Singaporean Mandarin

Singaporean Mandarin
Singaporean Mandarin
新加坡华语/新加坡華語
Region	Singapore
Native speakers	2,502,209 (2000 est.)
Language family	Sinitic Chinese Singaporean Mandarin; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-1	zh
ISO 639-2	chi (B) ; zho (T)
ISO 639-3	cmn

Singaporean Mandarin (simplified Chinese: 新加坡华语; traditional Chinese: 新加坡華語; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Huáyǔ) is the dialect of Mandarin Chinese widely spoken in Singapore. It is one of the 4 official languages of Singapore along with English, Malay and Tamil. Singapore Mandarin can be classified into two distinct Mandarin dialects, the Standard Singaporean Mandarin and the Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin. These two dialects are easily distinguishable to a person proficient in Mandarin. Standard Singaporean Mandarin is the register of Mandarin used by the Chinese elites of Singapore and can be heard on television and radio as well as in Chinese lessons in all Singapore government schools while the Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin is the form used by the general population, usually among the less educated who finds difficulty in speaking the language and tend to infuse the language with many words from other Chinese dialects, Malay and English.

The official Standard Mandarin of the Republic of Singapore, known in Singapore as Huayu (华语), is based on the phonology of the Beijing dialect and the grammar of Vernacular Chinese is almost identical to the standard of Mandarin used in the People's Republic of China, known in mainland China as Pǔtōnghuà (普通话); The Standard Singaporean Mandarin, which is usually heard on Singapore's Mandarin TV and radio news broadcast, is generally similar to putonghua in terms of phonology, vocabulary and grammar. Any small differences will only appear in the use of different vocabulary.

However, in terms of colloquial spoken Mandarin, Singaporean Mandarin is still subjected to influence from the local historical, cultural and social environment of Singapore. As such, there are remarkable differences between colloquial Singaporean Mandarin and Putonghua. Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin bears the closest resemblance with Malaysian Mandarin.

Singaporean Mandarin only became widely spoken by the Chinese community in Singapore after the Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1979. It is today considered to be the second most commonly spoken language in Singapore, after English. As of 2000, 82% of the literate Chinese Singaporean were literate in the language and were able to speak Singaporean Mandarin ^[2]. Due to its widespread usage, Singaporean Mandarin has generally replaced Singaporean Hokkien to become the lingua franca of the Chinese community in Singapore today.

Like its English variant (Singlish), Singaporean Mandarin also has a creole when spoken colloquially, known as Singdarin.

Overview

Singaporean Mandarin had preserved the vocabulary and certain features of the Classical Chinese and early Vernacular Chinese (baihua) of early 20th century. Because Singapore's Chinese schools adopted Chinese teaching materials from Republic of China in the early 20th century, Singapore's early Mandarin pronunciations was based on the Zhuyin in the Dictionary of National Pronunciation (國音字典) and Vocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use (國音常用字彙). As such, it had preserved the older forms of pronunciations. In addition, during its initial development, Singaporean Mandarin was also influenced by Chinese dialects of Singapore such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese etc.

From 1949-1979, due to lack of contact between Singapore and 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 from Taiwan. This caused Singaporean Mandarin to be influenced to a certain degree by Taiwanese Mandarin. After 1980s, along with China's Open Door Policy, there was increasing contact between Singapore and China. Only then did Singaporean Mandarin become gradually more influenced by Putonghua. These influence included the adoption of pinyin, the change from Traditional Chinese characters to Simplified Chinese characters etc.

Today, Singaporean Mandarin continues to develop under its own local environment. Major influences continue to come from Putonghua, Taiwanese Mandarin and English.

History

Before the 20th century, Old-style private Chinese school (known as "Sishu 私塾") in Singapore generally used Chinese dialects (such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese etc.) as its medium to teach Chinese classics and Classical Chinese.

