Among themselves, Singaporeans often speak Singlish, an English creole arising from centuries of contact between Singapore's internationalised society and its legacy of being a British colony.

This plays a symbolic role, as Malays are constitutionally recognised as the indigenous peoples of Singapore, and it is the government's duty to protect their language and heritage.

When Singapore gained self-government in 1959 and independence in 1965, the local government decided to keep English as the main language to maximise economic benefits.

[18] Furthermore, the switch to English as the only medium of instruction in schools aided in bridging the social distance between the various groups of ethnic language speakers in the country.

[22] Then Education Minister, Ng Eng Hen, noted a rising number of Singaporeans using English as their home language in December 2009.

[36] With the rising prominence of Mandarin in Singapore at that time,[2] politicians such as Lee theorised that it might overtake English,[37] despite strong evidence to the contrary.

[38] From the 1990s, with the perceived increase in commerce and trade possibilities with Mainland China, the Singaporean government promoted Mandarin as a language with high economic advantage and value.

[5] As of 2012, according to demographic figures, the five main Chinese linguistic groups in Singapore are Hokkien (41.1%), Teochew (21.0%), Cantonese (15.4%), Hakka (7.9%) and Hainanese (6.7%), while Hokchew/Hokchia (Fuzhou dialect), Henghua (Puxian Min), and Shanghainese have smaller speaker bases.

[citation needed] Linguistically, the vernacular Malay dialect of Singapore is similar to even derived from that of Johore, but with a possible Javanese substrate "much influenced by its proximity to Java",[48] as well as having a flap rhotic consonant (/ɾ/).

Due to this, and strong links between the language and cultural identity, the Singaporean Malay community has retained stronger usage of their mother tongue than others in the country.

[60] Other Austronesian languages, such as Javanese, Buginese, Minangkabau, Batak, Sundanese, Boyanese (which is a dialect of Madurese) and Banjarese, are also spoken in Singapore, but their use has declined.

[10] Meanwhile, the percentage of the total population speaking Tamil at home has remained steady, or has even slightly risen over the years, to just above 4%, due to immigration from India and Sri Lanka.

[64] Apart from Tamil, some of the other Indian languages spoken by minorities in Singapore include Malayalam, Telugu, Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, and Gujarati.

Students in Primary and Secondary schools also learn a second language called their "Mother Tongue" by the Ministry of Education, where they are either taught Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil.

It is managed by a Board chaired by the Singapore's Minister of Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat and advised by an International Advisory Panel of Experts.

[73] In 2007, in a bid to enhance the linguistic experience of students, the Ministry of Education strongly encouraged schools to offer Conversational Malay and Chinese to those who do not take either of these languages as their Mother Tongue.

[76] The SCCL's stated purpose is to enhance the effectiveness of teaching Mandarin as a second language in a bilingual environment as well as to meet the learning needs of students from non-Mandarin speaking homes.

[5] However, this situation is not only limited to Mandarin, but also Malay and Tamil, where rising statistics show that English is progressively taking over as the home language of Singaporeans.

This is evident in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's annual National Day Rally speech, which is communicated through the use of English, Malay and Mandarin.

For instance, during the 1960s, Lee Kuan Yew learned and used Hokkien frequently in his political or rally speeches, as it was vital for him to secure votes in elections from the Hokkien-speaking community.

For instance, both Low Thia Khiang[82] and Chan Chun Sing[83] were noted for their usage of different Chinese varieties during election rallies.

[88] This sudden revival of other varieties can mainly be attributed to a feeling of disconnection between the younger and the elder generations, as well as a sense of loss of identity from their own linguistic roots for many others.

[89] While more work has to be put in to revive these varieties, the recent 2014 Singapore Teochew Festival[90] held in Ngee Ann City can be regarded as a positive sign that more people are becoming more actively involved in reconnecting with their linguistic roots.

[91] In March 2009, a newspaper article was published in Singapore broadsheet daily The Straits Times on a Language and Diversity Symposium organised by the Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies at Nanyang Technological University.

In 2007, a group of 140 students from Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' Primary School learnt Hokkien-Taiwanese and Cantonese as an effort to communicate better with the elderly.

The repackaging of the original names of Lau Pa Sat in Roman script, and inclusion of the appearance of an English translation as a secondary title can be seen as a way of heightening the sense of authenticity and heritage of the attraction as it is marketed as a culturally-rich area in Singapore, similar to Chinatown and Little India; both of which were formerly cultural enclaves of the distinctive races.

Similarly in 2014, the Pioneer Generation Package[99] (for senior citizens above 65 years of age in 2014 who obtained Singapore citizenship on or before 31 December 1986) made use of Chinese varieties commonly spoken in Singapore such as Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew, and also Singlish in order to make the policies more relatable,[100] and at the same time raise awareness about the benefits that this new scheme provides for them.

[101] Due to problems in the research methodology[102] and lack of governmental statutes that explain these variations, the study on the linguistics landscape in Singapore remain as a controversial field.

These problems include non-linearity, where the large numbers of variations seen in Singapore prevents the application of any trends to understand the landscape; and also the lack of any standard legislation that determines any fixed rules on usage of languages on signs.

[citation needed] In 2014, there were reports of erroneous translations on road signs of popular tourist attractions such as Lau Pa Sat and Gardens by the Bay made by the Singapore Tourism Board.