Singaporean People - Languages

Languages

Language most frequently spoken at home (%)
Language 1990 2000 2010
English 18.8 23.0 32.3
Mandarin 23.7 35.0 35.6
(non-Mandarin) Chinese Dialects 39.6 23.8 14.3
Malay 14.3 14.1 12.2
Tamil 2.9 3.2 3.3

There are four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.

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 Mandarin, the official form of Chinese in Singapore as well as mainland China and Taiwan, with its Speak Mandarin Campaign among the Chinese population. The use of other Chinese dialects, like Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese and Hakka, has been declining over the last two decades, although they are still being used especially by the older generations of the Chinese population.

About 60% of Singapore's Indian population speaks Tamil as their native language. Other widely spoken Indian languages are Panjabi,Malayalam,Hindi and Telugu.

Around 5,000 Peranakans, the early Chinese population of the region, still use the Hokkien-influenced Malay dialect called Baba Malay.

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