<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all"><h1 class="">Four language formula speaks well for Singapore</h1>
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By <span class="">Dr V Subramaniam</span>
<span class="">30/09/2013 13:08:00</span>
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<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif;font-size:12pt">Singapore’s multiracial and multicultural social makeup has resulted in a peculiar language profile.</span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">The
country has adopted one representative language for each of the four
major ethnic groups, including English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">These
official languages, along with a multitude of other languages, reflect
Singapore’s multiracial, multicultural and multilingual nature. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">However,
in recognition of the indigenous status of the Malay community, the
national language is Bahasa Melayu, or the Malay language. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Singapore’s
role as a trading settlement in colonial times, and now a dynamic
cosmopolitan centre of trade and services, has long attracted people
from Asia and beyond. The languages they brought with them have greatly
influenced the country’s language policy.</span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><strong><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Bilingual approach </span></strong></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">English is
an integral part of the Singaporean identity. It is the language of
administration and is promoted as important for international business. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">With
the language playing an important role in Singaporean life, the
Government has adopted a policy of bilingualism, whereby students learn
in English but are also taught their mother tongue. The bilingual
education policy rose from the need to operate in the global economy,
using English while fostering the other major Asian languages and
cultures. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">The mother tongue is seen as a way to preserve unique values, although its usage is decreasing in homes, with English </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">becoming </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">predominant. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><strong><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Singlish slang</span></strong></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">The
Government emphasises the need to speak fluent English and the mother
tongue of the major ethnic groups, in order to reach out to the
multilingual community. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">‘Singlish,’
a mixture of Malay, Chinese and Indian languages has emerged as an
informal, hybrid form of the language. This localised English-based
creole is widely regarded as symbolising Singaporean identity, but many
disapprove, saying that the standard of spoken and written English has
been eroded.</span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Almost
everyone in Singapore speaks more than one language, with many speaking
three or four languages. Most children grow up bilingual, learning
other languages as they become older. With a majority of the population
bilingual, English and Mandarin are the most commonly used languages. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><strong><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Tamil elevated</span></strong></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Indians
constitute about 9% of Singapore’s population of 5.4 million. About 65%
of Indians speak Tamil, which is taught in schools. While Tamil is the
only Indian language enjoying an official status, other languages such
as Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Bengali and Gujarati are
also popular.</span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Movies
made in these languages are shown in local cinemas. Tamil films are
popular with local Tamils as well as other ethnic Indians. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">A Tamil TV channel called ‘MediaCorp Vasantham’ and Tamil radio programmes are popular, with slots for other Indian languages. </span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Singapore has been the home for multi-ethnic groups</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif"> for more than 200 years. It </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">symbolises
multiculturalism, with people of varied cultures and languages
contributing to its dynamism, vibrancy, interaction and cohesion.</span></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Dr V Subramaniam is our Singapore Correspondent.</span></strong></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"> </p>
<p> </p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif">Photo : Public notices are always in four official languages</span></strong></p>
<p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify"><br><strong><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:'Franklin Gothic Book',sans-serif"></span></strong></p><p class="" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify">
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