The official languages of Singapore are English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Spoken natively by the majority of Singaporeans, English is the de facto main language in daily, governmental, legal, trade and commercial affairs. Among themselves, Singaporeans often speak Singlish, a contact language arising from centuries of contact between Singapore's multi-ethnic and multilingual society and its legacy as a British colony. The Constitution of Singapore designates Malay as the national language of Singapore. This plays a symbolic role as Malays are constitutionally recognised as the indigenous peoples of Singapore, and is also largely due to Singapore's geographical location in the Malay Archipelago.
In the early years, the lingua franca of the island was Bazaar Malay (Melayu Pasar), a creole of Malay and Chinese, the language of trade in the Malay Archipelago. English gained prominence during the British rule of Singapore as the language of government, law and business. Upon independence, English became the official medium of instruction across all levels of education in Singapore due to the country's heavy reliance on international trade, commerce and finance, thus displacing Malay as the common language. The three languages other than English were chosen to correspond with the major ethnic groups present in Singapore at the time: Mandarin Chinese had gained pre-eminent status with the overseas Chinese 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 2009, more than 20 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.
Hokkien (Min Nan) briefly emerged as a lingua franca among the Chinese, but by the late 20th century it had been eclipsed by Mandarin. The Government emphasises Mandarin Chinese amongst Chinese Singaporeans, as the Government views Mandarin as lingua franca between the diverse non-Mandarin speaking groups which form the Chinese Singaporean community (derived historically from the various regions of Southern China), and as a tool for forging a common Chinese cultural identity within Singapore. Mainland China's economic rise in the 21st century has also encouraged a greater use of Mandarin, particularly Simplified Chinese. Other Chinese varieties such as Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Hainanese and Cantonese have been classified by the Government as "dialects"; governmental language policies on the use of “dialects”, such as the elimination of non-Mandarin Chinese ("Chinese dialects") usage in official settings, heavy restrictions of “dialect” use in television and radio media, the non-provision of non-Mandarin “dialects” language classes within the national education system, along with changing societal language attitudes based on perceived economic value, have led to language attrition and a sharp decrease in the number of speakers of these varieties of colloquial ancestral “dialects”, especially amongst the younger generations. In particular, Singapore has its own lect of Mandarin; Singaporean Mandarin, itself with two varieties, Standard and Colloquial or spoken. While Tamil is one of Singapore's official and the most spoken Indian language, other Indian languages are also frequently used by minorities."Census of Population 2010 " (table 4), Singapore Department of Statistics. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
Almost all Singaporeans are bilingual, as Singapore's bilingual language education policy mandates a dual-language learning system, with English being the main medium of instruction. Learning a second language has been compulsory in primary schools since 1960 and secondary schools since 1966;See Language education in Singapore. children are required to learn one of the three official languages as a second language, according to their official registered ethnic group (the associated language is classified as a “Mother Tongue” language). Since 1 January 2011, if a person is of more than one ethnicity and their race is registered in the hyphenated format, the race chosen will be the one that precedes the hyphen in their registered race. Within the national education system, students are also eligible to learn another approved third language, of their choice.
In modern Singapore, contemporary language issues frequently discussed involve the widespread and increasing language attrition of the second languages (ethnic Mother Tongue languages) amongst Singaporeans, due to the pervasive use of the English language in daily life within Singapore and its households.
English as the de facto main language of Singapore
Although Malay is de jure 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.Dixon, L. Quentin. (2005). The Bilingual Education Policy in Singapore: Implications for Second Language Acquisition. In James Cohen, J., McAlister, K. T., Rolstad, K., and MacSwan, J (Eds.), ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism. p. 625-635, Cascadilla Press, Somerville, MA. 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.What are some commonly misspelled English words?|ASK!ASK! English is the country's default lingua franca despite the fact that four languages have official status.Tan, Sherman, p. 340-341. "The four recognised official languages are English, Mandarin, Tamil, and Malay, but in practice, English is Singapore's default lingua franca."
Under the British colonial government, English gained prestige as the language of administration, law and business in Singapore. As government administration increased, infrastructure and commerce developed, and access to education further catalysed the spread of English among Singaporeans.
