Speak Mandarin Campaign
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The Speak Mandarin Campaign (Chinese: 讲华语运动) was an initiative launched by former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew to promote the use of Mandarin over other Chinese dialectal langauges.
Historical Context
- With Singapore's bilingual education policy, students were expected to learn two "first" languages - English and their "mother tongue language". For Chinese Singaporeans, this meant learning English and Mandarin at school, and at that time, many spoke a Chinese dialect at home - effectively juggling three languages from a young age. This was said to impede the ability of people to master their two "first" languages, culminating in the launch of the Speak Mandarin Campaign.
Policies
- Nine secondary schools were designated as Special Assistance Plan (SAP) schools. Presently, the programme includes 26 schools.
- Under the SAP, the designated schools are allocated additional resources to allow their students to study both English and Mandarin to a high standard of academic proficiency.
- The Singaporean government banned the broadcasting of Chinese dialects on radio and television, with some exceptions.
- Despite calls by the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations in 2010 to revoke the ban, it remained in plans.
- In 1981, the Ministry of Education began spelling Chinese names using Hanyu Pinyin, rather than dialect spellings. This change was rolled back in 1992.