Singaporean Mandarin
新加坡华语 新加坡華語 Xīnjiāpō Huáyǔ
Native to	Singapore
Region	Singapore
Native speakers	2.0 million (2016 census)[1] L2 speakers: 880,000 (no date)[1]
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Sinitic Chinese Mandarin Beijing Mandarin Beijingese Standard Mandarin Singaporean Mandarin
Writing system	Simplified Chinese characters (official) Traditional Chinese characters (personal use, informal)
Official status
Official language in	Singapore
Regulated by	Promote Mandarin Council Singapore Centre for Chinese Language
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
ISO 639-6	huyu (Huayu)
Glottolog	None
Linguasphere	or 79-AAA-bbd-(part)(=colloquial) 79-AAA-bbb(=standard) or 79-AAA-bbd-(part)(=colloquial)
IETF	cmn-SG

Singaporean Mandarin (simplified Chinese:新加坡华语;traditional Chinese:新加坡華語;pinyin:Xīnjiāpō Huáyǔ) is a variety ofMandarin Chinese spoken natively in Singapore. Mandarin is one of the fourofficial languages^[2] of Singapore alongsideEnglish,Malay andTamil.

Singaporean Mandarin can be divided into two distinct forms:Standard Singaporean Mandarin andColloquial Singaporean Mandarin (Singdarin). These forms are easily distinguishable to speakers proficient in Mandarin. The standard form is used in formal contexts, including television and radio broadcasts, and is the variant taught in government and international schools. The colloquial form is used informally among Singaporeans. Singaporean Mandarin contains many uniqueloanwords from other Chinese languages, such asHokkien, as well as Singapore's other official languages: English,Malay andTamil.

The widespread adoption of Singaporean Mandarin by theChinese community in Singapore followed the government'sSpeak Mandarin Campaign launched in 1979. Today, it is the second most commonly spoken language in Singapore after English and has largely replacedSingaporean Hokkien as thelingua franca among Singaporean Chinese.^[3] The rise of China in the 21st century has increased the prominence of Mandarin proficiency in Singapore.^[4] By 2010, more Singaporeans were multilingual, with a growing number speaking two or more languages.^[5]

Since the early 21st century, the influx ofmainland Chinese immigrants frommainland China^[6] has influenced Singaporean Mandarin to align more closely withStandard Chinese, although distinctive features have been retained.^[7] The language continues to evolve, influenced by Standard Chinese,Taiwanese Mandarin andEnglish. Since the 2010s, the proportion of Singaporean Chinese speaking Mandarin at home has begun to decline, withSingapore English increasingly used and now surpassing Mandarin as the primary language spoken at home.^[8]

The official standard of Mandarin inSingapore, locally known asHuáyǔ (华语;華語), is based on the phonology of theBeijing dialect and the grammar ofVernacular Chinese. It is largely identical to the standard Mandarin used in thePeople's Republic of China (known there asPǔtōnghuà普通话) and inRepublic of China (Taiwan) (known there asGuóyǔ國語 and more recently also asHuáyǔ華語). Standard Singaporean Mandarin, typically heard in television and radio news broadcasts, is generally closer toGuoyu in terms ofphonology,vocabulary andgrammar than toPutonghua. Differences are minor and mainly appear in thelexicon.

Also commonly known asSingdarin^{[citation needed]} (simplified Chinese:新加坡式华语;traditional Chinese:新加坡式華語;pinyin:Xīnjiāpōshì Huáyǔ;Wade–Giles:hsin¹ chia¹ p'o¹ shih⁴ hua² yü^3[9]) orSingnese (Chinese:星式中文;pinyin:Xīngshì Zhōngwén;Wade–Giles:hsing¹ shih⁴ chung¹ wen²;lit. 'Sing[apore] colloquial Chinese language'[10]), the colloquial variety is aMandarin dialect native and unique toSingapore similar to its English-based counterpartSinglish. It is based onMandarin but has a large amount ofEnglish andMalay in its vocabulary. There are also words from other Chinese languages such asCantonese,Hokkien andTeochew as well asTamil.^[11] While Singdarin grammar is largely identical toStandard Mandarin, there are significant divergences and differences especially in its pronunciation and vocabulary.

