The Singapore Government recognizes four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. These official languages, along with a multitude of other languages, reflect Singapore's multiracial, multicultural and multilingual nature. In 2009, there were more than 20 languages identified as being spoken in Singapore. Singapore's role as a trading settlement in colonial times, and now a prominent cosmopolitan centre of trade and services, has long attracted foreigners from Asia and beyond. The languages they brought with them greatly influenced the languages in Singapore.