Quora Answer: Why Do Singaporeans Believe That Using English is Essential for Their Economic Survival?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Why do Singaporeans believe that using English is essential for their economic survival when several Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, have achieved economic success without using English?”

The comparisons are not valid.  Singapore is a multicultural nation, and has been so even before independence.  If we did not have English as the language of business and governance, it would not have survived the racial tensions, since language is a sensitive matter.  None of the main racial groups would countenance the promotion of any one language over theirs.  In contrast, all the other nations and territories cited are culturally homogeneous.  They do not have multiple languages contending with each other for supremacy.

Secondly, Singapore is a trading nation, more so than any of the others mentioned, barring Hong Kong.  English is also widely spoken in Hong Kong.  English is the language of international trade.  All major centres of international trade have people who are competent in English, and English is the language of transactions, including correspondence and documentation.  Without English, we would not have that economic success because, unlike Japan and South Korea, we do not have a population base sufficient to generate growth by itself.  We are not a manufacturing hub.  We are not an agricultural nation.  We are net importers, and we generate our wealth in the entrepot trade.