After the May Fourth Movement in 1919, under the influence from the New Culture Movement in China, the local Old-style private Chinese school in Singapore began to follow the new education reform as advocated by China's reformist. Thus, they began to change the medium language in school from dialects to Mandarin Chinese (known as "Guoyu 國語" in the old times). This was the beginning of the development of Singaporean Mandarin.

However, at that time, there was no colloquial Standard Mandarin, which can be used as a basis for learning Mandarin. In addition, during the early 20th century, most of the Mandarin teachers in Singapore came from southern parts of China, and had strong native southern Chinese dialect accents. Thus, the pronunciations in Singaporean Mandarin was under heavy influence from China's southern Chinese dialects; for instance, there were no Erhua (兒化), there was lack of light tone (輕聲), any sentences did not have heavy or light accent (輕重音) etc.

In 1919, a group of scholars in China published the Dictionary of National Pronunciation (國音字典). This was one of the earliest dictionaries on modern Mandarin based on the Beijing Mandarin dialect. However, in actual fact, the dictionary was a mix of northern Chinese sounds and southern Chinese rhymes, which included a 5th tone; the Checked tone (ru sheng 入聲）. It wasn't until 1932 that a dictionary (called the Vocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use (國音常用字彙)) was published, which was based truly on the Beijing dialect. This dictionary led to a more standard Mandarin being taught in the Chinese schools of Singapore. During the 1930s and 1940s, new immigrants from China (known as "xinke 新客") helped to established more Chinese schools in Singapore, which increased the propagation of the Mandarin language in Singapore. The name of Mandarin language in Singapore was eventually changed from Guoyu (國語) to Huayu (華語).

Differences from Standard Mandarin

Vocabulary

Major differences between Singaporean Mandarin Huayu (華語） and Putonghua lie in the vocabulary used. A lack of contact between Singapore and China from 1949-1979 meant that Singaporean Mandarin had to invent its own new words to suit the local Singapore environment, as well as borrow certain words from Taiwanese Mandarin or some other Chinese dialects that were spoken in Singapore. As a result, new Mandarin words proprietary to Singapore were invented.

Uniquely Singaporean Mandarin words

There are many new terms that are specific to living in Singapore (though some also apply in neighbouring Malaysia). These words were either translated from Malay and Chinese dialects (or invented) as there were no equivalent words in putonghua. Some of the words are directly translated from Malay language. Words translated from Malay include Kampung, Kelong, Satay and Pasar (巴刹 in Chinese/ Market in English). This explains the uniquely Singapore Mandarin words.

Hanzi	Pinyin	Definition
红毛丹	hóng máo dān	rambutan (a type of South-East Asian fruit)
奎笼	kuí lóng	kelong (a place for fishing)
甘榜	gān bǎng	kampung (village)
沙爹	shā dīe	Satay (a type of Singaporean Malay food)
清汤	qīng tāng	a type of dessert
固本	gù běn	coupon. Also used for car parking
组屋	zǔ wū	flat built by Housing Development Board
拥车证	yōng chē zhèng	car ownership-license
保健储蓄	bǎo jiàn chǔ xǜ	medisave (medical saving)
周末用车	zhōu mò yòng chē	Weekend Car, (a classification of car ownership in Singapore)
财路	cái lù	"Giro" (a system of payment through direct bank account deduction in Singapore)
巴刹	bā sā	"bazaar" or market or Pasar (Malay)
民众俱乐部 / 联络所	mín zhòng jù lè bù lián luò suǒ	community centre
叻沙	lā sā	laksa (a type of curry noodle)
垃圾虫	lā jī chóng	"litter-bug"; someone who violated the law for littering
排屋	pái wū	terrace house

Same meaning, different words

There are some words used in Singaporean Mandarin that have the same meaning with other words used in putonghua or Taiwanese Mandarin:

