A Multicultural
Kaleidoscope
One of the more remarkable aspects of Singapore is the
truly cosmopolitan nature of her population, a natural
result of the country’s geographical position and
commercial success. Established by Thomas Stamford
Raffles as a trading post on 29 January 1819, the
small sea town of Singapore soon attracted migrants
and merchants from China, the Indian sub-continent,
Indonesia, the Malay Peninsula and the Middle East.
Drawn by the lure of better prospects, the immigrants
brought with them their own culture, languages,
customs and festivals. Intermarriage and integration
helped knit these diverse influences into the fabric
of Singapore’s multi-faceted society, giving it a
vibrant and diverse cultural heritage. By the end of
the 19th century, Singapore had become one of the most
cosmopolitan cities in Asia, with major ethnic groups
in the country being the Chinese, Malays, Indians, and
Eurasians.
Today, the ethnic Chinese form 74.2% of the
Singaporean population, with the country’s original
inhabitants, the Malays, comprising 13.3%. The Indians
make up 9.2%, and Eurasians and Asians of different
origins making up a combined 3.3%. Singapore is also
home to many expatriates coming from countries as
diverse as North America, Australia, Europe, China,
Japan and India.
As a reflection of its collage of cultures, Singapore
has adopted one representative language for each of
the four major ethnic or 'racial' groups. The four
official languages in Singapore's constitution are
English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Although Malay is
the national language, English is the common language
used for business, government and medium of
instruction in schools.
The presence of other languages, especially the
varieties of Malay and the Chinese dialects, has
obviously had an influence on the type of English that
is used in Singapore. The influence is especially
apparent in informal English, an English-based creole
that is commonly known as Singlish. A badge of
identity for many Singaporeans, it represents a hybrid
form of the language that includes words from Malay,
as well as Chinese and Indian languages.
Almost everyone in Singapore speaks more than one
language, with some speaking as many as three or four.
Most children grow up bilingual from infancy, learning
other languages as they become older. With the
majority of the literate population bilingual, English
and Mandarin are the most commonly used languages in
daily life. While English is the main language taught
in schools, children also learn their mother tongues
to ensure that they stay in touch with their
traditional roots.
For the Chinese majority, Mandarin is the main
language instead of dialects like Hokkien, Teochew,
Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese and Foochow. Mandarin
became the second most commonly spoken language among
the Singaporean Chinese after the start of the Speak
Mandarin campaign during 1980 that targeted the
Chinese. In 1990s, efforts were undertaken to target
the English-educated Chinese.
Explore the various cultural precincts and religious
landmarks around the island and get acquainted with
Singapore’s multicultural society. Whether you join a
tour or discover your own Singapore, you’ll be sure to
catch a glimpse of the impressive history, cultural
diversity and lifestyles of Singaporeans during your
visit to our city-state.
