ABSTRACT
The Singapore government has publicly expressed that there should be no ‘sacred cows’ in its policies. Any assumption, however apparently commonsensical, is up for grabs and its relevance and value can always be questioned. However, when it comes to the case of official languages, a much more conservative mindset still prevails. I first describe Singapore’s language policy, the rationale for recognizing four official languages, before explaining why this is now a status quo in need of reconsideration. I show how official languages have been chosen to reflect both ethnic and more pragmatic concerns. The rationale is that the set of official languages has to be inclusive because it must take into consideration the country’s ethnic diversity; yet it also has to ensure that all Singaporeans are economically competitive. But as I show in this contribution, there are also exclusionary problems that arise.