Hanzi	Pinyin	Definition	Putonghua	Guoyu	Notes
乐龄	lè líng	old people	老龄 lǎo líng	年长者 nián zhǎng zhě
三文治	sān wén zhì	sandwich		三明治 sān míng zhì	From English "sandwich" via Cantonese 三文治 sāam màhn jih
德士	dé shì	taxi	出租车 chū zū chē	计程车 jì chéng chē	compare Cantonese 的士 dīk sih (from English "taxi")
货柜	huò guì	container	集装箱 jí zhuāng xiāng	货柜 huò guì
火患	huǒ huàn	fire	火災 huǒ zāi	火警 huǒ jǐng	火災 is also used in Singapore and Taiwan.
耐	nài	durable/lasting	耐用 nài yòng	耐用 nài yòng	From classical Chinese. 耐用 is also used in Singapore
驾车	jià chē	drive a car	开车 kāi chē	开车 kāi chē	The word 驾 originates from classical Chinese. 开车 is also used in Singapore. 驾车 has also found its way into PRC mandarin vocabulary.
首个	shǒu gè	first	第一个 dì yī gè		第一个 is also used in Singapore. 首个 has also found its way into PRC mandarin vocabulary.
公众	gōng zhòng	public mass	群众 qǘn zhòng	群众 qǘn zhòng	公众 has also found its way into PRC mandarin vocabulary.
群体	qún tǐ	organized group	集体 jí tǐ	集体 jí tǐ	群体 has also found its way into PRC mandarin and Taiwanese Mandarin vocabulary.
第一时间	dì yī shí jīan	immediately	立刻 lì kè	立即 lì jí
一头雾水	yī tóu wù shǔi	blurred and confused	晕头转向 yūn tóu zhǔan xìang	胡里胡涂 hú lǐ hú tú	the idiom 一头雾水 has also found its way into PRC mandarin vocabulary.
码头	mǎ tóu	dock	港口 gǎng kǒu	港口 gǎng kǒu	From Hokkien/Cantonese, Hokkien: beh tau, Cantonese: ma tau
领袖	líng xiú	leader	领导 líng dǎo	领袖 líng xiú	领导 is sometimes used in Singapore
手提电话	shǒu tí diàn huà	mobile phone	手机 shǒu jī	行动电话 xíng dòng diàn huà	手机 is also used in Singaporean Mandarin, although less frequently.
客工	kè gōng	foreign worker		外劳 wài láo	外劳 also appears in some Singaporean Chinese writing (e.g. Lianhe Zaobao)
农夫	nóng fū	farmer	农民 nóng mín	乡民 xiāng mín	农夫 was an older Chinese term used in China before 1949, but continues to be used in Singapore.
巴士	bā shì	bus	公交车 gōng jiāo chē	公车/巴士 gōng chē/bā shì	From Cantonese
电单车	diàn dān chē	motorcycle	摩托车 mó tuō chē	机车 jī chē	From Cantonese
罗里	luó lǐ	lorry	卡车 kǎ chē	货车 huò chē	From English word "lorry"
角头	jiǎo tóu	corner	角落 jiǎo luò	角落 jiǎo luò	From Hokkien "kak thau". Note that in PRC Mandarin, "角头" actually means "chieftain of mafia/secret society" instead of "corner".
散钱	sàn qián	small change	零钱 líng qián	零钱 líng qián	Originates from classical Chinese. "散钱" is also used in PRC Mandarin

Same word, different meanings

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

Hanzi	Pinyin	Meaning in Huayu	Meaning in Putonghua	Notes
小姐	xiǎo jiě	Miss	Prostitute or lady involved in sex trade	小姐 is used to refer to a lady or waitress in restaurant in Singaporean Mandarin. However, in PRC Mandarin, 小姐 has negative connotation in the northern provinces, used mainly to refer to prostitutes. 女士 or 服务员 tends to be more commonly used in PRC Mandarin, instead of 小姐. In Taiwan it is used the same way as in Singapore.
对付	duì fù	fight against/counteract	take action to deal with a person or problem	对付 is used to refer in negative connotation in Singaporean Mandarin to mean fight or counteract for e.g. against a criminal or terrorist. But in PRC Mandarin, it can have positive connotation to mean take action dealing with a person or problem.
懂	dǒng	know	understand	懂 is commonly used in Singaporean Mandarin to mean "know" instead of 知道 (PRC Mandarin). 懂 means 'understand' in PRC mandarin.
计算机	jì suàn jī	calculator	computer	计算机 is commonly used in Singaporean Mandarin to mean 'calculator'. In PRC, the word 计算器 is used instead to refer to 'calculator'. 计算机 means computer in PRC, although in the recent years, the word 电脑 for computer has also become more popular in PRC.

