SINGAPORE: Nearly half of Singapore residents now identify most with English or Singlish, a sharp rise over the past decade as identification with mother tongue and heritage languages has declined, according to a survey by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).
The 2024 survey of 4,000 residents found that 47.6 per cent identified most with English or Singlish, up from 33.8 per cent in 2013. The share identifying most with a mother tongue or heritage language fell from 65.1 per cent to 50.4 per cent over the same period.
Researchers attributed the shift in part to generational change. When a similar study was conducted in 2013, a larger proportion of respondents had been born before 1965 and were exposed to different language policies.
Research fellow Dr Melvin Tay said this group has since decreased significantly, representative of Singapore's current population spread.
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Growing exposure to English through work and the global sphere has also played a role, said principal research fellow Dr Matthew Mathews. As more Singapore residents communicate and work with others in English, he added, their affinity with the language would be expected to increase.
More respondents in 2024 agreed that Singlish gives Singaporeans a sense of identity, compared with a similar survey in 2018,
The majority also agreed that Singlish is an important part of culture that should not be lost, with that figure rising from 44.4 per cent in 2018 to 50.6 per cent in 2024.
But the sentiment was not uniform across racial groups. Indian respondents were notably less likely to agree that Singlish gives Singaporeans a sense of identity – 49.8 per cent, compared with 58.7 per cent of Chinese respondents and 56.9 per cent of Malay respondents.
Despite Singlish's deepening role in local life, mother tongue proficiency has remained broadly stable.
Their language proficiency levels were tagged to different tasks. For example, respondents who said they could speak their mother tongue "somewhat well" can exchange greetings, while those who said they could speak it "very well" meant they could discuss ideas like religion or politics.
Among Chinese respondents, 80.9 per cent said they could speak Mandarin well or very well, comparable to 81.8 per cent in 2013. Malay respondents reported similarly steady figures, at 93.2 per cent against 92.5 per cent in 2013. Among Indian respondents of Tamil descent, the figure dipped from 75.4 per cent in 2013 to 68.8 per cent in 2024.
Senior research fellow Dr Teo Kay Key described the proficiency findings as "quite optimistic".
“If you're looking at the first marker of whether a language policy has been effective, it would really be the use and the ability to speak these languages,” she said.
Dr Tay noted that permanent residents were significantly more likely than Singapore citizens to report strong proficiency in their heritage language, given greater exposure to it before moving here.
Even as more residents identify with Singlish, they draw a firm line at using it in formal or professional contexts, the survey found.
Of the 4,000 residents surveyed over five months in 2024, 71.1 per cent said it was often or always appropriate to use Singlish with friends. That figure dropped significantly in professional settings: 49.5 per cent found it acceptable with colleagues, and just 24.4 per cent with their supervisors.
Written communication showed even less tolerance, with 59.5 per cent saying it was never or rarely appropriate to email colleagues in Singlish. Similar figures applied to formal public settings: 57.6 per cent said the same for teachers using it in class, and 60.1 per cent for government officials or Members of Parliament delivering speeches.
Researchers said the findings point to a "mature public instinct" for code-switching.
While many Singaporeans know that Singlish can build rapport, they also know that they need standard English for clarity, accessibility and to be understood internationally, the researchers said in their report.
“Singlish should not be made to bear more weight than it can carry. It cannot substitute for standard English where precision, fairness and wider intelligibility are required,” they said.
“But standard English need not demand the banishment of Singlish from local life. A confident language policy should be able to say both things plainly.”
Across most settings, respondents aged 18 to 35 were more comfortable using Singlish than older age groups. About 80.4 per cent in that cohort said it was often or always appropriate to use Singlish with friends, compared with 70.2 per cent of those aged 36 to 50, and 64.4 per cent of those aged 51 to 65.
Younger respondents were also least likely to want the government to curb Singlish use: 21.1 per cent agreed or strongly agreed with such moves, against 38.8 per cent of those aged 65 and above.
Overall, 26.8 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the government should do more to curb Singlish – up from 22.2 per cent in 2018, when a similar survey was conducted.
Dr Mathews said the two trends – growing identification with Singlish alongside a slight uptick in those wanting it curbed – are not contradictory. As Singlish becomes more visible in everyday life, those who are uncomfortable with it may feel more strongly about reining it in, he said.
A previous IPS survey found that language discrimination was the most common form of workplace prejudice.
Views on whether it has improved were less polarised in 2024 than in 2013, though younger respondents were more likely to think it had worsened over the past five years. Chinese respondents were the least likely to hold that view.
On integration and language diversity, 39.3 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that the government should preserve the languages of new immigrants, up from 36.7 per cent in 2018, with older respondents more supportive of this position.
Attitudes towards unfamiliar languages “reflected some ambivalence”, though acceptance rose from 2018 to 2024 across all three scenarios put to respondents, researchers said in the report.
For example, 48.8 per cent said they were fine with people around them speaking a language they did not understand, up from 38.8 per cent in 2018. Acceptance of service staff on Orchard Road not speaking English rose more modestly, from 30.6 per cent to 34.4 per cent.
Researchers described Singapore's likely language future as one of "negotiated coexistence" – English as a common linguistic platform, mother tongues as cultural anchors, heritage languages as vessels of memory, and Singlish as "the unruly but beloved vernacular of local belonging".
The task ahead, they said, is to ensure Singapore remains not merely multilingual in policy, but meaningfully multilingual in everyday life.
