Multi-racial, Multi-language translation

As you all might know, Singapore is a multi-racial country. The four official languages in Singapore are Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and English.

English is the most common language used. Children are taught in English at school but also learn their mother tongue to make sure they don’t lose contact with their traditions. This is made compulsory by our education system where every child is given a chance to take up an additional language as their Second Language (example Mandarin, Malay or Tamil).

Public signs and official publications are in English, although there are usually translated versions in other official languages.  Some of the advertisment, marketing collaterals and newsletter will often be translated into other languages for ease of understanding.

During festive seasons, there are also a higher demand for certain language translation.  This is obviously due to advertisers who wish to promote their services or products catering to a bigger market during these seasons.

For Lunar New Year and Mooncake festival, we see that there are more demand for Mandarin translation.  Likewise for Hari Raya and Deepavali,  there will be higher demand for Malay and Tamil translation respectively.

Sometimes, you may find different languages in a single brochure.  Naturally, such brochures are catered for greater public audience.  The multiple languages add a unique feel to such brochure too.

We do believe that there are also other countries having the same  experiences as us.  Do share your comment with us.  We love to hear from you too!