\n<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE – More people in Singapore are using Singlish more frequently in everyday life, including at work, with 80 per cent of those who are younger saying they speak the colloquial language well.<\/p>\n
An increasing number also identify most with English or Singlish, while the proportion of people who identify most with their mother tongue or parents\u2019 dialects has dropped, according to a new study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS).<\/p>\n
In another finding, mother tongue proficiency has remained stable over the years based on self-reported figures, but ethnic Chinese respondents were more likely to perceive a drop in general mother tongue standards in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The increased identification with Singlish represents an attempt to describe a sense of national identity, said Dr Mathew Mathews, head of the IPS Social Lab and lead researcher of the study, which was published on May 25.<\/p>\n
The Language Identity and Management in Singapore study draws from the findings of the latest IPS survey on Race, Religion and Language, which surveyed 4,000 Singapore residents in 2024, for comparison with its 2013 and 2018 iterations.<\/p>\n
More than half of the respondents in 2024 agreed that Singlish gives Singaporeans a sense of identity, and that it is an important part of culture that should not be lost.<\/p>\n
The researchers noted that the language does what Standard English cannot easily do and \u201ccarries the cadences of hawker centres, army camps, classrooms, void decks, workplaces and family gatherings\u201d.<\/p>\n
Singlish is an important marker of national identity, despite official efforts to discourage its use due to it being an \u201cungrammatical\u201d form of English incorporating words from vernacular languages, said the researchers.<\/p>\n
The researchers also noted that attitudes towards Singlish have changed over the years, with Singlish gaining wider acceptance in society and public communication.<\/p>\n
The proportion of those who said they could speak the colloquial language \u201cwell\u201d or \u201cvery well\u201d rose from 46.8 per cent in 2013 to 57.8 per cent in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u201d meant they could talk about their family and friends. \u201cVery well\u201d meant they could discuss religion, politics and technology in that language.<\/p>\n
Proficiency in Singlish peaked among the younger generation. Some 80 per cent of people aged 18 to 35 said they could speak Singlish at least \u201cwell\u201d, while only 29.1 per cent of those above 65 said so.<\/p>\n