Loss of culture remains a persistent predicament that has plagued many
countries when concerned with the ill effects of globalization, specifically
Singapore. In such a context, the erosion of dialects in Singapore is one
aspect of deteriorating language culture that needs to be overcome (Vaish, n.d).
The government has constantly emphasized the need for bilingualism. However,
with the new generation of youth being more interconnected with other western
cultures and mannerisms, there is increased difficulty in attempting to draw
back these youth to their origins. The stray of the younger generations away
from their roots could affect Singapore’s culture as a whole, where in the
future, their cultural habits will not be passed down to upcoming generations.
Such losses have an imminent effect on Singapore’s society. Thus, solutions
have to be executed so as to ensure that Singapore’s cultural integrity will
remain intact.
Languages in
Singapore can be viewed from two different perspectives. One can be that of competing
fields, while on the flipside, they can be seen as compliments, which is the
stand the government takes (Ong, n.d) However, globalisation pushes the stand
for a more homogeneous use of language instead of one that consists of a
variety. Youth of Singapore generally feel more comfortable with speaking
English and their mother tongue rather than their own dialects. According to
the “Census of Population” in 2010, 1,064,157 of Chinese Singaporeans prefer to
speak Mandarin at home rather than their own Chinese dialects, which only
482,550 speak at home. It has also been a concern that Singapore’s policies
such as the Speak Mandarin Campaign have actually eradicated the use of Chinese
dialects (Gupta & Siew, 1995; Li, 1997; Ong, n.d; Pakir, 1993). So if such
government policies are not effective, there may be other ways to bring back
the essence of dialects so that it is not forgotten. A solution would be to
include it into the local universities curriculum. Instead of giving the option
for Singaporeans to study other languages, it could be made compulsory for them
to take up a module that involves learning a local dialect from their own race,
be it if you’re Chinese, Malay or Indian.
It brings awareness to these students of other dialects that they might
not be mindful of. This would be beneficial to Singapore, as the original
diverse range of dialects would not just be condensed into a simplified version
of Mandarin for example. Such knowledge will then be able to be passed on to
future peers.
A minor point
encompassing language cultural loss in Singapore is that with globalization,
not only are dialects being diluted, but English, as a whole has been changed.
‘Singlish’ is a common informal way of speaking between Singaporeans, and
differs from Singapore Standard English (SSE) in terms of grammar and
vocabulary (Harada, 2009). Globalization has led to the spread of such an
informal language such that majority of Singaporeans use it in casual
conversations. To resolve the problem, the Singapore government discouraged the
use of Singlish in education and initiated the controversial “Speak Good
English Movement” in 2000. However, Singlish is still a common way of
conversation up till today, showing its ineffectiveness. Therefore, since
Singlish is already adamant in speaking practices of many, the solution for
this problem should not be to eradicate it, but to embrace it as part of a new
Singaporean culture. There are many who view Singlish as a symbol of the
Singapore identity, but there are also those handfuls that disapprove
exceedingly (Ong, n.d). Thus, a balance needs to be struck in order to please
both sides. So, while embracing it as part of Singapore’s culture, it is still
important to emphasize the significance of speaking good English when a situation
calls for it. Primary schools could teach younger pupils about when the
appropriate occasions for Singaporeans to use Singlish are, and when they are
not. This would allow them to be clear about it at a younger age so it helps
foster a consciousness when using the two languages. Inculcating such habits
from a younger age deters them from straying from it in the future.
Overall, it is
important to educate the present generations on the history of Singapore
culture as well as to cultivate habits that can be passed down for generations
to come. It is difficult to exclude globalization from society in general, due
to the rapidly modernizing world. Thus it is important to find ways to
integrate it while still learning to appreciate the defining values of cultures,
Singapore in this case, so that diluting or erosion will not take place.
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