In the early years, the "lingua franca" of the island was Bazaar Malay ("Melayu Pasar"), a creole of Malay and Chinese, the language of trade in the Malay Archipelago. While it continues to be used among many on the island, especially Singaporean Malays, Malay has now been displaced by English. English became the "lingua franca" due to British rule of Singapore, and was made the main language upon Singaporean independence. Thus, English is the medium of instruction in schools, and is also the main language used in formal settings such as in government departments and the courts. As Singaporean President Halimah Yacob said during her 2018 speech, “Through the education system, we adopted a common working language in English.”