English was common, but many used Chinese dialects, such as Hokkien, as well as Tamil from India, Malay and a smattering of more obscure languages. Lee, who ruled Singapore for over three decades and died in 2015, described in his memoirs how he had to force the issue. Non-Chinese tongues, such as Kristang -- spoken by descendants of Portuguese colonisers who arrived in what is now Malaysia in the 16th century and married locals -- also faded. One thing that unexpectedly flourished was “Singlish”, a local patois that mixes English with words from the myriad tongues spoken in Singapore. It is the Chinese dialect that is most common in Singapore but it has become less widespread, particularly among the young.

Source: The Star December 10, 2017 04:30 UTC