Will Rising Monolingualism Kill Non-English News Media in Singapore?

By Yong Qi Chua –

Retired private tutor Jane Lee Yuan Neang, 76, was disheartened to see a decline in Mandarin proficiency among younger people.

Having taught Mandarin for over 50 years before retiring a few years ago, Mdm Lee recalled an instance when she asked a student, who was about nine or 10 years old, which Chinese dialect group he belonged to. Misunderstanding her question, he claimed to be an “英文人” in Mandarin, which means “English-language person” when translated directly into English. To her surprise, he even said that he was “not Chinese,” because he spoke only English with his family at home.

“The younger generation tends to learn Mandarin through rote memorisation,” Mdm Lee said in Mandarin. “Because of that, they can’t quite speak the language. They can’t quite write it either.”

She also said that the decline in bilingualism is partly caused by society becoming more westernised, pointing out how more children go by English names these days.

“It’s okay, but we cannot forget our roots, as that would be a very tragic thing,” she said.

Monolingualism vs. Multilingualism

Singapore has four official languages—English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is used as the working language between Singaporeans of different ethnicities, while the other three official languages correspond to the major ethnic groups in the nation—the Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities. In the public education system, students are taught English, which is also used as the language of instruction, and their mother tongue.

Despite Singapore’s bureaucratised multilingualism and bilingual education policy, the city-state appears to be experiencing a rise in monolingualism, especially among younger members of its population.

According to surveys conducted by the Institute of Policy Studies in 2013 and 2018, proficiency in spoken mother tongue has declined across all three major ethnic groups. Fewer respondents reported being able to speak their mother tongue “very well” in 2018, compared to 2013.

Respondents aged 18 to 25 in 2013 were also less likely to report being able to speak their mother tongue “well” or “very well,” compared to respondents aged 26 to 50.

In the 2018 survey, this difference became even more stark, suggesting that the drop in mother tongue proficiency could be more pronounced among younger people.

This decline might be happening because people are using English at home more. According to Singapore’s 2020 population census, English was the language most frequently spoken at home for 48.3 per cent of residents, an increase from the 32.3 per cent in 2010. The increase was observed across all three major ethnic groups. Younger people were also more likely to speak English most frequently at home.

Does it Affect Vernacular Journalism in Singapore?

What could the reduced fluency and usage of mother tongue languages in Singapore mean for its vernacular news media?

In Singapore, daily broadsheets in each of the country’s four official languages are published by SPH Media. In a 2021 press conference, the company’s chairman, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, said that the vernacular papers are “not just language translations of each other,” but rather exist to serve the unique needs of the different major ethnic groups.

Despite the decline in mother tongue fluency among younger people, there are still some of them who are interested in pursuing careers in vernacular journalism, according to journalists at local papers.

Mr Farid Hamzah, 52, a senior correspondent at Malay-language paper Berita Harian, said that interest in Malay journalism has always existed and continues to exist today. However, in his role as a mentor to new journalists, he has observed that despite them being proficient in the

Malay language, some face challenges in tailoring their writing for journalism, as opposed to essay writing done in school.

He also said that few of them can translate English copies to Malay well, which is an important skill as press releases in Singapore are mostly written in English. He added that the accuracy of translations done by new journalists is often “below 80%” for a given copy, and they need time to familiarise themselves with Malay journalistic writing.

“For a small number of them, even after three years, they still have difficulty writing proper Malay journalism,” he said. “I won’t be able to even understand what they’re writing. If I don’t understand, what more do the readers?”

Chinese-language paper Lianhe Zaobao faces a similar challenge with regard to language proficiency. Mr Ng Hon Kuan, second foreign editor at the paper, said that the Mandarin proficiency of young reporters is “not so up to standard” as compared to that of the past. The

47-year-old said that it is “quite a challenge,” as those new reporters would have to be trained to write in proper Chinese or even in proper sentences.

For the daily Tamil-language paper Tamil Murasu, news editor Irshath Mohamed, 34, has observed a trend where people are more fluent in spoken Tamil than its written form, which differ significantly in grammar and intonation.

However, he said that this has not been a major problem because the paper has been starting to produce more digital and social media content instead of relying solely on print.

“We are shifting from a reading generation, to a watching generation, and then now a glancing generation,” said Mr Irshath. He added that the current generation of readers may not want to read articles in full and may choose to only read headlines to know of events that are happening.

“If, let’s say, we were who we were five years back, I think now it will be a major challenge because we wouldn’t have been able to find that many people who are good in written Tamil,” he said.

Berita Harian, too, has been able to reach readers with ages ranging from secondary school students to the elderly, said Mr Farid, due in part to its digital reach. He said that while the younger generation may not be very fluent in Malay, they are still able to read the news and will follow Berita Harian’s reporting to find out what is happening in the Malay community.

For instance, he said that his daughter and her circle of friends, who are studying abroad in different parts of the world, still refer to Berita Harian for news specific to the Malay community in Singapore.

How Can Singaporeans be More Effectively Bilingual ?

To improve the standard of Mandarin among younger people, Mdm Lee emphasised the need to cultivate interest in Chinese language and culture. She said that children should be encouraged to read, watch or listen to more Chinese-language media, instead focusing solely on completing assessment books or writing practices, which can turn them off.

Similarly, Mr Farid said that to improve proficiency in Malay, one simply has to “read, read and read.” He also stressed that effective bilingualism cannot be fostered solely through top-down initiatives and must start with more practice within families, such as conversing in Malay at home.

On the other hand, Mr Irshath calls for a “whole-of-system” approach involving schools, news organisations and families. He suggested that educational content produced by newsrooms be better integrated into the education system and complemented by speaking the language at home.

“Language is like a vehicle carrying the culture along with it,” he said. If we stop using our mother tongues, our society not only becomes monolingual, but also monocultural, where “everyone will just be the same,” he added.

“We wouldn’t see many different kinds of people coming together. We will just see one singular cultural people,” he said. “I think the flavour of it will be like a bland meal rather than a rojak1.”

1 A salad dish found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore that consists of sliced fruit and vegetables, commonly used as a metaphor to describe multiculturalism in Singapore

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Edited by: Li Wei Soon