language in singapore

corcol · Post by **corcol** » Mon, 03 Jan 2005 6:55 pm

Hi,
i'm a native english speaker considering moving to singapore. what second language do most expats in singapore speak, if any?
i've heard singlish and malay are spoken alot. is that right?
thxs.
B.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon, 03 Jan 2005 8:28 pm

corcol wrote:Hi,
i'm a native english speaker considering moving to singapore. what second language do most expats in singapore speak, if any?
i've heard singlish and malay are spoken alot. is that right?
thxs.
B.

I'm British, but my second language is Danish, then Mandarin! I would suggest learning Mandarin, if you can master it!

It is a very useful language and very exciting, and satisfying to master the writing and stroke order, which is really quite easy.

corcol · Post by **corcol** » Tue, 04 Jan 2005 2:40 am

Mandarin looks a very big challenge. Learning Malay seems a little easier!!
would i be correct in thinking that? what second language do most expats speak?
B.

yatiyeo · Post by **yatiyeo** » Sun, 09 Jan 2005 9:43 pm

I am a Malay married to a Chinese. I speak English, Malay, Mandarin and other Chinese dialects.
Mingle with the locals and listen. You can definitely pick up a word or two and more given time.

imah · Post by **imah** » Tue, 11 Jan 2005 9:30 am

Hi there,

If you are interested in learning malay, I would love to teach you the language. Currently I'm teaching a few adults(all are non-malay) in malay. For more info you can also drop me an email at [email protected]

Trina · Post by **Trina** » Tue, 18 Jan 2005 12:56 pm

Hi
I am Chinese Singaporean. 80% of singaporean are of chinese race. Learning mandarin may be difficult but it will different help you to get by better. However you may also find that almost all Singaporean speaks English. So even if you do not learn Mandarin, you can still SURVIVE here.
Happy living!

Yutenji · Post by **Yutenji** » Wed, 19 Jan 2005 11:19 am

corcol wrote:... what second language do most expats in singapore speak, if any? i've heard singlish and malay are spoken alot. is that right?

Hi,
The "if any?" is a good point. While there are exceptions, most expats (including myself) don't pick up more than a few words, which is rather sad since it excludes us from a whole world of culture.
I didn't learn Mandarin when I came to Singapore a loooong time ago, because I never realised I'd be here so long. BIG mistake.

I did however learn Japanese for other reasons, and came to realise what an amazing extra insight it gives you into the country and people.
For what it's worth, I'd strongly encourage you to learn Mandarin chinese. There are a bucketload of Chinese dialects, but Mandarin is the one which is encouraged to be the common one. It's spoken widely in Singapore (albeit with a strong accent, according to my mainland colleagues), Hong Kong, Taiwan and of course mainland China.
While there are many Malay speakers, and it's certainly easier to learn how to read/write than Chinese, I personally feel that you'll feel more rewarded by learning Chinese. It'll also be VERY attractive on your resume/CV.

Go for it! Good luck.
P.S. You don't need to 'study' Singlish. You'll learn it whether you want to or not!

Oceanworld · Post by **Oceanworld** » Wed, 19 Jan 2005 3:22 pm

If you know english that's good enough because most Singaporeans speak English, especially so for the youngsters. But if you know Mandarin, which is the 2nd most common langauge, you will impress a lot of Singaporeans.

SINGAPORE EXPATS FORUM
Singapore Expat Forum and Message Board for Expats in Singapore & Expatriates Relocating to Singapore