The Speak Mandarin Campaign (SMC; Simplified Chinese: 讲华语运动) is an initiative to encourage Singapore's ethnic Chinese population to speak Mandarin, the official language of China, commonly referred to as "Putonghua" in Chinese. Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Mandarin   listen?(Traditional: 北方話, Simplified: 北方话, Hanyu Pinyin: BÄ›ifānghuà, lit. ...

Motivation

The Speak Mandarin Campaign (SMC) was launched in 1979 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. The motivation was to discourage the use of various chinese dialects by the Chinese Singaporeans and to encourage the speaking of Mandarin as a common language among the Chinese population. The campaign aims to [1]: This page refers to the year 1979. ... The Prime Minister of Singapore is the head of government of the Republic of Singapore (and prior to August 9, 1965, the State of Singapore). ... Lee Kuan Yew (also spelt Lee Kwan-Yew) (born September 16, 1923) (Chinese: 李光耀; Pinyin: ) was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. ... Mandarin   listen?(Traditional: 北方話, Simplified: 北方话, Hanyu Pinyin: BÄ›ifānghuà, lit. ...

• simplify the language environment and understanding amongst Chinese Singaporeans.
• improve communication and understanding amongst Chinese Singaporeans.
• create a Mandarin-speaking environment conducive to the successful implementation of the bilingual education programme.

The Campaign continued in the 1990s as the country's second generation leaders, led by Goh Chok Tong, took over the government. Goh Chok Tong (Chinese: 吴作栋; (Simp. ...

"For the Chinese community, our aim should be a single people, speaking the same primary language, possessing a distinct culture and a shared past, and sharing a common destiny for the future. Such a Chinese community will then be tightly knit. Provided it is also tolerant and appreciative of the other communities' heritage, able to communicate with them in English, and work with them for a common future, Singapore will grow to become a nation."

— PM Goh Chok Tong, 1991 Speak Mandarin Campaign Launch ^[2]

Goh Chok Tong (Chinese: 吴作栋; (Simp. ...

History

From 1979 to 1981, the Speak Mandarin Campaign was targeted at Chinese Singaporeans, in particular, specific groups such as hawkers, public transport workers, white-collar workers and senior executives, to encourage them to speak Mandarin instead of dialects so that they can better communicated with each other, especially among various dialect groups. This objective has been largely achieved. However, research indicated that Mandarin was losing ground among English-educated Chinese Singaporeans who were starting to lose their Mandarin or Chinese language skills. The program coexists with other similarly run language advocacy campaigns, such as the Speak Good English Movement. This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Speak Good English Movement is a program launched by the government of Singapore. ...

From 1991 onwards, the SMC has shifted its objective to encourage English-educated Chinese Singaporeans to speak Mandarin. In 1994, the SMC specifically targeted English-educated business professionals and working adults, promoting the use of Mandarin to keep their links to cultural roots and to better appreciate the heritage and value. This would complement the influence of the western or English-speaking world on their world view and perspectives. 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

Implementation

The Speak Mandarin Campaign is a year-round campaign, that uses publicity and activities in the community to create awareness and to facilitate the learning of Mandarin. This included publications such as CD-ROMs and tapes of Mandarin lessons, handbooks of English-Chinese terms as well as telephone Mandarin lessons to help people to learn Mandarin.

Recently, the campaign took on a theme "hua yu Cool!" (华语! Cool!), and use TV game shows and music performances by local pop stars, to increase the awareness, especially in the younger people.

Lee Kuan Yew expressed his concern about the declining proficiency of Mandarin among younger Singaporeans. In a parliamentary speech, he said: "Singaporeans must learn to juggle English and Mandarin". Subsequently, he launched a television program, 华语!, in January 2005, in an attempt to attract young viewers to learn Mandarin. Lee Kuan Yew (also spelt Lee Kwan-Yew) (born September 16, 1923) (Chinese: 李光耀; Pinyin: ) was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. ... Standard Mandarin is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China on Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. ...

In June 2005, Lee published a book, Keeping My Mandarin Alive, documenting his decades of effort to master Mandarin — a language which he said he had to re-learn due to disuse:

"...because I don't use it so much, therefore it gets disused and there's language loss. Then I have to revive it. It's a terrible problem because learning it in adult life, it hasn't got the same roots in your memory."

External links

• Official site