The declining standard of language is a common phenomenon bemoaned by cultural elites in many countries. Society in many places faces the same problem： While modern technology has brought about a spectacular movie and television culture, it has also caused many to lose interest and patience in literature.
Here in Singapore where technological know-how is valued much more over the humanities, it is no surprise that few are avid readers. In the opinion of some Singaporeans, we have not been able to manage the language issue well because of the strong political flavour of our language policy.
The Chinese-educated feels that our language policy that favours the English language has caused the decline of the Chinese language. The English-educated, on the other hand, holds the view that the government compels students to learn the Chinese language, which is “of little use”, in order to placate Mandarin-speaking voters.
People from a single-language background often lament that our bilingual policy has produced a younger generation of Singaporeans who understand both the Chinese and English language, but can hardly be said to be proficient in them. They have failed to grasp the essence of either and end up neither here nor there. The Chinese-educated complain that young people know nothing about poetry from the ancient Tang and Song dynasty while the English-educated gripe about them not knowing the works of Shakespeare.
It is hard enough to master a langauge, let alone two. This is the drawback of the bilingual policy. But every policy has its merits and demerits. The language used by the younger generation may lack sparkle, yet when compared to the previous generation, they are able to move much more freely between two linguistic worlds. They also experience much less psychological burden in learning langauges.
As the language issue becomes less sensitive politically and people are more at ease, some changes have taken place. In recent years, it has become common for undergraduates to speak Mandarin. A walk in either the campus of the NUS or NTU will show that the number of Mandarin-speaking students is no less than English-speaking ones. Many undergraduates are using Mandarin in their daily life, a phenomenon that is not “planned” but which has evolved by itself.
In the early 80s, Chinese-stream students studying at the NUS felt truly sidelined. And the Chinese language was of course a marginalised language. It was thus difficult to imagine the tremendous response local songbird Stefanie Sun Yanzi received at her recent campus concert. It was as if Mandarin had risen from an inconspicuous corner of the campus to take centrestage at the brightly-lit hall. The performance lasted only a few hours but it was no doubt a small breakthrough.
Some feel that the Chinese language is kept alive by the popularity of Chinese movies and television programmes. “Fun” is what matters to young people who couldn't care less about politics.
We should not overlook the power of language and culture to move us. Chinese drama series have always been more popular than English ones. The reason is that the former has been able to take full advantage of the unique sensibility of the Chinese language which the audience can identify with and relate to readily.
English is still the dominant language in our society. But the world is changing and the more practical among the top talent in our society are adjusting their view. It is not a complete change, but they have certainly broadened their horizons.
Almost every MP spoke about what he or she had seen and heard in China in recent parliamentary sittings to highlight the opportunities offered and challenges posed by China. Some even made the refreshing change of uttering some Chinese phrases. It appears that the Land of Dragons has been placed on their radar screens.
The use of Mandarin by undergraduates and MPs signals a new fragile life for the Chinese language here. No one knows if it can grow healthily. This hinges on the attitude of decision-makers. Some years back, when it was common for primary students to communicate in Mandarin, some decision-makers became concerned and a number of “corrective” measures soon followed.