Loan Words and Influence from other Chinese Dialects

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

Hanzi	Pinyin	Definition	Notes
阿兵哥	ā bìng gē	soldiers	originates from Hokkien "a peng ko"
怕输	pà shū	afraid to lose	originates from Hokkien "Kiasu"
几时	jǐ shí	when?	originates from Hokkien/Classical Chinese (Putonghua: 什么时候)
阿公	ā gōng	grandpa	originates from Hokkien
阿嬤	ā mā	grandma	originates from Hokkien
阿婆	ā pó	old lady	originates from Hokkien
很显	hěn xiǎn	very boring	spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of 无聊/闷 (in proper Mandarin). The word "xian 显" originates from Hokkien 'seng'.
敢敢	gǎn gǎn	be brave/daring	spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of 勇敢 (in proper Mandarin). For instance, 敢敢做个开心人！(dared to be a happy person). The word "敢敢" originates from Hokkien "kann kann" (daring)
古早	gǔ zǎo	ancient	originates from Hokkien "ko cha" or "gu cha". Appear in some Singaporean Chinese writing (e.g. Hawker Center) instead of 古时候(in proper Mandarin).
做工	zuò gōng	work	originates from Hokkien "cho kang", which means 'work'. 做工 is often spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of 工作/上班 (in proper Mandarin) . In proper Mandarin, 做工 usually means doing work that involves manual hard labour .
烧	shāo	hot	originates from Hokkien "sio", which means 'hot'. 烧 is often spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of 热/烫 (in proper Mandarin) .
什么来的	shěn mè lái dè	What is this?	originates from Hokkien "sia mi lai e 啥物來的". 什么来的 is often spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of the more formal 这是什么(in proper Mandarin)
起价	qǐ jià	price increase	originates from Hokkien "khi ke". 起价 is often spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of the more formal 涨价(in proper Mandarin)
做莫	zuò mò	Why？/ Doing what?	originates from Cantonese "zou me 做咩". 做莫 is often spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of the more formal 爲什麽/做什麽 (in proper Mandarin)
阿佬	ā lǎo	man	佬 originates from Cantonese
是乜	shì mēh	is it?	The word 乜 mēh originates from Cantonese and is used in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin. Compare Proper Mandarin "是嗎 shì ma".
大耳窿	dà ěr lóng	loan shark	originates from Cantonese. (compare Guoyu: 地下錢莊)
搭客	dā kè	passenger	originates from Cantonese (compare Putonghua: 乘客)
摆乌龙	bǎi wū lóng	misunderstanding/make mistakes/confusion	originates from Cantonese
好脸	hào liàn	boastful, likes to show off	originates from Teochew (ho lien). Other than 'likes to show off', the term can also describes someone who has a strong pride, i.e. cares about not losing face. (compare Putonghua: 爱出风头， Guoyu: 愛現）)
卤面	lǔ miàn	a type of noodle	originates from Teochew "lor mee".
粿条	guǒ tiáo	a type of flat noodle	originates from Teochew "kuey teo". （compare Cantonese "hor fan 河粉"）

Loan Words and Influence from English

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

Hanzi	Pinyin	Definition	Notes
摩多西卡	mó duō xī kǎ	Motorcycle	Both 电单车 and 摩托车 are also used in Singaporean Mandarin
巴仙	bā xiān	Percentage	Compare 百分比 used in China

Grammar

In terms of standard written Mandarin in Singapore, the Singaporean Mandarin grammar is almost similar to that of putonghua. However, the grammar of colloquial Singaporean Mandarin can differ from that of putonghua as a result of influence from other Chinese dialects, classical Chinese and English language. Some of the local Singaporean Mandarin writings do exhibit certain local Singaporean features.

