The Speak Mandarin Campaign (SMC; ) is an initiative by the Government of Singapore to encourage the Chinese Singaporean population to speak Standard Mandarin Chinese, one of the four official languages of Singapore as Singaporean Mandarin. It was launched on 7 September 1979 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and organised by the Promote Mandarin Council. The SMC has been held annually to promote the use of Mandarin.
The campaign is contentious among Singaporeans. The ancestral origins of most Chinese Singaporeans were not from Mandarin speaking regions, and Singaporean Hokkien had served as the lingua franca of the Chinese community in Singapore until the campaign began. Since the 2010s, the SMC has been scaled down, with the government promoting greater appreciation of other Chinese varieties and relaxing restrictions on their use in local media. At the same time, many Singaporeans have begun to rediscover the ancestral forms of their respective Chinese varieties. Since 2020, Mandarin itself was surpassed by Singaporean English as the primary language in Chinese Singaporean households.
Background
In 1966, the Singaporean government implemented a policy of bilingual education, where Singaporean students learn both English and their designated mother tongue, which was Mandarin for all Chinese Singaporeans "by default". The Goh Report, an evaluation of Singapore's education system by Goh Keng Swee, showed that less than 40% of the student population managed to attain minimum levels of competency in two languages.'The Goh Report' It was later determined that the learning of Mandarin among Chinese Singaporeans was hindered by home use of native Chinese varieties, such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese and Hakka.Manfred Whoa Man-Fat, "A Critical Evaluation of Singapore's Language Policy and its Implications for English Teaching", Karen's Linguistics Issues. Retrieved on 4 November 2010Bokhorst-Heng, W.D. (1998). Unpacking the Nation. In Allison D. et al (Ed.), Text in Education and Society (pp. 202–204). Singapore: Singapore University Press. Hence, the government decided to rectify problems facing implementation of the bilingual education policy, by launching a campaign to promote Mandarin as a common language among the Chinese Singaporean population, and to discourage use of other Chinese varieties.
Launched in 1979 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew,Lee Kuan Yew, "From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965–2000", HarperCollins, 2000 (). the campaign aimed to simplify the language environment for Chinese Singaporeans, improve communication between them, and create a Mandarin-speaking environment conducive to the successful implementation of the bilingual education programme. The initial goal of the campaign was for all young Chinese to stop speaking topolects in five years, and to establish Mandarin as the language of choice in public places within 10 years.Lim Siew Yeen and Jessie Yak, , Infopedia, National Library Board Singapore, 4 July 2013. "讲华语运动30年 对象随大环境改变", Hua Sheng Bao, 17 March 2009. The government cited the reasons of the campaign as the inefficiency of learning a non-Mandarin variety on top of English and Mandarin, and the divisiveness of the usage of all the non-Mandarin varieties.
According to the government, for the bilingual policy to be effective, Mandarin should be spoken at home and should serve as the new lingua franca among Chinese Singaporeans.Bokhorst-Heng, W.D. (1999). Singapore's Speak Mandarin Campaign: Language Ideology Debates and the Imagining of the Nation. In Harris R. and Rampton B. (Ed.), the Language, Ethnicity and Race Readers (pp. 174). London: Routledge. (2003) They argued that Mandarin was more "economically valuable", and speaking Mandarin would help Chinese Singaporeans supposedly retain their heritage, as Mandarin seemingly contains a "cultural repository of values and traditions" that are "identifiable to all Chinese", regardless of "topolect group".Lionel Wee, (2006). The semiotics of language ideologies in Singapore.
Rationale The rationale of the SMC was initially to encourage more people, especially the young, to speak Mandarin instead of other Chinese varieties. This aimed to enable communication across different dialect groups and, at the same time, reduce language barriers between Singapore's various ethnic communities particularly after independence. With the demands of globalisation and other economic challenges facing a young nation, the government increasingly emphasised English. As a result, many English-educated Chinese Singaporeans began to lose proficiency in Mandarin and other Chinese languages.狮城华语热：新加坡开展"讲华语COOL！"运动
Initial response During the 1991 Singaporean general election, the governing People's Action Party (PAP) retained its supermajority but secured a smaller share of seats than in previous elections. One factor was the opposition's ability to tap into the linguistic anxieties of working class Chinese Singaporeans who spoke varieties of Chinese other than Mandarin. Many of these Singaporeans held onto their own languages as a form of identity and some refused to enroll their children in schools that had Mandarin names.
As a result, the PAP government switched its focus away from non-Mandarin Chinese varieties towards encouraging English-speaking and educated Chinese to speak more Mandarin. In 1994, the SMC specifically targeted English-educated business professionals and working adults. It promoted the use of Mandarin, to keep their "links" to cultural roots, so as to better appreciate the "heritage and value" and, most importantly, complement the economical aspects as China began to rise in the business sector. In 2010, through The Chinese Challenge,华文?谁怕谁! 2010 总决赛 the SMC moved towards a cultural aspect, whereby its main focus is to promote Singaporeans to hold on to their "roots", knowing their own culture well.
