What Language is Spoken in Singapore?

Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. English is the main language of government, business and education, while Malay is the national language. Many people also speak Chinese dialects and Singlish in everyday life.

The four official languages

1. English: the common language across the different communities, and the main language of administration, law, business and school instruction.
2. Malay: the national language. It appears in the national anthem, "Majulah Singapura", and in military commands. It is spoken mainly by the Malay community.
3. Mandarin: the standard Chinese language used in Singapore, taught in schools and used in Chinese-language media. It is the official Chinese language, ahead of dialects such as Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese.
4. Tamil: the main official language of the Indian community. Other languages such as Malayalam, Hindi and Punjabi are also spoken.

Singlish

Singlish is an informal, colloquial form of English used in Singapore. It mixes English with words and grammar from Hokkien, Malay, Cantonese and Tamil, and uses short particles such as "lah", "lor" and "leh". Most people switch between Singlish and standard English depending on the setting. The government encourages standard English in formal settings.

Bilingual education

Under the bilingual policy, students learn English plus a "Mother Tongue" language, typically Mandarin, Malay or Tamil, according to the Ministry of Education. This is why many Singaporeans are comfortable in at least two languages.

What this means for visitors and newcomers

• English works everywhere: road signs, forms, public transport announcements and government services are in English, with other official languages used alongside.
• Mandarin is useful at some hawker stalls and with older residents, and dialects are still heard among older generations.
• Signs and announcements in public places are often in several languages.

For current figures on which languages Singaporeans speak at home, see the Singapore Department of Statistics' Census of Population reports.