Speak Mandarin Campaign

The Speak Mandarin Campaign (SMC) was an important effort started by the Government of Singapore to encourage Chinese Singaporean people to speak Standard Mandarin Chinese. This language is one of the four official languages in Singapore, known as Singaporean Mandarin. The campaign began on September 7, 1979, led by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and managed by the Promote Mandarin Council. Every year, the campaign aimed to help more people use Mandarin.

The campaign caused some debate among Singaporeans. Many Chinese Singaporeans came from places where they did not originally speak Mandarin, and Singaporean Hokkien was commonly used among Chinese people before the campaign started. Over time, especially since the 2010s, the government has encouraged people to appreciate other Chinese languages more and has allowed them to be used more in local media. Recently, many people have started to learn more about their own family’s traditional languages. Since 2020, Singaporean English has become more common than Mandarin in many Chinese Singaporean homes.

Background

Further information: Languages of Singapore

In 1966, Singapore started teaching students two languages: English and their mother tongue. For Chinese students, this mother tongue was set to be Mandarin by default. However, many students struggled to learn both well. This was because many Chinese families spoke other Chinese languages at home, like Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, and Hakka.

To help students learn better, the government began the Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1979. The goal was to encourage Chinese Singaporeans to speak Mandarin instead of other Chinese languages. This would make communication easier and help everyone understand each other better. The government believed that speaking Mandarin would also help keep important cultural traditions alive.

Rationale

The Speak Mandarin Campaign started to help more people, especially young ones, speak Mandarin instead of other Chinese languages. This made it easier for different groups to talk to each other and helped everyone get along better, especially after Singapore became independent.

Later, as Singapore grew and faced new challenges, the government focused more on English. Many people who learned English started to forget Mandarin. To fix this, the campaign encouraged people who spoke English to also speak more Mandarin. This helped them stay connected to their culture and understand their heritage better, especially as China became more important in business. The campaign also wanted Singaporeans to know and value their own culture.

Campaigns

For each Speak Mandarin Campaign, a special slogan was created, and different groups in the Chinese community were encouraged to learn and use Mandarin.

1983

In 1983, efforts to promote Mandarin expanded to markets and food centers. From 1983 to 1987, phone services offered daily Mandarin lessons. These calls were very popular, with about 40,000 calls during busy times. The campaign highlighted the need for a common language among different groups in Singapore and the importance of preserving cultural roots through learning Mandarin and Chinese writing.

2000

In 2000, the campaign began with the premiere of a Chinese movie called "A Tale of the Sacred Mountain." A Mandarin Film Festival was held, showing 12 films from top Chinese directors. Other activities included a Mandarin a cappella music CD, family Mandarin learning forums, cultural performances, and web chats with famous people. A book about Mandarin and a CD-ROM for learning Mandarin were also created. The official speech during the launch was given by Mah Bow Tan, then Minister for National Development. He praised the campaign for making Mandarin a main language for Chinese Singaporeans but noted that higher standards were needed. Knowing Mandarin helps connect people to culture and supports business with Asia/China.

2006/07

The 2006 theme was "Mandarin is Cool!" The message encouraged Chinese Singaporeans to use Mandarin along with English for cultural enrichment and business. Activities included movies, music, and idioms learning. The theme song was by singer Joi Chua. Partners included ComfortDelGro, Lianhe Zaobao, Mediacorp TV, and others.

2007/08

The 2007/08 campaign aimed to make Mandarin fun and part of daily life. The slogan was "Speak Mandarin – Are You Game?" Activities focused on sports, culture, arts, design, and lifestyle. Sports partners included the Singapore Sports Council, the Football Association of Singapore, the S-League, and The Cage. The Straits Times followed a reporter learning Mandarin from athletes.

2009/10

The 2009 campaign used videos of foreign children speaking fluent Chinese to show that anyone can learn Chinese. The following year, "The Chinese Challenge" online contest encouraged Singaporeans to improve their Mandarin and learn Chinese culture. A student category was added in 2010 to attract more young people.

2011/12

In 2011, the campaign used digital media to make Mandarin lessons more fun. New activities included a theme song contest and short video clips for youths. In 2012, the iHuayu iPhone app was launched, offering 50,000 bilingual terms with examples. The app was free on the iTunes Store, and an Android version was available on Google Play. A new song called Shuo encouraged using Mandarin more, as it becomes easier with practice. Shuo was composed by Iskandar Ismail and performed by Tay Kewei.