Campaigns For each SMC, a slogan was created and a different segment of the Chinese community was targeted. + Campaign slogans Year Target audience Mandarin Chinese slogan English (translation) English (official) 1979 Chinese community duō jiǎng huá yǔ, shǎo shuō fāng yán Speak More Mandarin, Speak Less Dialects 1981 xué huá yǔ, jiǎng huá yǔ Learn Mandarin, Speak Mandarin 1982 Workplaces zài gōng zuò chǎng suǒ jiǎng huá yǔ Speak Mandarin While At Work 1983 Markets and food centres huá rén jiǎng huá yǔ, hé qíng yòu hé lǐ Chinese People Speaking Mandarin Is Both Fair and Reasonable Mandarin In, Dialects Out 1984 Chinese parents qǐng jiǎng huá yǔ, ér nǚ de qián tú, cāo zài nín shǒu lǐ Speak Mandarin, Your Children's Future Is In Your Hands Speak Mandarin. Your Children's Future Depends On Your Effort Today 1985 Public transport workers huá rén, huá yǔ Chinese People, Chinese Language (Mandarin) Mandarin Is Chinese 1986 Food and drink establishments xiān kāi kǒu jiǎng huá yǔ, jiē dà huān xǐ Speak Mandarin First, Then Everyone Is Happy Start With Mandarin, Not Dialects 1987 Shopping centres huì jiǎng huá yǔ，xiān jiǎng cháng jiǎng Learn How To Speak Mandarin, Speak It First And Speak It Often Start With Mandarin, Speak It More Often 1988 White-collar workers duō jiǎng huá yǔ, qīn qiè biàn lì Speak Mandarin More Often, It's Endearing And Convenient Better With More Mandarin, Less Dialects 1989 Chinese community cháng jiǎng huá yǔ, zì rán liú lì Speak Mandarin Often, And You Will Become Naturally Fluent More Mandarin, Less Dialects. Make It A Way of Life 1990 Senior executives huá rén, huá yǔ Chinese People, Chinese Language (Mandarin) Mandarin Is Chinese 1991 English-educated Chinese Singaporeans xué xí huá yǔ rèn shí wén huà Learn Mandarin, Understand The Culture Mandarin For Chinese Singaporeans: More Than A Language 1992 yòng huá yǔ biǎo xīn yì Use Mandarin To Express Yourself Say It In Mandarin 1993 jiǎng huá yǔ, shòu yì duō Speak Mandarin, You Will Benefit Greatly From It Speak Mandarin. It Helps 1994/1995 English-educated Chinese and business professionals huá yǔ duō jiǎng liú lì Fluency Comes With Speaking Mandarin Frequently Mandarin. Use It Or Lose It 1996/1997 English-educated Chinese working adults jiǎng huá yǔ kāi chuàng xīn tiān dì Speak Mandarin, Create New Horizons 1998/1999 jiǎng huá yǔ, hǎo chù duō Speak Mandarin. Benefits Are Plenty Speak Mandarin, It's An AssetTeo P. (2002. Mandarinising Singapore: a Critical Analysis of Slogans in Singapore's 'Speak Mandarin Campaign'. 2000 Chinese community jiǎng huá yǔ? méi wèn tí! Speak Mandarin? No Problem! 2006/2007 Post-1965 English-speaking Chinese Singaporeans huá yǔ COOL Mandarin [is] Cool 2007/2008 jiǎng huá yǔ, nǐ kěn ma? Speak Mandarin, Are You Willing To? Speak Mandarin, Are You Game? 2009/2010 Youths huá wén? sheí pà sheí! Mandarin? Don't Be Afraid! Be Heard In Chinese! 2011/2012 huá wén huá yǔ, duō yòng jiù kě yǐ Written And Spoken Mandarin, You Only Need To Use It Often Mandarin. It Gets Better With Use
1983 (Mandarin's In, Dialects Out)In 1983, the promotion of Mandarin moved to markets and food centres, closer to the heartlands. Between 1983 and 1987, Telecoms also offered 'Dial for Mandarin Lessons' services on a 24-hour basis every day. Peak-hour calls averaged about 40,000. "A need for common language between different ethnic Singaporeans or effective communication of thoughts" and to "preserve cultural roots by learning written Chinese and speaking Mandarin, since culture is transmitted through written words", were some highlights of the campaign launching speeches in 1983.
2000 Speak Mandarin? No problem!Milestones of SMC over the years. The Campaign was officially launched at the premiere of a Chinese movie "A Tale of the Sacred Mountain". The Mandarin Film Festival was the first film festival organised by the Promote Mandarin Council. It was held from 17 to 22 September at the Golden Village Grand, Great World City. The Festival screened 12 critically acclaimed films produced by some of China's best producers and directors. Singapore's first Mandarin a cappella CD album entitled "A Cappella Fanatix, Mandarin A Cappella" was jointly produced by Young Musicians' Society and the Promote Mandarin Council. The forum entitled "Mandarin for the Family" was held on 18 November. The speakers comprised educationists who discussed teaching methods for the learning of Chinese, as well as well-known personalities who shared their experiences in learning Mandarin and using it both at home and in the office. The Chinese Heritage Series, which comprises arts and cultural performances ranging from xinyao, hand puppet to Chinese Orchestra was held at various shopping malls. SMC celebrities' web chats a series of web chats with well-known artistes and personalities was held. A Speak Mandarin Campaign commemorative book entitled "Mandarin: The Chinese Connection" () was produced. The first CD-ROM on learning Mandarin was produced. Entitled "Speak Mandarin? No problem!" (), it is an interactive learning CD-ROM which caters to adults who know basic Mandarin and have a desire to improve it. The official speech during the launch of the Speak Mandarin Campaign 2000 was given by Mah Bow Tan, then Minister for National Development. In the speech, he gave credits to the SMC, for successfully establishing Mandarin as a principal language of communication amongst Singaporean Chinese, but says that a higher standard of spoken Mandarin needs to be achieved. Having a good command of Mandarin exposes people to culture and heritage, as well as facilitating dealings with Asia's potential economy powerhouse, China. The community and schools have new roles to play to increase and improve the use and standards of Mandarin in Singapore.
2006/07