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According to the Constitution of Singapore,〔.〕 the four official languages of Singapore are Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English, while the national language is Malay.〔Constitution, Article 153A.〕 The three languages other than English were chosen to correspond with the major ethnic groups present in Singapore at the time: Mandarin had gained status since the introduction of Chinese-medium schools; Malay was deemed the "most obvious choice" for the Malay community; and Tamil for the largest Indian ethnic group in Singapore, in addition to being "the language with the longest history of education in Malaysia and Singapore".〔 In 2009, more than 20 languages were identified as being spoken in Singapore, reflecting a rich linguistic diversity in the city. Singapore's historical roots as a trading settlement gave rise to an influx of foreign traders,〔 and their languages were slowly embedded in Singapore's modern day linguistic repertoire. In the early years, the lingua franca of the island was Bazaar Malay (''Melayu Pasar''), a creole of Malay and Chinese, the language of trade in the Malay Archipelago. While it continues to be used among many on the island, especially Singaporean Malays, Malay has now been displaced by English. English became the lingua franca due to British rule of Singapore, and was made the main language upon Singaporean independence. Thus, English is the medium of instruction in schools, and is also the main language used in formal settings such as in government departments and the courts. Hokkien briefly emerged as a lingua franca among the Chinese,〔 but by the late 20th century it had been eclipsed by Mandarin. The Government promotes Mandarin among Singaporean Chinese, since it views the language as a bridge between Singapore's diverse non-Mandarin speaking groups, and as a tool for forging a common Chinese cultural identity. China's economic rise in the 21st century has also encouraged a greater use of Mandarin. Other Chinese varieties such as Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Hainanese and Cantonese have been classified by the Government as "dialects", and language policies and changes in language attitudes based on this classification have led to a decrease in the number of speakers of these varieties. While Tamil is one of Singapore's official languages, other Indian languages are also frequently used.〔"(Census of Population 2010 )" (table 4), Singapore Department of Statistics. Retrieved October 17, 2014.〕 Many Singaporeans are bilingual since Singapore's bilingual language education policy promotes a dual-language learning system from as early as primary school.〔See Language education in Singapore.〕 English is used as the main medium of instruction. On top of this, most children learn one of the three official languages (or, occasionally, another approved language) as a second language, according to the ethnic group of the child's father. The second language is seen as a means to preserve unique cultural values in the multicultural society and to allocate an ethnic identity to each child. However, the use of these ethnic languages is steadily decreasing in homes as English becomes predominant.〔"Gupta, A. F., Yeok, S. P. (1995) Language Shift in a Singapore Family. ''Journal of Multilingual and Mutlicultural Development'', 16(4), 301-314.〕 (See Language attrition) The loss of the local varieties is even more prominent as they are rarely used in mass media, and the elder population forms the main group of speakers of non-standard varieties in Singapore. ==English== (詳細はSingapore English is regarded as the main language in Singapore, and is officially the main language of instruction in all school subjects except for Mother Tongue lessons in Singapore's education system.〔Dixon, L. Quentin. (2005). The Bilingual Education Policy in Singapore: Implications for Second Language Acquisition. In James Cohen, J., McAlister, K. T., Rolstad, K., and MacSwan, J (Eds.), ''ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism''. p. 625-635, Cascadilla Press, Somerville, MA.〕 It is also the common language of the administration, and is promoted as an important language for international business.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=31 March 2000 )〕 Spelling in Singapore largely follows British conventions, owing to the country's status as a former Crown Colony.〔(What are some commonly misspelled English words?|ASK!ASK! )〕 English is the country's default lingua franca despite the fact that four languages have official status.〔Tan, Sherman, p. 340-341. "The four recognised official languages are English, Mandarin, Tamil, and Malay, but in practice, English is Singapore's default lingua franca."〕 Under the British colonial government, English gained prestige as the language of administration, law and business in Singapore. As government administration increased, infrastructure and commerce developed, and access to education further catalysed the spread of English among Singaporeans. 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. Since English was rising as the global language for commerce, technology and science, promotion of its use in Singapore would expedite Singapore's development and integration into the global economy.〔 ((Archive ))〕 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. Between the early 1960s to the late 1970s, the number of students registering for primarily English-medium schools leapt from 50% to 90%, as more parents elected to send their children to English-medium schools. Attendance in Mandarin, Malay and Tamil-medium schools consequently dropped and schools began to close down. The Chinese-medium Nanyang University also made the switch to English as the medium of instruction despite meeting resistance, especially from the Chinese community.〔Deterding, David. (2007). Singapore English. Edinburgh University Press.〕 There has been a steep increase in the use of the English language over the years. Singapore is currently the most proficient English-speaking country in Asia.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.healyconsultants.com/company-incorporation/singapore-company-incorporation.html )〕 Then Education Minister, Ng Eng Hen, noted a rising number of Singaporeans using English as their home language in December 2009. Of children enrolled in primary school in 2009, 60% of the Chinese and Indian pupils and 35% of the Malay pupils spoke predominantly English at home. English is the native language of 32% of Singaporeans, but has the largest number of speakers if statistics were to account for speakers of English as a second language.〔(Literacy and language ), Singapore Census of Population, 2000. Singapore Department of Statistics (December 2000). ((Archive ))〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Languages of Singapore」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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