Time

When speaking of minutes, colloquial Singaporean Mandarin typically uses the word "zi 字", which represents a unit of 5 minutes. When referring to a number of hours (duration), "zhongtou 钟头" is used instead of "xiaoshi 小时".

For e.g.

一个字 (yi ge zi) = 5 minutes

两个字 (liang ge zi) = 10 minutes

三个字 (san ge zi) = 15 minutes

九个字 (jiu ge zi) = 45 minutes

7:45 pm is often spoken as 七点九个字 (qi dian jiu ge zi) or 七点九 (qi dian jiu) in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin instead of 七点四十五分 (qi dian si shi wu fen).

The use of "zi 字" generally originated from Hokkien, 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 of "shichen 时辰" (equivalent to 2 hours) while minutes were measured in terms of "ke 刻" (equivalent to 15 minutes). Each "ke 刻" was in turn divided into 3 "zi 字" (equivalent to 5 minutes).

Days in a week

When speaking of days in a week, colloquial Singaporean Mandarin typically uses the word "bai 拜-(no.)", e.g. "拜一 (bai yi)" instead of "星期一 (xing qi yi)" for Monday. Sunday is known as "礼拜天 (li bai tian)" or simply "礼拜 (li bai)" instead of "星期日 (xing qi ri)". One week is usually called "一个礼拜 (yi ge li bai)" instead of the more formal "一个星期 (yi ge xing qi)".

The use of "bai 拜" originated from Hokkien, whereas the use of "libai 礼拜" originated from Chinese Christianity's definition of days in a week.

Large numbers

In proper Mandarin, ten thousands is equivalent to "yiwan 一万". However, in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, "wan 万" (10,000) is seldom used. Instead, ten thousands is often spoken as "shiqian 十千", whereas hundred thousands is spoken as "baiqian 百千". This usage was generally influenced by English numbering system used commonly in Singapore.

The use of the word "先"

The use of the word "xian 先" is often used in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, as a result of influence from Cantonese grammar. In colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, the word "先" is often put at the back of a sentence, instead of after a subject at the front of a sentence.

For e.g.

"你走先"(ni zou xian - you walk first) , often used in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, is grammatical and commonly used in Cantonese (你走先 lei jau sin), where the reverse "你先走" would be ungrammatical in spoken Cantonese.

Standard Mandarin grammar should be "你先走" (ni xian zou - you walk first).

The use of the word "而已"

The use of the word "er yi 而已" (that's all) is more common in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, rather than "ba le 罢了" (PRC Mandarin). "er yi 而已" originated from classical Chinese.

For e.g. "这样子而已啊！ (zhe yang zi er yi a - only like this)" is more commonly spoken in Singaporean Mandarin rather than "这样子罢了! (zhe yang zi ba le)"

The same is true for Taiwanese Mandarin.

The use of the word "啊" in the context of "yeah"

In colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, the use of the word "啊" is often used in response to a sentence and simply means "yeah" or "yes" . It is often pronounced as "ahng" (with the "n" or nasal tone) instead of 'ah' or 'a' (in putonghua). Typical putonghua tends to use "shi 是"， "o 哦", "o 噢" to mean yes.

The use of the word "才" instead of "再"

In putonghua, the use of the word "zai 再" (then) is often used to indicate a future action after completing a prior action. In Singaporean Mandarin, there is a greater tendency to use the word "cai 才" (then) instead of "zai 再" for such purpose instead.

