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Chinese Singaporean Encouraged to Speak Good Mandarin
Singapore Minister for Information and the Arts Lee Yock Suan Saturday encouraged Chinese Singaporeans to speak good Mandarin, the Chinese language, so as to keep links to roots and identity.
"I hope Chinese Singaporeans will learn to speak good Mandarin and use it to tap into the rich vein of Chinese culture," Lee said at the the launch of the 23rd Speak Mandarin Campaign, a movement first launched in 1979 on the initiative of then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who is now the Senior Minister.
Lee Yock Suan said that knowledge of the Chinese language and culture will stand Chinese Singaporeans in good stead to tap the enormous potential of China's economy and even the West is embracing some aspects of Chinese culture such as acupuncture and herbal medicines as China is developing rapidly.
"However, even without this economic incentive, Chinese Singaporeans should still study Chinese language and culture for its intrinsic value," the minister stressed.
He said the mother tongue gives Chinese Singaporeans a world view that complements the perspectives of the English-speaking world.
He also said proficiency in Chinese will also enable Chinese Singaporeans to absorb the richness of the original Chinese stories and literary works which are lost in translation and help them appreciate more deeply the cultural heritage and value.
The Speak Mandarin Campaign was designed to lead Chinese Singaporeans to converse in standard Mandarin instead of dialect and has helped to establish Mandarin as a principal language of communication among Chinese Singaporeans.
Due to the campaign, there is an increase in the usage of Mandarin among the young and about half of the Chinese Singaporean families still speak Mandarin at home.
In his speech delivered at the National Day Rally last month, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong called upon the Chinese community to build up a core of effectively bilingual Singaporeans with a high competence in Mandarin and a love of Chinese culture.
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