<P> According to the Constitution of Singapore , the four official languages of Singapore are English , Mandarin , Malay and Tamil while the symbolic national language is Malay . 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 . </P>
<P> According to the Constitution of Singapore , the four official languages of Singapore are English , Mandarin , Malay and Tamil while the symbolic national language is Malay . 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 . </P>
which asian country has four written languages but only one spoken language
which asian country has four written languages but only one spoken language
Singapore
Singapore