When Singapore gained self-government in 1959 and independence in 1965, the local government decided to keep English as the main language to maximise economic benefits. Since English was rising as the global language for commerce, technology and science, promotion of its use in Singapore would expedite Singapore's development and integration into the global economy. ()
Furthermore, the switch to English as the only medium of instruction in schools aided in bridging the social distance between the various groups of ethnic language speakers in the country. Between the early 1960s to the late 1970s, the number of students registering for primarily English-medium schools leapt from 50% to 90% as more parents elected to send their children to English-medium schools. Attendance in Mandarin, Malay and Tamil-medium schools consequently dropped and schools began to close down. The Chinese-medium Nanyang University also made the switch to English as the medium of instruction despite meeting resistance, especially from the Chinese community.Deterding, David. (2007). Singapore English. Edinburgh University Press.
There has been a steep increase in the use of the English language over the years. Singapore is currently one of the most proficient English-speaking countries in Asia. Then Education Minister, Ng Eng Hen, noted a rising number of Singaporeans using English as their home language in December 2009. Of children enrolled in primary school in 2009, 60% of the Chinese and Indian pupils and 35% of the Malay pupils spoke predominantly English at home. As of 2025, the majority of Singaporeans speak English as their primary language.
+ Language most frequently spoken at home (%) EnglishMandarinOther ChineseMalayTamilOthers 1990 2000 2010 2015General Household Survey 2015 p. 18 2020 2025
Singlish
Singlish is an English-based contact language with its own consistent rules and phonology widely used in Singapore. Linguists formally define it as Singapore Colloquial English. 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.
According to a 2018 study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), only 8% of Singaporeans identify with Singlish as their primary language, compared to the one-third that identify with English and another 2% with their official mother tongue. Both survey waves, in 2013 and 2018, conducted showed that about half of all respondents reported being able to speak Singlish "well" or "very well". Younger respondents (18–25 years old) reported greater proficiency than older respondents (65+ years old).
Over the years, the use of Singlish has become more widespread, with a greater number of people adopting the language both out of a sense of identity and cultural importance. Some even view that it identifies them as uniquely Singaporean.
Chinese
According to the 2020 population census, Mandarin and other varieties of Chinese are the second most common languages spoken at home. They are used by 38.6% of the population.
The table below shows the change in distribution of Mandarin and other Chinese varieties, as well as English, as home languages of the resident Chinese population of Singapore over the decades. From 1990 to 2010, it can be observed that the percentage of the population which speaks English and Mandarin increased, while the percentage of those who speak other Chinese varieties has collapsed and is now limited mainly to the elderly. From 2010, the number of Mandarin speakers has also declined in favour of English.
English is starting to displace Mandarin among the new generation of Singapore Chinese, due to long term effects of the pervasive usage of English in daily public, governmental and commercial settings over Mandarin, the dominant usage of English as the medium of instruction in Singapore schools, colleges and universities, and the limited and lower standards of local mother education system over the years in Singapore.
+Language most frequently spoken at home among Chinese resident population aged 5 and over Total English Mandarin Other Chinese varieties Others # % # % # % # % 1990 1,884,000 363,400 566,200 948,100 6,400 2000 2,236,100 533,900 1,008,500 685,800 7,900 2010 2,527,562 824,616 1,206,556 485,765 10,625 2015 2020
Standard Mandarin Standard Mandarin, often simply known as Chinese, is the designated mother tongue or 'ethnic language' of Chinese Singaporeans, at the expense of the other Chinese varieties that form the ancestral vernaculars of groups that comprise the Chinese Singaporean community.
In 1979, the government heavily promoted Mandarin through its "Speak Mandarin" campaign. The Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew stated that Mandarin was chosen to unify the Chinese community with a single language,Lee Kuan Yew, From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965–2000, HarperCollins, 2000. . and to avoid intra-Chinese segregationism, disunity and disharmony within the Chinese Singaporean community. With the rising prominence of Mandarin in Singapore at that time, politicians such as Lee theorised that it might overtake English, despite strong evidence to the contrary. From the 1990s, with the perceived increase in commerce and trade possibilities with Mainland China, the Singaporean government promoted Mandarin as a language with high economic advantage and value.Tan, Sherman, p. 341. Today, Mandarin is generally seen as a way to maintain a link to Chinese culture.
Other Chinese varieties