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The 2024 survey of 4,000 residents found that 47.6 per cent identified most with English or Singlish, up from 33.8 per cent in 2013. The share identifying most with a mother tongue or heritage language fell from 65.1 per cent to 50.4 per cent over the same period.
Researchers attributed the shift in part to generational change. When a similar study was conducted in 2013, a larger proportion of respondents had been born before 1965 and were exposed to different language policies.
Research fellow Dr Melvin Tay said this group has since decreased significantly, representative of Singapore's current population spread.
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Show More Show Less
Growing exposure to English through work and the global sphere has also played a role, said principal research fellow Dr Matthew Mathews. As more Singapore residents communicate and work with others in English, he added, their affinity with the language would be expected to increase.
A SINGLISH IDENTITY
More respondents in 2024 agreed that Singlish gives Singaporeans a sense of identity, compared with a similar survey in 2018,
The majority also agreed that Singlish is an important part of culture that should not be lost, with that figure rising from 44.4 per cent in 2018 to 50.6 per cent in 2024.
But the sentiment was not uniform across racial groups. Indian respondents were notably less likely to agree that Singlish gives Singaporeans a sense of identity – 49.8 per cent, compared with 58.7 per cent of Chinese respondents and 56.9 per cent of Malay respondents.
Despite Singlish's deepening role in local life, mother tongue proficiency has remained broadly stable.
Their language proficiency levels were tagged to different tasks. For example, respondents who said they could speak their mother tongue "somewhat well" can exchange greetings, while those who said they could speak it "very well" meant they could discuss ideas like religion or politics.
Among Chinese respondents, 80.9 per cent said they could speak Mandarin well or very well, comparable to 81.8 per cent in 2013. Malay respondents reported similarly steady figures, at 93.2 per cent against 92.5 per cent in 2013. Among Indian respondents of Tamil descent, the figure dipped from 75.4 per cent in 2013 to 68.8 per cent in 2024.
Senior research fellow Dr Teo Kay Key described the proficiency findings as "quite optimistic".
“If you're looking at the first marker of whether a language policy has been effective, it would really be the use and the ability to speak these languages,” she said.
Dr Tay noted that permanent residents were significantly more likely than Singapore citizens to report strong proficiency in their heritage language, given greater exposure to it before moving here.
KNOWING WHEN TO SWITCH
Even as more residents identify with Singlish, they draw a firm line at using it in formal or professional contexts, the survey found.
Of the 4,000 residents surveyed over five months in 2024, 71.1 per cent said it was often or always appropriate to use Singlish with friends. That figure dropped significantly in professional settings: 49.5 per cent found it acceptable with colleagues, and just 24.4 per cent with their supervisors.
Written communication showed even less tolerance, with 59.5 per cent saying it was never or rarely appropriate to email colleagues in Singlish. Similar figures applied to formal public settings: 57.6 per cent said the same for teachers using it in class, and 60.1 per cent for government officials or Members of Parliament delivering speeches.
Researchers said the findings point to a "mature public instinct" for code-switching.
While many Singaporeans know that Singlish can build rapport, they also know that they need standard English for clarity, accessibility and to be understood internationally, the researchers said in their report.
“Singlish should not be made to bear more weight than it can carry. It cannot substitute for standard English where precision, fairness and wider intelligibility are required,” they said.
“But standard English need not demand the banishment of Singlish from local life. A confident language policy should be able to say both things plainly.”
Across most settings, respondents aged 18 to 35 were more comfortable using Singlish than older age groups. About 80.4 per cent in that cohort said it was often or always appropriate to use Singlish with friends, compared with 70.2 per cent of those aged 36 to 50, and 64.4 per cent of those aged 51 to 65.
Younger respondents were also least likely to want the government to curb Singlish use: 21.1 per cent agreed or strongly agreed with such moves, against 38.8 per cent of those aged 65 and above.
Overall, 26.8 per cent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the government should do more to curb Singlish – up from 22.2 per cent in 2018, when a similar survey was conducted.
Dr Mathews said the two trends – growing identification with Singlish alongside a slight uptick in those wanting it curbed – are not contradictory. As Singlish becomes more visible in everyday life, those who are uncomfortable with it may feel more strongly about reining it in, he said.
LANGUAGE PREJUDICE AND DIVERSITY
A previous IPS survey found that language discrimination was the most common form of workplace prejudice.
Views on whether it has improved were less polarised in 2024 than in 2013, though younger respondents were more likely to think it had worsened over the past five years. Chinese respondents were the least likely to hold that view.
On integration and language diversity, 39.3 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that the government should preserve the languages of new immigrants, up from 36.7 per cent in 2018, with older respondents more supportive of this position.
Attitudes towards unfamiliar languages “reflected some ambivalence”, though acceptance rose from 2018 to 2024 across all three scenarios put to respondents, researchers said in the report.
For example, 48.8 per cent said they were fine with people around them speaking a language they did not understand, up from 38.8 per cent in 2018. Acceptance of service staff on Orchard Road not speaking English rose more modestly, from 30.6 per cent to 34.4 per cent.
Researchers described Singapore's likely language future as one of "negotiated coexistence" – English as a common linguistic platform, mother tongues as cultural anchors, heritage languages as vessels of memory, and Singlish as "the unruly but beloved vernacular of local belonging".
The task ahead, they said, is to ensure Singapore remains not merely multilingual in policy, but meaningfully multilingual in everyday life.
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