Editing Singapore English (section)

===History===
The British established a trading post on the island of Singapore in 1819, and the population grew rapidly thereafter, attracting many immigrants from Chinese provinces and from India.<ref>{{cite book | title = Singapore English |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VP_HO_Q5rEUC&q=american+influence+on+singaporean+english&pg=PR4|isbn= 9780748625451|last1= Deterding|first1= David|year= 2007}}</ref> The roots of Standard Singapore English derive from nearly a century and a half of British control. Its local character seems to have developed early in the English-medium schools of the 19th and early-20th centuries, where the teachers often came from [[India]] and [[Ceylon]], as well as from various parts of Europe and from the United States of America. By 1900 Eurasians and other locals were employed as teachers.<ref>{{cite book|last= Gupta|first= Anthea Fraser|title= The Step-Tongue: Children's English in Singapore|year= 1994|publisher= WBC Ltd, Bridgend|location= United Kingdom|isbn= 978-1-85359-230-0|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_Wsh1EbUJB0C}}</ref> Apart from a period of [[Japanese occupation of Singapore|Japanese occupation]] (1942–1945), Singapore remained a British colony until 1963, when it joined the [[Malaysia]]n federation, but this proved a short-lived alliance, largely due to ethnic rivalries. Since [[Singapore in Malaysia#Expulsion|its expulsion from the Federation in 1965]], Singapore has operated as an independent [[city-state]]. English served as the administrative language of the British colonial government, and when Singapore [[Self-governance of Singapore|gained self-government]] in 1959 and independence in 1965, the Singaporean government decided to keep English as the main language to maximise economic prosperity. The use of English as the nation's first language serves to bridge the gap between the diverse ethnic groups in Singapore; English operates as the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of the nation. The use of English as a global language for commerce, technology and science has also helped to expedite Singapore's development and integration into the global economy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alatis |first1=James E. |last2=Tan |first2=Ai-Hui |year=1999 |title=Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 1999 |publisher=Georgetown University Press |location=United States |url=http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/551456/gurt-1999.pdf?sequence=1 |format=pdf |access-date=7 June 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715182810/https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/551456/gurt-1999.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=15 July 2014}}</ref> Public schools use English as the main language of instruction, although students are also required to receive part of their instruction in their mother tongue; placement in such courses is based on ethnicity and not without controversy.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |last1            = Leimgruber
 |first1           = Jakob R. E.
 |title            = Singapore English
 |url              = http://jakobleimgruber.ch/papers/LLC.pdf
 |journal          = Language and Linguistics Compass
 |date = January 2011
 |volume           = 5
 |issue            = 1
 |pages            = 47–62
 |doi              = 10.1111/j.1749-818x.2010.00262.x
 |issn             = 1749-818X
 |access-date      = 18 April 2016
 |quote            = English [...] is also the only medium of instruction in schools [... e]xcept in the elite Special Assistance Plan Schools, where some subjects are taught in the mother tongue. They currently only exist for Mandarin.
 |url-status          = dead
 |archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20160426041614/http://jakobleimgruber.ch/papers/LLC.pdf
 |archive-date      = 26 April 2016
}}
</ref>
The standard Singaporean accent used to be officially [[Received Pronunciation|RP]]. However, in recent decades,{{when|date=June 2013}} a standard Singaporean accent, quite independent of any external standard, including RP, started to emerge. A 2003 study by the [[National Institute of Education]] in Singapore suggests that a standard Singaporean pronunciation is emerging and is on the cusp of being standardised.<ref name="emergent-patterns" /> Singaporean accents can be said to be largely [[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|non-rhotic]].<ref name="non-rhotic">{{Cite book|title=English in Southeast Asia: Varieties, literacies and literatures|last=Deterding|first=David|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing.|year=2007|location=Newcastle|pages=11}}</ref>

In 2023, opposition leader [[Pritam Singh (Singaporean politician)|Pritam Singh]] advocated for English proficiency testing for immigrants seeking Singaporean citizenship.<ref name="proposal">{{Cite web |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/new-citizen-permanent-resident-singapore-application-english-test-pritam-singh-josephine-teo-3309261 |publisher=[[Channel News Asia]] |lang=en-SG |date=2023-02-27 |last=Tang |first=Louisa |title=Pritam Singh advocates for English test in Singapore citizenship, PR applications |accessdate=2023-04-06}}</ref> Polling data of native-born Singaporeans show broad support for the proposal.<ref name="polling">{{Cite web |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/english-test-new-citizens-pr-application-survey-3368571 |publisher=[[Channel News Asia]] |lang=en-SG |date=2023-04-03 |last=Tang |first=Louisa |accessdate=2023-04-06 |title=CNA poll finds majority welcome English test to be part of Singapore citizenship application process}}</ref>