In terms of colloquial spoken Mandarin, Singaporean Mandarin is subjected to influence from the local historical, cultural and social influences of Singapore. As such, there are remarkable differences between colloquial Singaporean Mandarin andStandard Chinese, and a non-Singaporean Chinese speaking individual may find it difficult to understand.^[12]

Singaporean Mandarin has preserved thevocabulary and certain other features fromClassical Chinese and earlyVernacular Chinese (早期白話;zǎoqī báihuà), dating back from the early 20th century. Since Singapore'sChinese medium schools adopted Chinese teaching materials fromRepublic of China in the early 20th century, Singapore's early Mandarin pronunciations was based on theZhuyin in theDictionary of National Pronunciation (國音字典;Guó yīn zìdiǎn) andVocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use (國音常用字彙;Guó yīn chángyòng zìhuì). As such, it had preserved many older forms of pronunciations. In addition, during its initial development, Singaporean Mandarin was also influenced by the other Chinese varieties of Singapore such asHokkien,Teochew,Cantonese etc.

From 1949 to 1979, due to lack of contact between Singapore andPeople's Republic of China,Putonghua did not exert any form of influence on Singaporean Mandarin. On the contrary, the majority of Mandarin Chinese entertainment media, Chinese literature, books and reading materials in Singapore came mainly fromTaiwan. As a result, Singaporean Mandarin has been influenced byTaiwanese Mandarin to a certain degree. After the 1980s, along withChina'sOpen Door Policy, there was increasing contact between Singapore and mainland China, thus increasingPutonghua's gradual influence on Singaporean Mandarin. These influences included the adoption ofpinyin and the shift from usage ofTraditional Chinese characters toSimplified Chinese characters. Much of thelexicon fromPutonghua had also found its way into Singaporean Mandarin although not to a huge extent.

Historical sources indicate that before 1819, whenStamford Raffles arrived in Singapore, there were already a few Chinese settlers on the island. After Raffles established Singapore as a trading post in 1819, manyPeranakan from Malaya and European merchants began arriving. To meet the growing demand for labour, large numbers ofcoolies were brought from China.^[14]

The influx of Chinese labourers increased after theOpium War. Those who migrated from China to Singapore during the 19th and early 20th centuries were known as "sinkeh" (新客). Many were contract labourers, including dockworkers. Most came to escape poverty and seek better opportunities, while others fled the wars and unrest in China during the first half of the 20th century. The majority originated from the southern provinces ofFujian,Guangdong andHainan.^[14]

Thesesinkeh included large numbers ofHoklo (Hokkien),Teochew,Cantonese andHainanese. They brought with them a variety of Chinese languages, includingHokkien,Teochew,Cantonese,Hakka andHainanese. As these languages were mutually unintelligible,clan associations were formed along lines of dialect and ancestral origin to provide social support for members of the same linguistic group.The use of Mandarin to serve as alingua franca amongst the Chinese only began with the founding ofRepublic of China, which established Mandarin as the official tongue.^[14]

Before the 20th century, old-style private Chinese schools in Singapore, known assīshú (私塾), generally used Chinese dialects such as Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese as themedium of instruction for teaching theChinese classics andClassical Chinese.^[15] Singapore's first Mandarin-medium classes appeared around 1898, but Chinese dialect schools remained in operation until 1909.^[16] Following theMay Fourth Movement in 1919 and the influence of theNew Culture Movement in China, these schools gradually replaced dialect instruction with Mandarin Chinese, orGuóyǔ (國語). TheKuomintang (KMT)–led government of China supported this shift by sending teachers and textbooks, and by the 1920s all Chinese schools in Singapore had adopted Mandarin despite British discouragement.^[17][18]