It remains to be seen if the phenomenon of undergraduates speaking Mandarin in the campus will also be “corrected”。
（The writer is a Senior Correspondent of Lianhe Zaobao's Political Desk. Translated by Yap Gee Poh.）
在許多國家,文化精英都在感嘆語文水準低落的現象。各地社會面對同樣的問題：現代科技帶來精彩的影視文化,但卻削弱了人們欣賞文學的興趣和耐心。
在新加坡,在重科技輕人文的傳統(tǒng)下,閱讀風氣自然盛不起來。此外,一些國人認為,我們搞不好語文,與語文政策的政治色彩太強有關系。受華文教育的人說偏重英文的政策導致華校的沒落,一些受英文教育者則認為政府是為了安撫講華語的選民,才強逼學生修讀華文這門“無用”的科目。
年輕一代的學生學習語文的心理包袱沒有那么沉重。
單語系統(tǒng)出身的人常感嘆說,在雙語政策下,年輕一代的華文和英文,往往只“通”不“精”,學不到語文的精髓,因此兩頭都不到岸。傳統(tǒng)華校生抱怨年輕人不懂唐詩宋詞,傳統(tǒng)英校生則怪他們不懂莎士比亞。
要掌握一種語文不易,要精通兩種語文就更難；這是雙語政策的缺憾。然而,任何政策都有得有失。年輕一代雖然失去了語文的文采,但是跟上一代人比較,他們能更自由的進出兩個文化世界,學習語文的心理包袱也沒有那么沉重。
語文的政治色彩淡了,人們的心情較輕松,語文生態(tài)就有了一些新氣象。近年來,我國大專院校的學生講華語的現象很普遍。在國大和南大校園走一趟,不難發(fā)現講華語的人不比講英語的人少。華語成了許多大學生的生活語言,是自然而成而不是“策劃”出來的現象。
在80年代初,我們一群國大校園念書的華校生,活得像邊緣人,華語自然是邊緣化的語言。我們很難想像在10多年后,孫燕姿在本地大學校園開演唱會時,場面會這么熱烈。華語似乎從校園邊緣極不起眼的角落,走上了燈火光明的大學禮堂的舞臺,雖然這是短短的幾個小時,但這不失為一個小小的突破。
一些人說,華文得以茍延殘喘,多虧華文的影視文化。年輕一代講究的是“好玩”,管不了枝枝節(jié)節(jié)的政治問題。
不過,我們也不應該忽視語文和文化的情感力量。華文電視劇始終遠比英語電視劇受歡迎,就是因為前者發(fā)揮了華語的感性特征,所以更有親和力,能夠牽動人心。
雖然我們的社會還是英文獨尊的社會,不過世界在變,一些講求實際的社會精英正在調整視角。這不是全方位的調整,然而他們的視野變得較廣闊了。
最近在國會,幾乎所有議員都談一段自己的中國見聞錄,借以論述中國帶來的機會和挑戰(zhàn)。一些議員還破例的露了一兩句華語,令人感到新鮮。在他們的視野中,似乎多了中國這塊土地。
大學生和議員的華語,代表了島國華文世界里的微弱新生命。它們能否穩(wěn)健成長,是一個未知數。在這個問題上,決策人的態(tài)度是一大關鍵。多年前,我國小學生普遍講華語的現象,引起一些決策人的關注,隨后便有一些“糾正”的措施。
現在,大專校園內的講華語現象,會不會被“糾正”一番,是值得大家注意的事。
Here in Singapore where technological know-how is valued much more over the humanities, it is no surprise that few are avid readers. In the opinion of some Singaporeans, we have not been able to manage the language issue well because of the strong political flavour of our language policy.
The Chinese-educated feels that our language policy that favours the English language has caused the decline of the Chinese language. The English-educated, on the other hand, holds the view that the government compels students to learn the Chinese language, which is “of little use”, in order to placate Mandarin-speaking voters.
People from a single-language background often lament that our bilingual policy has produced a younger generation of Singaporeans who understand both the Chinese and English language, but can hardly be said to be proficient in them. They have failed to grasp the essence of either and end up neither here nor there. The Chinese-educated complain that young people know nothing about poetry from the ancient Tang and Song dynasty while the English-educated gripe about them not knowing the works of Shakespeare.
It is hard enough to master a langauge, let alone two. This is the drawback of the bilingual policy. But every policy has its merits and demerits. The language used by the younger generation may lack sparkle, yet when compared to the previous generation, they are able to move much more freely between two linguistic worlds. They also experience much less psychological burden in learning langauges.
As the language issue becomes less sensitive politically and people are more at ease, some changes have taken place. In recent years, it has become common for undergraduates to speak Mandarin. A walk in either the campus of the NUS or NTU will show that the number of Mandarin-speaking students is no less than English-speaking ones. Many undergraduates are using Mandarin in their daily life, a phenomenon that is not “planned” but which has evolved by itself.
In the early 80s, Chinese-stream students studying at the NUS felt truly sidelined. And the Chinese language was of course a marginalised language. It was thus difficult to imagine the tremendous response local songbird Stefanie Sun Yanzi received at her recent campus concert. It was as if Mandarin had risen from an inconspicuous corner of the campus to take centrestage at the brightly-lit hall. The performance lasted only a few hours but it was no doubt a small breakthrough.
Some feel that the Chinese language is kept alive by the popularity of Chinese movies and television programmes. “Fun” is what matters to young people who couldn't care less about politics.
