Singaporean Mandarin

Singaporean Mandarin
Singaporean Mandarin
新加坡华语/新加坡華語
Region	Singapore
Native speakers	(200,000 cited 1985); 880,000 L2 speakers
Language family	Sino-Tibetan Chinese Mandarin Beijing dialect Standard Mandarin Singaporean Mandarin; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
	This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Singaporean Mandarin (simplified Chinese: 新加坡华语; traditional Chinese: 新加坡華語; pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Huáyǔ) is a variety of Mandarin Chinese widely spoken in Singapore. It is one of the four official languages of Singapore along with English, Malay and Tamil.

Singapore Mandarin can be classified into two distinct Mandarin dialects, Standard Singaporean Mandarin and Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin. These two dialects are easily distinguishable to a person proficient in Mandarin. Standard Singaporean Mandarin is the register of Mandarin used in more formal occasions in Singapore and can be heard on television and radio and is the form taught in all Singapore government schools while Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin (Singdarin) is the form used by the general populace, usually among those with poorer command of Mandarin and who are less exposed to Standard Mandarin. They tend to infuse the language with many words from other Chinese dialects, Malay and English.

The official standard of Mandarin of Republic of Singapore, known in Singapore as Huayu (华语), 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 there as Pǔtōnghuà (普通话). Standard Singaporean Mandarin, which is usually heard on Singaporean Mandarin-language TV and radio news broadcast, is generally similar to Putonghua in terms of phonology, vocabulary and grammar. Small differences appear in the form of vocabulary differences.

However, in terms of colloquial spoken Mandarin, Singaporean Mandarin is still subject to influence from the local historical, cultural and social influences of Singapore. As such, there are remarkable differences between colloquial Singaporean Mandarin and Putonghua. Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin bears the closest resemblance with Colloquial 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 literate Chinese Singaporeans were literate in the language and were able to speak Singaporean Mandarin.^[2] Due to its widespread usage, Singaporean Mandarin has replaced Singaporean Hokkien as the lingua franca of the Chinese community in Singapore today.^[3] Following the economic rise of China in the 21st century, Mandarin proficiency has been viewed with greater importance and has risen in terms of prominence in Singapore.^[4]

Like its English counterpart Singlish, Singaporean Mandarin also has a creole when spoken colloquially, known informally 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 to 1979, due to lack of contact between Singapore and People'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 from Taiwan. Consequently, Singaporean Mandarin has been influenced by Taiwanese Mandarin to a certain degree. After the 1980s, along with China's Open Door Policy, there was increasing contact between Singapore and China, thus increasing Putonghua's gradual influence on Singaporean Mandarin. These influences included the adoption of pinyin and the shift from usage of Traditional Chinese characters to Simplified Chinese characters.

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 sīshú (私塾) in Singapore generally used Chinese dialects (such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, etc.) as their medium of instruction to teach the 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, the language of medium in school changed from other Chinese dialects to Mandarin Chinese or Guóyǔ (國語. This marked 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 1900s, most Mandarin teachers in Singapore came from southern parts of China, and had strong southern Chinese dialect accents. Thus, the pronunciations in Singaporean Mandarin were under heavy influence from China's southern Chinese dialects; for instance, there were no erhua (兒化), light tone (輕聲), and no sentences had the 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 dialect of Mandarin. However, the dictionary was a mix of northern Chinese sounds and southern Chinese rhymes, which included a 5th tone; the checked tone (rù shēng or 入聲). It wasn't until 1932 that a dictionary called the Vocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use, which was based truly on the Beijing dialect, (國音常用字彙) was published. This dictionary standardized the form of Mandarin taught in Singapore's Chinese schools. During the 1930s and 1940s, new immigrants from China, known as xīn kè (新客) helped to established more Chinese schools in Singapore, increasing 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

Lexicon (Vocabulary)

Major differences between Singaporean Mandarin Huayu (华语) and Putonghua lie in the vocabulary used. A lack of contact between Singapore and China from 1949 to 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.

