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华文的微弱新生命
Chinese language's fragile new life
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陈怀亮 Chen Hwai Liang (2002-04-20)
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. (来源：老牌的英语学习网站 http://www.EnglishCN.com)
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.)
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