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The four official
languages of Singapore are Chinese (Mandarin, Official) , Malay
(Official and National), Tamil and English. English is widespread
and is the language which unites the various ethnic groups.
Children are taught in English at school but also learn their
mother tongue to make sure they don't lose contact with their
traditions.
Chinese dialects, such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese
and Hakka, are still widely spoken, especially among the older
Chinese, but the government's long-standing campaign to promote
Mandarin, the main non-dialectal Chinese language, has been very
successful and increasing numbers of Chinese now speak Mandarin at
home.
Tamil is the main Indian language, though Malayalam and Hindi are
also spoken. |