In the early years of Mandarin education in Singapore, there was no fully standardised colloquial form to serve as a learning model.^[15] Most teachers were from southern China and spoke with strong regional accents, which influenced Singaporean Mandarin by eliminating features such aserhua (兒化) and the light tone (輕聲). The publication of theDictionary of National Pronunciation in 1919 introduced a hybrid system combining northern sounds with southern rhymes, including thechecked tone (入聲), but it was only in 1932 with theVocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use, based entirely on the Beijing dialect, that a consistent standard emerged. This standard was adopted in Singapore’s Chinese schools. During the 1930s and 1940s, new immigrants from China, known asxīn kè (新客), helped establish more Chinese schools, further expanding Mandarin's use. Over time, the term for Mandarin in Singapore shifted fromGuóyǔ (National Language) toHuáyǔ (Chinese Language).^[15][18]

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Singaporean Mandarin was heavily influenced byTaiwanese Mandarin, as most Chinese publications came from Taiwan or Hong Kong.^[15] In the 1980s, following mainland China'seconomic reforms, Singapore adoptedHanyu Pinyin and switched fromTraditional Chinese characters toSimplified Chinese characters. TheSpeak Mandarin Campaign launched in 1979 spurred further standardisation, with thePromote Mandarin Council conducting research based on linguistic models from mainland China and Taiwan. Since the 1990s, greater interaction with mainland China and a large influx of Chinese migrants have brought morePutonghua vocabulary into Singaporean Mandarin.^[18]

Major differences between Singaporean MandarinHuayu (华语) andPutonghua lie in thevocabulary used. A lack of contact between Singapore and China from 1949 to 1979 meant that Singaporean Mandarin had to invent new words to fit the local context, as well as borrow words fromTaiwanese Mandarin or other Chinese varieties that were spoken in Singapore. As a result, new Mandarin words proprietary to Singapore were invented.

TheDictionary of Contemporary Singaporean Mandarin Vocabulary (时代新加坡特有词语词典) edited by Wang Huidi (汪惠迪) listed 1,560 uniquely local Singaporean Mandarin words, which are not used in mainland China or Taiwan.^[19]

There are many new terms that are specific to living in Singapore. These words were either translated from Malay and Chinese dialects (or invented) as there were no equivalent words inPutonghua. Some of the words are taken from theHokkien translation of Malay words. Words translated from Malay intoHokkien includekampung (甘榜, English 'village'),pasar (巴刹, English 'market'). This explains the uniquely Singapore Mandarin words.

There are some words used in Singaporean Mandarin that have the same meaning with other words used inPutonghua orTaiwanese Mandarin:

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There are certain similar words used in both Singaporean Mandarin and Putonghua, but have different meanings and usage.

There is quite a number of specific words used in Singaporean Mandarin that originate from other Chinese varieties such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese etc. These languages have also influenced the pronunciation in Singaporean Mandarin.

There is quite a number of specific words used in Singaporean Mandarin that originate or are transliterated from English. These words appear in written Singaporean Mandarin.

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In terms of standard written Mandarin in Singapore, the Singaporean Mandarin grammar is almost similar to that of Putonghua. However, the grammar ofcolloquial Singaporean Mandarin can differ from that of Putonghua as a result of influence from othervarieties of Chinese,classical Chinese andEnglish. Some of the local Singaporean Mandarin writings do exhibit certain local Singaporean features.

