Singaporean in the context of Eurasians in Singapore


Singaporean in the context of Eurasians in Singapore

⭐ Core Definition: Singaporean

Singaporeans are the citizens of the island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is home to a people of a variety of origins, with the city-state itself being a multi-racial and multi-cultural country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian descent have made up the overwhelming majority of the population since the 19th century. The Singaporean diaspora is also far-reaching worldwide.

In 1819, the port of Singapore was established by Stamford Raffles, who opened Singapore as an entrepôt on the southern coasts. Over the decades, many immigrants from the region settled in Singapore. By 1827, the population of the island was composed of people from various ethnic groups. The Singaporean identity was fostered to help different groups integrate and identify collectively with the nation, while preserving the culture and traditions of each community without forcing minority cultures to assimilate into a single majority culture.

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Singaporean in the context of Languages of Singapore

The official languages of Singapore are English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Tamil, with the lingua franca between Singaporeans being English, the de facto main language in daily, governmental, legal, trade and commercial affairs. Among themselves, Singaporeans often speak Singlish, an English creole arising from centuries of contact between Singapore's multi-ethnic and multilingual society and its legacy of being a British colony. Linguists formally define it as Singapore Colloquial English. A multitude of other languages are also used in Singapore. They consist of several varieties of languages under the families of the Austronesian, Dravidian, Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan languages. The Constitution of Singapore states that the national language of Singapore is Malay. 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. This is also largely due to Singapore's geographical location in the Malay Archipelago.

The three languages other than English were chosen to correspond with the major ethnic groups present in Singapore at the time: Mandarin Chinese had gained pre-eminent status (over the Southern Chinese dialects of the overseas Chinese) 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.

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Singaporean in the context of Buddhism in Singapore

Buddhism is the largest religion in Singapore, practiced by approximately 31.1% of the population as of 2020. As per the census, out of 3,459,093 Singaporeans polled, 1,074,159 of them identified themselves as Buddhists.

Buddhism was introduced in Singapore primarily by migrants from around the world over the past centuries. The first recorded histories of the Indian religion in Singapore can be observed in early monasteries and temples such as Thian Hock Keng and Jin Long Si Temple that were built by settlers that came from various parts of Asia.

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