Unique 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. Words translated from Malay include kampung, kelong, satay and pasar (巴刹, English 'market'). This explains the uniquely Singapore Mandarin words.

Hanzi	Pinyin	Definition
红毛丹	hóngmáodān	rambutan (a type of Southeast Asian fruit)
奎笼	kuílóng	kelong (a place for fishing)
甘榜	gānbǎng	kampung (village)
沙爹	shādīe	Satay (a type of Singaporean Malay food)
清汤	qīngtāng	a type of dessert
固本	gùběn	coupon. Also used for car parking
组屋	zǔwū	flat built by Housing Development Board
拥车证	yōngchēzhèng	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	cáilù	"Giro" (a system of payment through direct bank account deduction in Singapore)
巴刹	bāsā	"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	lāsā	laksa (a type of curry noodle)
垃圾虫	lājī chóng	"litter-bug"; someone who violated the law for littering
排屋	páiwū	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	年長者 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	déshì	taxi	出租车 chūzūchē	計程車 jìchéngchē	compare Cantonese 的士 dīk sih (from English "taxi").
货柜	huò guì	container	集装箱 jí zhuāng xiāng	貨櫃 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	開車 kāi chē	The word 驾 originates from classical Chinese. 开车 is also used in Singapore. 驾车 has also found its way into Putonghua 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 Putonghua vocabulary.
公众	gōng zhòng	public mass	群众 qǘn zhòng	群眾 qǘn zhòng	公众 has also found its way into Putonghua vocabulary.
群体	qún tǐ	organized group	集体 jí tǐ	集體 jí tǐ	群体 has also found its way into Putonghua 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	糊裡糊塗 hú lǐ hú tú	the idiom 一头雾水 has also found its way into Putonghua vocabulary.
码头	mǎ tóu	dock	港口 gǎng kǒu	港口 gǎng kǒu	From Hokkien/Cantonese, Hokkien: bé-thâu, Cantonese: ma tau
领袖	líng xiú	leader	领导 líng dǎo	領袖 líng xiú	领导 is sometimes used in Singapore
手提电话	shǒu tí diàn huà	mobile phone	手机 shǒu jī	行動電話/手機 xíng dòng diàn huà/shǒu jī	手机 is also used in Singaporean Mandarin, although less frequently.
客工	kè gōng	foreign worker		外勞 wài láo	外劳 also appears in some Singaporean Chinese writing (e.g. Lianhe Zaobao)
农夫	nóng fū	farmer	农民 nóng mín	鄉民 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	公車/巴士 gōng chē/bā shì	From Cantonese
电单车	diàn dān chē	motorcycle	摩托车 mó tuō chē	機車 jī chē	From Cantonese
罗里	luó lǐ	lorry	卡车 kǎ chē	貨車 huò chē	From English word "lorry"
角头	jiǎo tóu	corner	角落 jiǎo luò	角落 jiǎo luò	From Hokkien "kak-thâu". Note thaut in Putonghua, "角头" actually means "chieftain of mafia/secret society" instead of "corner".
散钱	sàn qián	small change	零钱 líng qián	零錢 líng qián	Originates from classical Chinese. "散钱" is also used in Putonghua

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 Putonghua, 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 Putonghua, 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 Putonghua, 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 (Putonghua). 懂 means 'understand' in Putonghua.
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.