When speaking of minutes, colloquial Singaporean Mandarin typically uses the word字 (zì), which represents a unit of 5 minutes. When referring to a number of hours (duration), 钟头 (zhōngtóu) is used instead of 小时 (xiǎoshí). For instance:

5 minutes: 一个字 (yī gè zì)

10 minutes: 两个字 (liǎng gè zì)

15 minutes: 三个字 (sān gè zì)

45 minutes: 九个字 (jiǔ gè zì)

1 hour: 一个钟头 (yī gè zhōng tóu)

The use ofzì (字) originates from Hokkien (jī orlī), Cantonese or Classical Chinese. Its origin came from the ancient Chinese units of measuring time. In ancient Chinese time measurement, hours were measured in terms ofshíchén (时辰), equivalent to 2 hours while minutes were measured in terms ofkè (刻), equivalent to 15 minutes. Eachkè was in turn divided into 3zì (equivalent to 5 minutes). For instance, 7:45 pm is:

七(qī)点(diǎn)九(jiǔ)个(gè)字(zì) or七(qī)点(diǎn)九(jiǔ)。 (Singaporean Mandarin)

七(qī)点(diǎn)四十(sìshí)五(wǔ)分(fēn)。 (Standard Mandarin)

As a result of Hokkien influence, colloquial Singaporean Mandarin typically uses the word "拜-" (bài) to refer to the days of the week, in lieu of Standard Mandarin "星期-" (xīngqí-). For instance:

Monday:拜一 (bàiyī) instead of星期一 (xīngqíyī)

Sunday:礼拜天 (lǐbàitiān) or simply礼拜 (lǐbài) instead of 星期日 (xīngqírì)

A week: 一个礼拜 (yī gè lǐbài) instead of the more formal 一个星期 (yī gè xīngqí)

Both拜 (bài) and 礼拜 (lǐbài) originate from Hokkienpài andlé-pài respectively.

In colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, 万 (wàn), referring to a "ten thousand" is often used, but十千 (shí qiān), referring to "ten thousands" is occasionally used too. This usage was influenced by English numbering system and alsoChinese Indonesian who frequently uses largeIndonesian currency, Rp10000 (0.71 USD) and above.

The word "先" (xiān) is often used at the end of a sentence in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin (instead of after a subject, as in Standard Mandarin), as a result of influence from Cantonese grammar. For example, take the sentence "You walk first":

你(nǐ)走(zǒu)先(xiān)。 (Singaporean Mandarin)

你(nǐ)先(xiān)走(zǒu)。 (Standard Mandarin)

你(nei)走(jau)先(sin)。 (Cantonese)

(Note that the reverse,你先走 is ungrammatical in spoken Cantonese.)

而已 (éryǐ) is more common in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin than in Standard Mandarin, which uses罢了 (bàle). While 而已 (éryǐ) is also used in colloquial Mandarin within Mainland China, but perhaps to a lesser extent as compared to Singapore or Taiwan. For example:

Translation:only like this / only this kind!

这(zhè)样子(yàngzi)而已(éryǐ)啊(a)！ (Singaporean Mandarin)

这(zhè)样子(yàngzi)罢了(bàle)！ (Standard Mandarin)

這(zhè)樣子(yàngzi)算了(suànle)吧(ba)！ (Taiwanese Mandarin)

When people describe the size of animals, for example, chicken, these are used to mean 'large' and 'small'. Putonghua tends to use肥 and瘦 instead. These two words are also used to refer to the body frame of a person. "大只" refers to people who appear to be tall, masculine or with a large body build. "小只" is used to describe people with a small built, tiny frame.

In colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, the word "啊" is often used in response to a sentence as an affirmative. It is often pronounced as/ã/ (with a nasal tone) instead of 'ah' or 'a' (in Putonghua). Putonghua tends to use "是(的)/对啊/对呀" (shì (de)/duì a/duì ya), "哦" (ó), "噢" (ō), "嗯" (en/ng) to mean "yes, it is".

In Singaporean Mandarin, there is a greater tendency to use the wordcái "才" (then) in lieu of Standard Mandarin zài "再" (then), which indicates a future action after the completion of a prior action. For instance:

"关税申报单刚巧用完了，打算在飞机上领了才填写。"

The tax declaration forms have all been used up, I'll have to get a form on the plane then and fill it out.

"现在不要说，等他吃饱了才说。"

Don't say anything now; say it only after he has finished his meal.

