language. Lee first started learning Chinese in 1955, at the age of 32. [400] [401] During World War II, he learned the Japanese language to help him survive, and worked as a Japanese translator during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. [402] Lee and Kwa have two sons and a daughter. [403]
While English is the core language of instruction in government schools, mother tongue languages are taught on a weekly basis. While "mother tongue" typically correlates to the first language (L1) overseas, in Singapore, the Ministry of Education refers to it as the "ethnic language" or the second language (L2). [36]
Singlish (a portmanteau of Singapore and English), formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English, is an English-based creole language originating in Singapore. [1] [2] [3] Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact between speakers of many different Asian languages in Singapore, such as Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, Teochew, and Tamil. [4]
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 other Sinitic Languages) or Tamil as a second or third language. Like many Singaporeans, Eurasians will commonly speak Singlish.