Fun @ work

讲华语

This article resonated my huge fear that my future child(ren) will be one of those ‘jiak kan tang’ (eat potato) children nowadays.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/the-battle-to-speak-mandarin

I should feel relieved my parents, who are the primary caretakers of yx, are Mandarin speaking. I have debated at lengths with wifey that on top of that, we as yx’s parents must also inculcate a Mandarin speaking culture in our own home. In this way, her early years shall be honed with Mandarin and hopefully, the influence will connect the language linkages in her brain and form a strong foundation, which shall function not to reject Mandarin like Captain America’s impenetrable shield. 

My justification to speak Mandarin at home also derives from the foreseeable future that EVERYONE ELSE yx socializes/spends time with (i.e. cousins, lessons in school, classmates, friends at the playground) will be primarily English speaking; hence the only time she’ll get to use her Mother Tongue will be at home. And that’s what, 4-5 hours a day? As compared to school time where she is overly-exposed to an English environment, the time she has to use Mandarin is already quite limited. However, wifey hopes yx will be proficient in both languages and wants to to hone her English as well. Thus, yx’s dad will be Mandarin speaking whereas her mom, potato language.

Well, the author of the article and her family had put in their best efforts to expose the kid to Mandarin at an early age. Her parents were also Mandarin speaking (her mom is a Nantah graduate, even), but alas, the influence of English at school was just too strong, leading to the kid being not receptive towards Mandarin. The author wrote, “Instead of continuing to describe the highs and lows of their day, their chatter would dry up the minute I issued the reminder - jiang hua yu. Their vocabulary simply failed them.”

Ha, I understand that. Countless primary school kids I have interacted with recently (nephews/nieces) proved the author’s point true enough – whenever I ask them a question in Mandarin, they are dumbfounded. One even slapped his forehead and displayed a look of at a loss! When I prompt them on, they finally mutter some Mandarin, stammering and mumbling (plus maybe with ang moh accent). Oh dear! One mom lamented that her son was not conversant in English before attending Kindergarten. However, after the first week of school, the son was suddenly replying her mom in English @_@. That’s how easy and convenient English can be picked up!

In yesterday's news: 

English has become the language spoken most often at home in Singapore.

The stats for % of residents aged >5 use English at home VS Mandarin:

2000 – 35.6 is to 32.3

2015 – 36.9 is to 34.9

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/english-most-common-home-language-in-singapore-bilingualism-also-up-government-survey

Not being able to converse comfortably in Mandarin is a trend I had not only observed predominantly in young children, but also in teens/young adults. There was an episode in the recent season of ‘School hunks and babes’ on Channel 8 where the hosts visited Temasek Poly. Out of 5 Chinese, I think 3 or 4 were clueless about the hosts’ questions and publicly expressed their Chinese non-proficiency…

So much for wanting my child(ren) to be good in Mandarin. The discussion comes to a big question mark – Why is it important to be bilingual? English IS the global language. The local workforce, industry, legal and financial aspects are all conducted in English, so what is the big qualm I have with youths being not able to converse in Mandarin?

The author opines that “That the language boasts economic value because of a resurgent China is only a bonus. It remains the language closest to our hearts. More than good grades, we would love for our children to forge the same emotional ties with their mother tongue and grow to appreciate its poetic beauty.”

For myself, I guess a part of me wishes that I can connect with my child(ren) through Mandarin. Speaking Mandarin gives a sense of belonging to our Chinese roots and heritage. Speaking Mandarin with your loved ones builds family bonding and creates a sense of familiarity; akin to the friendliness one feels in a HDB coffeeshop when one hears the drinks stall uncle bellow names of drinks using colloquial terms e.g. kopi o siew dai (coffee black less sugar), diao he (Chinese tea), tak kiu (Milo) etc. I mean, even ordering your bak chor mee feels more at home when you say ”bak chor mee kia gan, la jiao tam po”, instead of “thin noodles, dry, less chilli”.

I hope babywyx will master English and be equally conversant in Mandarin. Perhaps I wish for my child(ren) to always bear in mind that we are Chinese, yellow skinned, dark haired and hardworking. Plus, we love our chilli.