In Singaporean Mandarin, one typical way of turning certain nouns into adjectives, such as 兴趣 (xìngqù, 'interest'), 营养 (yíngyǎng, 'nutrition'), 礼貌 (lǐmào, 'politeness'), is to prefix the word "有" (yǒu) at the front of these nouns.

For example:

"很有兴趣" (hěnyǒu xìngqù –very interested)

"很有营养" (hěnyǒu yíngyǎng –very nutritious)

"很有礼貌" (hěnyǒu lǐmào –very polite).

有 is sometimes omitted in writing.

In Singaporean Mandarin, verbs preceding "一下" may bereduplicated, unlike in Putonghua. This practice is borrowed from theMalay andIndonesian method ofpluralizing words. In Putonghua grammar, the use of the word "一下(儿)" (yīxià(r)) is often put at the back of a verb to indicate that the action (as indicated by the verb) is momentary.

For example:

想(xiǎng)想(xiǎng)一下(yīxià) 。(Singaporean Mandarin)

想(xiǎng)一下(yīxià) 。(Standard Mandarin)

Think for a while.

研究(yánjiū)研究(yánjiū)一下(yīxià) 。 (Singaporean Mandarin)

研究(yánjiū)一下(yīxià) 。(Standard Mandarin)

Research for a while.

Singaporean Colloquial Mandarin tends to use 被 (bèi) more often than Putonghua, due to influence from English and/orMalay. It is used to express a passive verb.

Compare the following:

"The road has been repaired"

马路(mǎlù)被(bei)修好(xiūhǎo)了(le) (Singaporean Mandarin)

马路(mǎlù)已(yǐ)修好(xiūhǎo)了(le) (Putonghua)

Sometimes, colloquial Singaporean Mandarin might use intransitive verbs as transitive.

For instance, 进步 (improve) is an intransitive verb. But as influenced by the use of English, "I want to improve my Chinese" is sometimes said in Singaporean Mandarin as "我要进步我的华语". In Standard Mandarin, this is "我要让我的华语进步".

Thephonology andtones of Singaporean Mandarin are generally similar to that ofStandard Mandarin. There are 4 tones similar to those inStandard Mandarin, butErhua (儿化,-er finals) and the neutral tone (轻声, lit. 'light tone') are generally absent in Singaporean Mandarin.

The earliest development of Singaporean Mandarin includes theold Beijing phonology (老国音), followed bynew Beijing phonology (新国音) and then finallyHanyu Pinyin ofmainland China. In its initial development, Singaporean Mandarin was highly influenced by theru sheng (入声, checked tone or 5th tone) from other Chinese varieties. As such, the 5th tone did appear in earlier Singaporean Mandarin.^[20] The characteristics of the 5th tone are as follows:

• It is a falling tone. The common tone letter is 51, but sometimes it is 53.
• The tone does not last long. It feels more like an 'interrupted stop'.
• The syllable which carries the tone had aglottal stop; sometimes the final sounds to be clear, but sometimes, it does not sound very clear. Thisglottal stop not only interrupts the lasting period of the tone, but also makes the start ofconsonant stronger, thus nearing itself more to avoiced consonant.

However, due to years of Putonghua influence, prevalence of the 5th tone in Singaporean Mandarin is declining.^[21]

Minor differences occur between the phonology (tones) of Standard Singaporean Mandarin and other forms of Standard Mandarin.

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Just like any languages in Singapore, Singaporean Mandarin is subjected to influences from other languages spoken in Singapore.

Singaporean Hokkien is the largest non-Mandarin Chinese variety spoken in Singapore. The natural tendency of Hokkien-speakers to use the Hokkien way to speak Mandarin has influenced to a large degree the colloquial Mandarin spoken in Singapore. Thecolloquial Hokkien-style Singaporean Mandarin is commonly heard in Singapore, and can differ from Putonghua in terms of vocabulary, phonology and grammar.