Loanwords 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 "kiaⁿ-su"
几时	jǐ shí	when?	originates from Hokkien "kuí-sî" or Classical Chinese (Putonghua: 什么时候)
阿公	ā gōng	grandpa	originates from Hokkien "a-kong"
阿嬤	ā mā	grandma	originates from Hokkien "a-má"
阿婆	ā pó	old lady	originates from Hokkien "a-pô"
很显	hěn xiǎn	very boring	spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of 无聊/闷 (in Standard Mandarin). The word "xian 显" originates from Hokkien 'hián-sèng' (顯聖).
敢敢	gǎn gǎn	be brave/daring	spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of 勇敢 (in Standard Mandarin). For instance, 敢敢做个开心人！(dared to be a happy person). The word "敢敢" originates from Hokkien "káⁿ-káⁿ" (daring)
古早	gǔ zǎo	ancient	originates from Hokkien "kó͘-chá". Appear in some Singaporean Chinese writing (e.g. Hawker Center) instead of 古时候 (in Standard 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 Standard Mandarin) . In Standard 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 Standard Mandarin) .
什么来的	shěn mè lái dè	What is this?	originates from Hokkien "siáⁿ-mi̍h lâi ê" (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 Standard Mandarin)
起价	qǐ jià	price increase	originates from Hokkien "khí-kè". 起价 is often spoken colloquially in Singaporean Mandarin instead of the more formal 涨价 (in Standard 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 Standard 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 Standard 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 "lou mee".
粿条	guǒ tiáo	a type of flat noodle	originates from Teochew "kuey tiao". Compare Cantonese "hor fan" (河粉)

Loanwords and English influences

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.

Hanzi	Pinyin	Definition	Notes
摩多西卡	móduōxīkǎ	Motorcycle	Both 电单车 and 摩托车 are also used in Singaporean Mandarin
巴仙	bāxiān	Percentage	百分比 is standard

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 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 of zì (字) originates from Hokkien (jī or lī), 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 shíchén (时辰), equivalent to 2 hours while minutes were measured in terms of kè (刻), equivalent to 15 minutes. Each kè was in turn divided into 3 zì (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)

Days of the week

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 Hokkien pài and lé-pài respectively.

Large numbers

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.

Use of the word "先"

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.)

The use of the word "而已"

而已 (eryǐ) is more common in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin than in Standard Mandarin, which uses 罢了 (bàle). The same is true for Taiwanese Mandarin. For example:

Translation: only like this

这样(zhèyàng) 子(zi) 而已(eryǐ) 啊(a)！ (Singaporean Mandarin)

这样(zhèyàng) 子(zi) 罢了(bàle)！ (Standard Mandarin)

Use of the word "啊" as an affirmative

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" (shì)， "哦" (ó), "噢" (ō) to mean yes.

Use of the word "才" instead of "再"

In Singaporean Mandarin, there is a greater tendency to use the word cái "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 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

Use of certain nouns as adjectives

In Standard 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" (hěn yǒu xìngqù - very interested)

"很有营养" (hěn yǒu yíngyǎng - very nutritious)

"很有礼貌" (hěn yǒu lǐmào - very polite).

The word 有 (yǒu) is sometimes omitted in writing.

Reduplication of verbs preceding "一下"

In Singaporean Mandarin, verbs preceding "一下" may be reduplicated, unlike in Putonghua. In Putonghua grammar, the use of the word "一下" (yīxià) 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 little while."

Colloquial use of the word "被"

Singaporean colloquial Mandarin tends to use 被 (bèi) more commonly than Putonghua, mainly due to influence from English.

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)

Phonology and tones

The phonology and tones of Singaporean Mandarin are generally similar to that of Standard Mandarin. There are 4 tones similar to those in Standard Mandarin, but Erhua (-er finals) and the neutral tone (轻声, lit. '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 did appear in earlier Singaporean Mandarin. 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 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 modern Singaporean 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.

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 simplified 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 though most choose the former.

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.

References

Notes

^ Mandarin at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
^ "Literacy and Language" (PDF), Singapore Department of Statistics, Social Statistics Section, retrieved 2011-01-12
^ Leong Koon Chan. "Envisioning Chinese Identity and Multiracialism in Singapore" (PDF). Retrieved 14 February 2011.
^ Reuters (16 September 2009). "RPT-FEATURE-Eyeing China, Singapore sees Mandarin as its future". Retrieved 14 February 2011. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)

Bibliography