Dear Singaporeans,

The Singapore’s government has banned dialects on local television and radio programs for several decades due to the Speak Mandarin Campaign. According to the Media Development Authority, they are not lifting the ban as “ the problem of falling Chinese standards among young Chinese Singaporeans will be exacerbated if the profile of dialects in the media were raised”

We are pushing for the lifting of the ban on dialects on local television and radio programs because the belief that the learning of dialects interferes with the mastery of Mandarin and English is no longer valid. Huge amount of linguistic research has shown that it is possible for young children to be multilingual. We also have living proof – Youths from Hong Kong and Malaysia and fluent in not just English and Chinese but also in dialects. Singaporean youths may lose out from the ever increasing global economic competition and rise of China as well as it’s dialect-speaking states.

Disallowing dialects on local radio and television programs also marginalize the elderly from being in touch with current affairs, having access to entertainment and even communicating with their own grand children.

Don’t let the elderly who have contributed so much to the Singapore society continue to be marginalized.

Don’t allow our youths to lose out to their multilingual foreign counterparts. Don’t let our culture and heritage and Singaporean identity dilute and eventually die out because of out-dated and unscientific ‘economic reasons’.

Tell the Media Development Authority that you want dialects back in Singapore!

For more information: http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2013/03/reintroduce-dialects-singapore