Malay (Bahasa Melayu) is the official language of the nation. Other languages spoken in the country are Chinese dialects (Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, Hainan, Foochow), Indian languages (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam); in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest of which are Iban and Kadazan.

English is also widely spoken by Malaysians and it is also a compulsory subject in primary and secondary education. The English language is sometimes used in official correspondence and examinations is based on British English though there has been much American influence through television. However, English as spoken in Malaysia has been diverging, and is known locally as Manglish. Manglish is very similar to Singlish, the English spoken in Singapore, though the slang terms tend to be different.

additional information from Wikipedia

12/08/08 by visitEarth
Tags: Malaysia, language, Malay, English, spoken, Manglish, Malaysian