Campaign slogans
Year	Target audience	Mandarin Chinese slogan	English (translation)	English (official)
1979	Chinese community	多讲华语，少说方言 duō jiǎng huá yǔ, shǎo shuō fāng yán	Speak More Mandarin, Speak Less Dialects	Speak More Mandarin, Speak Less Dialects
1981	Chinese community	学华语，讲华语 xué huá yǔ, jiǎng huá yǔ	Learn Mandarin, Speak Mandarin	Learn Mandarin, Speak Mandarin
1982	Workplaces	在工作场所讲华语 zài gōng zuò chǎng suǒ jiǎng huá yǔ	Speak Mandarin While At Work	Speak Mandarin While At Work
1983	Markets and food centres	华人讲华语，合情又合理 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	请讲华语，儿女的前途，操在您手里 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	华人，华语 huá rén, huá yǔ	Chinese People, Chinese Language (Mandarin)	Mandarin Is Chinese
1986	Food and drink establishments	先开口讲华语，皆大欢喜 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	会讲华语，先讲常讲 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	多讲华语，亲切便利 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	常讲华语，自然流利 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	华人，华语 huá rén, huá yǔ	Chinese People, Chinese Language (Mandarin)	Mandarin Is Chinese
1991	English-educated Chinese Singaporeans	学习华语认识文化 xué xí huá yǔ rèn shí wén huà	Learn Mandarin, Understand The Culture	Mandarin For Chinese Singaporeans: More Than A Language
1992	English-educated Chinese Singaporeans	用华语表心意 yòng huá yǔ biǎo xīn yì	Use Mandarin To Express Yourself	Say It In Mandarin
1993	English-educated Chinese Singaporeans	讲华语，受益多 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	华语多讲流利 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	讲华语开创新天地 jiǎng huá yǔ kāi chuàng xīn tiān dì	Speak Mandarin, Create New Horizons	Speak Mandarin, Explore New Horizons
1998/1999	English-educated Chinese working adults	讲华语，好处多 jiǎng huá yǔ, hǎo chù duō	Speak Mandarin. Benefits Are Plenty	Speak Mandarin, It's An Asset
2000	Chinese community	讲华语？没问题！ jiǎng huá yǔ? méi wèn tí!	Speak Mandarin? No Problem!	Speak Mandarin? No Problem!
2006/2007	Post-1965 English-speaking Chinese Singaporeans	华语 COOL huá yǔ COOL	Mandarin [is] Cool	Mandarin [is] Cool
2007/2008	Post-1965 English-speaking Chinese Singaporeans	讲华语, 你肯吗? jiǎng huá yǔ, nǐ kěn ma?	Speak Mandarin, Are You Willing To?	Speak Mandarin, Are You Game?
2009/2010	Youths	华文？谁怕谁！ huá wén? sheí pà sheí!	Mandarin? Don't Be Afraid!	Be Heard In Chinese!
2011/2012	Youths	华文华语，多用就可以 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

Implementation

When the Speak Mandarin Campaign began in 1979, the government encouraged people in Singapore to use Mandarin Chinese in many places. At first, some rules were made to help this happen. For example, people working in hospitals and younger people in certain jobs were asked to use Mandarin instead of other Chinese languages.

Even though there were these efforts, it was hard because many people enjoyed watching TV shows and movies from Hong Kong that used other Chinese languages. To help more people learn Mandarin, the government worked with newspapers, schools, and other groups. They created lessons, music, and fun activities to make learning Mandarin more interesting for everyone. Schools also changed how they taught Chinese to make it more engaging for students.

Leaders in Singapore, like Lee Kuan Yew, helped by sharing their own stories about learning Mandarin. They created new programs and used popular singers and actors to show that using Mandarin could be cool and fun for young people.

Outcome

The Speak Mandarin Campaign has been successful. Twenty years after it began, fewer people in Singapore spoke languages other than Mandarin at home. In 1980, about three out of four Chinese households used other Chinese languages, but by 2010, this dropped to less than one in five. During this time, the number of Chinese households using mainly Mandarin rose from about one in eight to almost half. Interestingly, English became even more common than Mandarin in these households by 2020.

Language Spoken at Home Among Chinese Resident Population in Singapore
Predominant Household Language	1957 (%)	1980 (%)	1990 (%)	2000 (%)	2010 (%)	2015 (%)	2020 (%)
English	1.8	10.2	20.6	23	32.6	37.4	48.3
Mandarin	0.1	13.1	32.8	35	47.7	46.1	29.9
non-Mandarin Chinese varieties (Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, etc)	97	76.2	46.2	30.7	19.2	16.1	8.7

Criticism

The Speak Mandarin Campaign has faced some criticism. Some Chinese Singaporeans feel that learning Mandarin, along with English, is too hard for their children, especially when they could learn their own family language instead. Others worry that focusing so much on Mandarin has made it harder for younger people to talk with older family members who speak different Chinese languages.

People from other backgrounds, like Malays and Indians, have also raised concerns. They feel that putting so much focus on Mandarin might push aside other languages, including English, and could make it harder for non-Chinese people to feel included. Some worry that needing to speak Mandarin well has been used to unfairly treat job applicants who are not Chinese, even though laws are in place to stop this kind of behavior.

Other language campaigns in Singapore

The Speak Mandarin Campaign is one of four special events in Singapore to help people talk in different languages. The other three are the Speak Good English Movement, Bulan Bahasa (Malay Language Month) and the Tamil Language Festival. Each of these events is looked after by special groups, with help from the National Heritage Board.