Singapore has four official languages: Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, and English. Children are taught in English at school but usually speak their mother tongue at home.
The use of Malay is mostly restricted to the Malay community. Tamil is the main Indian language, though Malayalam and Hindi are also spoken. Chinese dialects, such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese, and Hakka, are still widely spoken, especially among the older Chinese. The government has tried to promote the use of Mandarin--the main non-dialectal Chinese language--and now increasing numbers of Chinese speak Mandarin at home.
Children are taught both English and their mother tongue -- whether it be Mandarin, Tamil, or Malay 00 in school. This is compulsory.
English is widely spoken, although a unique patois has evolved called Singlish, which peppers English with Malay and Hokkien words.
Below is a list of the most basic phrases which you may find handy.
