The official language of Singapore

The official language of Singapore is Mandarin Chinese and this is the language of the Singaporean Government. However, English is the most common language and is the language of business and trade. Children will generally be taught in English in schools but will also be expected to learn Mandarin as well. Other common languages in Singapore include Tamil, Malay and Cantonese.

Many Singaporeans speak a language that has come to be known as Singlish. Singlish is a mixture of English and other languages and can be difficult for English speakers to understand. That said, English speakers seldom experience any real problems communicating with people in Singapore.