BesidesSingaporean Hokkien, Mandarin is also subjected to influence coming from other Chinese dialects such asTeochew,Cantonese,Hakka, andHainanese, as well asEnglish andMalay.

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In Singapore,simplified Chinese characters are the official standard used in all official publications as well as the government-controlled press. Whilesimplified Chinese characters are taught exclusively in schools, the government does not officially discourage the use of Traditional characters. Therefore, many shop signs continue to use Traditional characters.

As there is no restriction on the use oftraditional characters in the mass media, television programmes, books, magazines and music CDs that have been imported from Hong Kong or Taiwan are widely available, and these almost always use Traditional characters. Most karaoke discs, being imported from Hong Kong or Taiwan, have song lyrics in Traditional characters as well. While all official publications are in simplified characters, the government still allows parents to choose whether to have their child's Chinese name registered in Simplified or Traditional characters though most choose the former.

Singapore had undergone three successive rounds of character simplification, eventually arriving at the same set of Simplified characters as thePeople's Republic of China. Before 1969, Singapore generally used Traditional characters. From 1969 to 1976, the Ministry of education launched its own version of Simplified characters, which differed from that of mainland China. But after 1976, Singapore fully adopted the Simplified characters of mainland China.

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Before theMay Fourth Movement in 1919, Singapore Chinese writings were based onClassical Chinese. After the May Fourth Movement, under the influence from theNew Culture Movement in China, the Chinese schools in Singapore began to follow the new education reform as advocated by China's reformist and changed the writing style toVernacular Chinese.

Singapore's Chinese newspaper had witnessed this change from Vernacular Chinese.Lat Pau, one of the earliest Chinese newspaper, was still using Classical Chinese in 1890. By 1917, it continued to use Classical Chinese. But by 1925, it had changed to Vernacular Chinese. After this, all Chinese newspaper in Singapore used Vernacular Chinese.

The development of the Singaporean Chinese literature reflected the history of immigrants in Singapore. When many Chinese writers from Southern China arrived in Singapore, they established Chinese schools, newspaper press etc. They contributed a lot to the development of Chinese literature in Singapore. In 1919, theNew National Magazine (新國民雜誌) marked the birth of Singaporean Chinese literature. In those days, the migrant's mindset was still deeply entrenched. Many of the literary works were influenced by New Culture Movement. Most of the literary works that were published originated from the works of writers in China.

In 1925, the presence of literary supplements such asSouthern Wind (南風),Light of Singapore (星光) brought a new dimension to Singaporean Chinese literature. They differed from past magazine that relied on writers from China. It was at this time, that the thoughts ofNanyang began to surface the corner. In January 1927, theDeserted Island (荒島) published in theNew National Press (新國民日報) clearly reflected the features of Nanyang in its literary work. The "localization" literary works mostly described the lifestyle in Nanyang, the people and their feelings in Nayang. The quality of Singaporean Chinese literature had greatly improved.

In 1937, the outbreak ofSecond Sino-Japanese War raised the anti-Japanese sentiment. The literature during these times reflected the missions of national salvation against the Japanese. This brought a halt to the localization movement and in turn re-enacted a sense of Chinese nationalism amongst the migrants in Singapore. From 1941 till 1945, during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, the activities for Chinese literature was halted.

After the war, people in Singapore began to have a sense of belonging to this piece of land, and they also had a desire for freedom and democracy. During this times, Singaporean Chinese literature was inclined towards Anti-colonialism. With new arts and thoughts, between 1947 – 1948, there was a debate between "Unique Singaporean Literary Art" and "literary thoughts of migrants". The results from these debated led to a conclusion that the Singaporean Chinese literature was going to develop on its own independently. The "localization" clearly marked the mature development of Singaporean Chinese literature.

During the 1950s, writers from Singapore drew their literary works mostly from the local lifestyle and events that reflected the lifestyle from all areas of the society. They also included many Chinese-dialect proverbs in their works. They created unique works of literature. Writers includingMiao Xiu (苗秀),Yao Zhi (姚紫),Zhao Rong (趙戎),Shu Shu (絮絮) etc. represented the writers of "localization" works.

