A Study on the Language Programs and Policies of Singapore

The Lion City, Singapore, is one of the eleven countries in Southeast Asia. Despite the size of 710
square kilometers (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2023), it is still a culturally and linguistically diverse area.
There are four that are considered as the official languages of Singapores: (1) English as Singapore was
colonized by the British Empire before; (2) Mandarin due to the majority of the population being Chinese;
(3) Malay or Bahasa Melayu which also functions as its national language due to the indigenous
population; and, (4) Tamil for the Indians inside the country. With this roster of chosen languages, it
makes one curious on what measures were taken into consideration for their language programs and
policies. The findings and revelations of this study are continued below.

Singapore or Temasek started out as a Malay trading port in the 14th century. The name then
changed into Singapura which means “Lion City” in Sanskrit. It was then established as a British trading
colony in the year 1819 which had a free trade policy that attracted Chinese traders and laborers.
Singapore and India were under the British Empire at the same time which prompted Indians to migrate to
the area. According to the Singapore’s Department of Statistics in 2020, the most spoken language inside
their households is English with a percentage of 48.3, almost half of the population compared to the
32.3% in 2010. Interestingly enough, English is the only one who had noticeable growth in ten years
among the languages in Singapore. In the 48.3% of the Singaporeans that do speak English, 13.2% of
them do not have a second language which would equate to them being a native speaker of Singaporean
English or Singlish.

The English language first came to Singapore through the British Empire. However, in modern
times, the country recognized the importance of the language which then led to them establishing it as
their lingua franca. The late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew expressed that the restraint in learning the
English language is equivalent to giving future generations a disadvantage in the technology and
knowledge advanced countries have to offer (Bokhorst-Heng, 1988). In the year 1966, a bilingual policy
was made compulsory with English as their first language in schools and their native language or mother
tongue language—which could be Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil—as their second (Tan & Ng, 2011). An
individual’s native language is determined by their father’s ethnicity. This way, Singapore can preserve
the native speakers of their language as well as their identity as a country (Ng, 2011).

In terms of value or worth, Singapore sees language as a resource in the economy as well as a
symbol of their cultural identity. This reflects the goals of the multilingual policy of Singapore: (a) to
gain access to the Western culture’s knowledge through English; and, (b) to understand their culture,
history, and identity through their mother tongues (National University of Singapore, 2021). The
establishment of the English language allows them to have access to the current information through
globalization as well as communicate with foreigners to expand their knowledge on other people’s
cultures and identities rather than being a closed and conservative community. On the other hand, the
acquisition of their mother tongues allows them to preserve themselves as an Asian country where
speaking their native language allows them to perform rituals and traditions as well as learn about their
heritage that they might find restricting when done in English or any other language (Ng, 2011).

~*~
 A Study on the Language Programs and Policies of Singapore
EL 103
In researching something, anything really, a great place to start is its history hence why I first
tackled the start of the Lion City. I learned about how each of the official languages are tied back to the
past of Singapore where multilingualism is credited to colonization compared to the Philippines situation
where we became multilingual due to the distances between our islands; vastly different when the two are
compared. Since English is treated as a lingua franca across the country and a first language in school, it
is not that surprising to observe that English will be their most spoken language in their houses but what
shocked me is that there is a percentage of the English speakers that are speaking it as their first language
with no other language as a second one which again, dissimilar to what our linguistic situation.

Next, the reason why English was declared as their unifying language made sense. A neutral
language is essential for a unified and a non-discriminatory community. Though, the decision-making of
an individual’s native language surprised me. It did not occur to me that one of the people should make
the decision for the child instead of relying on their location or the government’s decision. In comparison
to us, Singaporeans are allowed to choose what their child’s native language will be and I believe that
allows them to preserve the native speakers and our country should either imitate or get an idea from that
concept.

And lastly, the value of language in their perspective. Singaporeans value their languages better
compared to us Filipinos. If more people’s eyes are opened, more people would be aware to hold onto that
English skill they had, no matter how little or insignificant it may seem. Being literate and proficient in
English allows us access to information and technology the Western countries have and we simply cannot
wrap our heads around that idea. On the other hand, their preservation of their native languages is quite
good considering that they are a racially diverse country. Despite this, they were still able to preserve all
three languages because again, they value language differently. Knowing and speaking your native
language allows you to have a connection to your ancestors and we tend to find keeping in touch with our
heritage corny and cheesy.

To end, here are takeaways that I would like to emphasize:

(a) Know your history. This allows you to connect with your identity as a native which would then in
you appreciating your culture;
(b) Choose a proper unifying language for our country. This grants us unity in our community. It just
makes sense to implement English as our neutral language since most of us can already speak it
well; and lastly,
(c) Know how to value language. Learn that language is not only for communicating but for learning
as well. Remember that knowledge is the new currency in this globalized age.

~*~

CLARO, Laura Angela I.

BSED-ENG 1A
 A Study on the Language Programs and Policies of Singapore
EL 103
Reference/s:

About Singapore. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore. (2023).

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Tan, C., & Ng, P. T. (2011). Functional differentiation: A critique of the bilingual policy in Singapore.
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YouTube. (2018). SINGAPORE and Its Languages. YouTube. Retrieved May 16, 2023, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di_tr0q_G4k&t=52s.

CLARO, Laura Angela I.

BSED-ENG 1A