National Day falls on 9 August in Singapore and it is widely celebrated by all. National Day celebrations include the National Day Parade and with displays of fireworks across Singapore.

The national language of Singapore is Malay, and English is the official working language. As the national language of Singapore, Malay is the language of Singapore’s National Anthem and military parade ground commands. While the Malay language is also used in neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, language contact and evolution has led to differences in the vocabulary and grammar among speakers in these countries.

National Day embraces the various languages and cultures in Singapore with a plethora of events lined up to mark the country’s 54th birthday, and its bicentennial year. The Singapore government promotes bilingualism through the bilingual education policy and various public campaigns. Modern languages researchers agree that being bilingual  helps us to communicate and adds distinct advantages to the developing brain. Speaking in more than one language may also enable people to gain a more profound understanding of their own culture and increase their creativity.

Are you a Singaporean household with a young child? Or a Singaporean interested in the science of language development? We are currently looking for anyone interested to partner us as Citizen Scientists to help us learn more about the language spoken in Singaporean and what it takes to raise a bilingual/multilingual child in Singapore.

Click here to join our contact list.