We should not overlook the power of language and culture to move us. Chinese drama series have always been more popular than English ones. The reason is that the former has been able to take full advantage of the unique sensibility of the Chinese language which the audience can identify with and relate to readily.
English is still the dominant language in our society. But the world is changing and the more practical among the top talent in our society are adjusting their view. It is not a complete change, but they have certainly broadened their horizons.
Almost every MP spoke about what he or she had seen and heard in China in recent parliamentary sittings to highlight the opportunities offered and challenges posed by China. Some even made the refreshing change of uttering some Chinese phrases. It appears that the Land of Dragons has been placed on their radar screens.
The use of Mandarin by undergraduates and MPs signals a new fragile life for the Chinese language here. No one knows if it can grow healthily. This hinges on the attitude of decision-makers. Some years back, when it was common for primary students to communicate in Mandarin, some decision-makers became concerned and a number of “corrective” measures soon followed.
It remains to be seen if the phenomenon of undergraduates speaking Mandarin in the campus will also be “corrected”。
（The writer is a Senior Correspondent of Lianhe Zaobao's Political Desk. Translated by Yap Gee Poh.）
在許多國家,文化精英都在感嘆語文水準低落的現象。各地社會面對同樣的問題：現代科技帶來精彩的影視文化,但卻削弱了人們欣賞文學的興趣和耐心。
在新加坡,在重科技輕人文的傳統(tǒng)下,閱讀風氣自然盛不起來。此外,一些國人認為,我們搞不好語文,與語文政策的政治色彩太強有關系。受華文教育的人說偏重英文的政策導致華校的沒落,一些受英文教育者則認為政府是為了安撫講華語的選民,才強逼學生修讀華文這門“無用”的科目。
年輕一代的學生學習語文的心理包袱沒有那么沉重。
單語系統(tǒng)出身的人常感嘆說,在雙語政策下,年輕一代的華文和英文,往往只“通”不“精”,學不到語文的精髓,因此兩頭都不到岸。傳統(tǒng)華校生抱怨年輕人不懂唐詩宋詞,傳統(tǒng)英校生則怪他們不懂莎士比亞。
要掌握一種語文不易,要精通兩種語文就更難；這是雙語政策的缺憾。然而,任何政策都有得有失。年輕一代雖然失去了語文的文采,但是跟上一代人比較,他們能更自由的進出兩個文化世界,學習語文的心理包袱也沒有那么沉重。
語文的政治色彩淡了,人們的心情較輕松,語文生態(tài)就有了一些新氣象。近年來,我國大專院校的學生講華語的現象很普遍。在國大和南大校園走一趟,不難發(fā)現講華語的人不比講英語的人少。華語成了許多大學生的生活語言,是自然而成而不是“策劃”出來的現象。
在80年代初,我們一群國大校園念書的華校生,活得像邊緣人,華語自然是邊緣化的語言。我們很難想像在10多年后,孫燕姿在本地大學校園開演唱會時,場面會這么熱烈。華語似乎從校園邊緣極不起眼的角落,走上了燈火光明的大學禮堂的舞臺,雖然這是短短的幾個小時,但這不失為一個小小的突破。
一些人說,華文得以茍延殘喘,多虧華文的影視文化。年輕一代講究的是“好玩”,管不了枝枝節(jié)節(jié)的政治問題。
不過,我們也不應該忽視語文和文化的情感力量。華文電視劇始終遠比英語電視劇受歡迎,就是因為前者發(fā)揮了華語的感性特征,所以更有親和力,能夠牽動人心。
雖然我們的社會還是英文獨尊的社會,不過世界在變,一些講求實際的社會精英正在調整視角。這不是全方位的調整,然而他們的視野變得較廣闊了。
最近在國會,幾乎所有議員都談一段自己的中國見聞錄,借以論述中國帶來的機會和挑戰(zhàn)。一些議員還破例的露了一兩句華語,令人感到新鮮。在他們的視野中,似乎多了中國這塊土地。
大學生和議員的華語,代表了島國華文世界里的微弱新生命。它們能否穩(wěn)健成長,是一個未知數。在這個問題上,決策人的態(tài)度是一大關鍵。多年前,我國小學生普遍講華語的現象,引起一些決策人的關注,隨后便有一些“糾正”的措施。
現在,大專校園內的講華語現象,會不會被“糾正”一番,是值得大家注意的事。