From 1960 to 1970, the number of literary works published began to increase. Locally-born and locally bred Singaporean writers became the new writers in the stage of Singaporean Chinese literature. Their works were mainly based on the views of Singaporeans towards issues or context happening in Singapore. They continued the "localization" movement and brought the Singaporean Chinese literature to a new dimension.

AMandopop scene began to emerge in Singapore in the 1960s,^[22] while the Speak Mandarin Campaign intensified the presence of Mandopop on local radio and television.^[23] The 1980s saw the development ofxinyao—a genre of contemporary Mandarin ballads with themes such as romance and life in Singapore, and popularized by singer-songwriters such asLiang Wern Fook.^[24][25]

Language plays an important role in Singapore politics. Up to today, it is still important for politicians in Singapore to be able to speak their mother tongue (and even other dialects) fluently in order to reach out to the multilingual community in Singapore.

According to observation, an election candidate who is able to speak fluent Mandarin has a higher chance of winning an election. As such, most election candidates will try to use Mandarin in campaign speeches in order to attract Mandarin-speaking voters.^[26]

Some Chinese elites in Singapore had criticized that the Mandarin standard of Chinese Singaporean has dropped greatly due to the closure or subsequent conversion of Chinese-medium schools to English-medium schools in the 1980s. Others attributed the drop in standard to the lack of learning Chinese literature in schools.

Ever since 1965 when Singapore became independent, bilingual policy has become the pillar of Singapore's education. The first language of Singapore was English, while Mandarin was chosen as the "mother tongue" of Chinese Singaporean. Generally, most Chinese Singaporean can speak Mandarin fluently, but are usually weaker in writing Chinese.^[27]

In recent years, with the subsequent economic rise of mainland China and a transition from a world factory to a world market, Mandarin has become the 2nd most influential language after English. Besides transmitting Chinese culture values, many people began to realize the economic values of Mandarin, which has raised the interests of local and working professionals in learning Mandarin.^[28]

Under the bilingual policy of Singapore, Chinese Singaporeans had a greater chance to speak and use English especially in school and at work. But this can cause a relative limitation in the use of mother tongue. Generally speaking, most Chinese Singaporeans are able to speak Mandarin, and also read newspapers in it, but only a minority is able to use it at a professional level such as academic research, literary writing etc. In the endeavor to use English, some Chinese Singaporeans even distanced themselves from the mother tongue culture, resulting in the erosion of Chinese culture in Singapore.^[29]

Since the establishment of the Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1979, all Chinese-language programming broadcast by Singapore state media outlets, particularly theSingapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and its successors, have been in Mandarin.^[30] Its current incarnation Mediacorp runs two Mandarin-language television channels,Channel 8 andChannel U, as well as the radio stationsYes 933 (contemporary pop),Capital 958 (classic hits), andLove 972 (adult contemporary).SPH Media andSo Drama! Entertainment also run Mandarin radio stations, while SPH owns the country's only Mandarin-language daily newspaper, theLianhe Zaobao.

• Singapore Chinese characters
• Speak Mandarin Campaign
• Chinese Singaporean
• Languages of Singapore
• Malaysian Mandarin
• Comparison of national standards of Chinese
• Standard Mandarin

• 周清海编著， 《新加坡华语词汇与语法》，新加坡玲子传媒私人有限公司出版，, September 2002,ISBN 981412723X，ISBN 978-981-4127-23-3 (Zhou, Qinghai (2002),Vocabulary and Grammar of Singaporean Mandarin, Lingzi Media)
• 周清海（著），《变动中的语言》，新加坡玲子传媒私人有限公司出版, 2009,ISBN 9814243922、ISBN 9789814243926 (Zhou, Qinghai (2009),The changing languages, Lingzi Media)

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