For e.g. the following Singaporean Mandarin writing indicates the common use of the word "cai 才" instead of "zai 再" (in PRC Mandarin)

"关税申报单刚巧用完了，打算在飞机上领了才填写。(黄孟文《安乐窝》) "
(The tax declaration form has incidentally been used up, plan to obtain it on the plane and then fill it up)

"现在不要说，等他吃饱了才说。"
(don't say anything now, say it only after he's finished his meal)

The use of certain nouns as adjectives

In proper Mandarin, one typical way of turning certain nouns such as "xingqu 兴趣" (interest), "yingyang 营养" (nutrition), "limao 礼貌" (politeness) into adjectives is to add the word "you 有" to the front of these nouns.

For example,

"很有兴趣" (hen you xing qu - very interested)
"很有营养" (hen you ying yang - very nutritious)
"很有礼貌" (hen you li mao - very polite).

However in certain Singaporean Mandarin writings, the word "you 有" is sometimes omitted to become the following:

"很兴趣" (hen xing qu - very interested)
"很营养" (hen ying yang - very nutritious)
"很礼貌" (hen li mao - very polite)

The use of repeated verb in front of the word "一下"

In PRC Mandarin grammar, the use of the word "yixia 一下" is often put at the back of a verb to indicate that the action (as indicated by the verb) is of a short time (i.e. only for a while). The verb is not supposed to be repeated in putonghua.

For example:

"想一下" (xiang yi xia - think for a while)
"讨论一下" (tao lun yi xia - discuss for a while)
"研究一下" (yan jiu yi xia - research for a while)

But in Singaporean Mandarin grammar, certain verbs are allowed to be repeated in front of the word "yixia 一下".

For example:

"想想一下"(xiang xiang yi xia)- the verb "xiang 想" is repeated
"骂骂一下"(ma ma yi xia) - the verb "ma 骂" is repeated
"研究研究一下" (yan jiu yan jiu yi xia) - the verb "yan jiu 研究" is repeated

The colloquial use of the word "被"

Compared to putonghua where the use of the word "bei 被" (by) is less common, Singaporean colloquial Mandarin tends to use "bei 被" more commonly. This is mainly due to influence from English.

Compare the following:

"马路被修好了" (ma lu bei xiu hao le - The road has been repaired) - Singapore colloquial Mandarin

"马路已修好了" (ma lu yi xiu hao le - The road has been repaired) - Putonghua

Phonology and Tones

The phonology and tones of Singaporean Mandarin is generally similar to that of Standard Mandarin. There are basically 4 tones similar to that in Standard Mandarin, but Erhua (R Finals) and Neutral Tone (輕聲/轻声 - light tone) are generally absent in Singaporean Mandarin.

In its initial development, Singaporean Mandarin was highly influenced by the Ru sheng 入声 (checked tones or "5th tones") from other Chinese dialects. As such, the 5th tone (Ru sheng) did appear in earlier Singaporean Mandarin. The characteristics of the 5th tone are as follow:

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

However, due to over 20 years of development, the 5th tone in Singaporean Mandarin had basically disappeared. It no longer exists in today's Singaporean Mandarin. This means that Singaporean Mandarin had already developed itself to be closer to Standard Mandarin.

Influences from Singaporean Hokkien

Singaporean Hokkien is the largest non-Mandarin Chinese dialect 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. The colloquial Hokkien-style Singaporean Mandarin is commonly heard in Singapore, and can differ from putonghua in terms of vocabulary, phonology and grammar.

Chinese Writing System

In Singapore, simplified Chinese characters are the official standard used in all official publications as well as the government-controlled press. While simplified Chinese characters are taught exclusively in schools, unlike in the People's Republic of China, the government does not officially discourage the use of traditional characters. Therefore, many shop signs continue to be written in traditional characters. Menus in hawker centres and coffeeshops are also usually written in traditional characters.

As there is no restriction on the use of traditional characters in the mass media, television programmes, books, magazines and music CD's 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.

Singapore had undergone three successive rounds of character simplification, eventually arriving at the same set of simplified characters as Mainland China. Before 1969, Singapore generally used traditional characters. From 1969 to 1976, the Ministry of education launched its own version of Simplified Characters, which differ from that of Mainland China. But after 1976, Singapore fully adopted the Simplified Characters version of Mainland China