English Language Trends in Singapore
In 2010, there are these following groups of Singaporeans:
1. Those who do not have any knowledge of English (very few people, mostly drawn from those born before the 1950s).
2. Those to whom English is a foreign language: they have limited ability in English and seldom speak it (mostly older people, but also some less educated younger people).
3. Those who learnt English at school and can use it but who have a dominant other language (many people, of all ages).
4. Those who learnt English at school and for whom it has become the dominant language (many people, of all ages).
5. Those who learnt English as a native language (sometimes a sole native language, but usually alongside other languages) and for whom English is still the dominant language (many people -- the most common pattern in children born post-1965 to highly educated parents).
English is the second most commonly spoken language in Singaporean homes, the first being Mandarin. One effect of mass immigration into Singapore since 2000, especially from China, has been to increase the proportion of the population for whom English is a foreign language.
| Language most frequently spoken at home (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | 1990 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 |
| English | 18.8 | 23.0 | 29.4 | 32.3 |
| Mandarin | 23.7 | 35.0 | 36.0 | 35.6 |
| Other Chinese dialects | 39.6 | 23.8 | 18.2 | 14.3 |
| Malay | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.2 | 12.2 |
| Tamil | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
There is an increasing trend of Singaporeans speaking English at home. For children who started primary school in 2009, 60% of Chinese along with 60% Indian pupils; and 35% of Malay pupils predominantly speak English at home. This means that 56% of Singaporean families with children in Primary 1 predominantly speak English at home. As many Singaporeans grew up with English as their first language in school, some Singaporean Chinese may not be able to speak Mandarin.
Read more about this topic: Singapore English
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