35 years of Speak Mandarin Campaign

2014 marks 35 years of the Speak Mandarin Campaign in Singapore. Quite an achievement for a country that turns 49 years old in August 2014.

Singapore began life as a trading port made up of Malay natives (who spoke only Malay) and immigrants from many parts of Asia and Europe. The British came to lay claim and made it a colony for a number of years. Due to the multi-ethnic make-up of the population, people spoke their own language of home, plus a smattering of whatever other languages that their friends and neighbours spoke. Communication between races and ethnic groups was made up of a mixture of each one's different language. Did it matter that grammar rules were thrown out the window? Certainly not. Communication was effective and efficient. Everyone got along quite well with each other.

After China chose to unite the entire country and ethnic groups in one national language, Mandarin, Singapore chose to follow suit. Being that the older generation spoke either fluent English, or whatever Chinese dialect they grew up speaking, or both, the big push to get all Chinese Singaporeans speaking Mandarin was quite a task. Yet, look at us today!

Singaporean leaders have a working proficiency of Mandarin and a firm grasp of English. While we may not be able to conduct a government-level negotiation in Mandarin, we can converse socially in the language, thus warming us to the Chinese hosts.

Language is more than just a communication tool. Learning a language means learning about a culture and a people. Speaking the language of your host touches his heart and opens doors that you never thought possible.

Want to touch a heart? Go learn his language.

Here's to multi-lingualism!