Singaporean Mandarin () is a variety of Mandarin Chinese spoken natively in Singapore. Mandarin is one of the four official languages of Singapore alongside English, Malay and Tamil.
Singaporean Mandarin can be divided into two distinct forms: Standard Singaporean Mandarin and Colloquial 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 unique loanwords from other Chinese languages, such as Hokkien, as well as Singapore's other official languages: English, Malay and Tamil.
The widespread adoption of Singaporean Mandarin by the Chinese community in Singapore followed the government's Speak Mandarin Campaign launched in 1979. Today, it is the second most commonly spoken language in Singapore after English and has largely replaced Singaporean Hokkien as the lingua franca among Singaporean Chinese. The rise of China in the 21st century has increased the prominence of Mandarin proficiency in Singapore. By 2010, more Singaporeans were multilingual, with a growing number speaking two or more languages.
Since the early 21st century, the influx of mainland Chinese immigrants from mainland China has influenced Singaporean Mandarin to align more closely with Standard Chinese, although distinctive features have been retained. The language continues to evolve, influenced by Mainland Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese Mandarin and English. Since the 2010s, the proportion of Singaporean Chinese speaking Mandarin at home has begun to decline, with Singapore English increasingly used and now surpassing Mandarin as the primary language spoken at home.
The official standard of Mandarin in Singapore, locally known as (), is based on the phonology of the Beijing dialect and the grammar of Vernacular Chinese. It is largely identical to the standard Mandarin used in the People's Republic of China (known there as ) and in Republic of China (Taiwan) (known there as and more recently also as ). Standard Singaporean Mandarin, typically heard in television and radio news broadcasts, is generally closer to Guoyu in terms of phonology, vocabulary and grammar than to Putonghua. Differences are minor and mainly appear in the lexicon.
Also commonly known as Singdarin () or Singnese (), the colloquial variety is a Mandarin dialect native and unique to Singapore similar to its English-based counterpart Singlish. It is based on Mandarin but has a large amount of English and Malay in its vocabulary. There are also words from other Chinese languages such as Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew as well as Tamil. While Singdarin grammar is largely identical to Standard 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 and Standard Chinese, and a non-Singaporean Chinese speaking individual may find it difficult to understand.
Singaporean Mandarin has preserved the vocabulary and certain other features from Classical Chinese and early Vernacular Chinese (), dating back from the early 20th century. Since Singapore's Chinese medium 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 () and Vocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use (). 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 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. As a result, 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 mainland 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. Much of the lexicon from Putonghua had also found its way into Singaporean Mandarin although not to a huge extent.
Historical sources indicate that before 1819, when Stamford Raffles arrived in Singapore, there were already a few Chinese settlers on the island. After Raffles established Singapore as a trading post in 1819, many Peranakan from Malaya and European merchants began arriving. To meet the growing demand for labour, large numbers of coolies were brought from China.
The influx of Chinese labourers increased after the Opium War. Those who migrated from China to Singapore during the 19th and early 20th centuries were known as "sinkeh" (). 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 of Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan.
These sinkeh included large numbers of Hoklo (Hokkien), Teochew, Cantonese and Hainanese. They brought with them a variety of Chinese languages, including Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka and Hainanese. 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 a lingua franca amongst the Chinese only began with the founding of Republic of China, which established Mandarin as the official tongue.
Before the 20th century, old-style private Chinese schools in Singapore, known as sëshú (), generally used Chinese varieties such as Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese as the medium of instruction for teaching the Chinese classics and Classical Chinese. Singapore's first Mandarin-medium classes appeared around 1898, but schools using other Chinese varieties remained in operation until 1909. Following the May Fourth Movement in 1919 and the influence of the New Culture Movement in China, these schools gradually replaced non-Mandarin instruction with Mandarin Chinese, or Guóyà(). The Kuomintang (KMT)âÂÂled 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.
In the early years of Mandarin education in Singapore, there was no fully standardised colloquial form to serve as a learning model. Most teachers were from southern China and spoke with strong regional accents, which influenced Singaporean Mandarin by eliminating features such as erhua () and the light tone (). The publication of the Dictionary of National Pronunciation in 1919 introduced a hybrid system combining northern sounds with southern rhymes, including the checked tone (), but it was only in 1932 with the Vocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use, based entirely on the Beijing dialect, that a consistent standard emerged. This standard was adopted in SingaporeâÂÂs Chinese schools. During the 1930s and 1940s, new immigrants from China, known as xën kè (), helped establish more Chinese schools, further expanding Mandarin's use. Over time, the term for Mandarin in Singapore shifted from Guóyà(National Language) to Huáyà(Chinese Language).
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Singaporean Mandarin was heavily influenced by Taiwanese Mandarin, as most Chinese publications came from Taiwan or Hong Kong. In the 1980s, following mainland China's economic reforms, Singapore adopted Hanyu Pinyin and switched from Traditional Chinese characters to Simplified Chinese characters. The Speak Mandarin Campaign launched in 1979 spurred further standardisation, with the Promote 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 more Putonghua vocabulary into Singaporean Mandarin.
Major differences between Singaporean Mandarin Huayu (Ã¥ÂÂè¯Â) 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 new words to fit the local context, as well as borrow words from Taiwanese Mandarin or other Chinese varieties that were spoken in Singapore. As a result, new Mandarin words proprietary to Singapore were invented.
The Dictionary of Contemporary Singaporean Mandarin Vocabulary (æ¶代æ°å å¡ç¹æÂÂè¯Âè¯Âè¯Âå ¸) edited by Wang Huidi () listed 1,560 uniquely local Singaporean Mandarin words, which are not used in mainland China or Taiwan.
There are many new terms that are specific to living in Singapore. These words were either translated from Malay and non-Mandarin Chinese varieties (or invented) as there were no equivalent words in Putonghua. Some of the words are taken from the Hokkien translation of Malay words. Words translated from Malay into Hokkien include kampung (çÂÂæ¦Â, English 'village'), pasar (, 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 in Putonghua or Taiwanese Mandarin:
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.
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 varieties of Chinese, classical Chinese and English. Some of the local Singaporean Mandarin writings do exhibit certain local Singaporean features.
When speaking of minutes, colloquial Singaporean Mandarin typically uses the word (zì), which represents a unit of 5 minutes. When referring to a number of hours (duration), éÂÂ头 (zhà Ângtóu) is used instead of å°Âæ¶ (xiÃÂoshÃÂ). For instance:
The use of zì () originates from Hokkien (jë or lë), 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 shÃÂchén (æ¶辰), equivalent to 2 hours while minutes were measured in terms of kè (), equivalent to 15 minutes. Each kè was in turn divided into 3 zì (equivalent to 5 minutes). For instance, 7:45 pm is:
As a result of Hokkien influence, colloquial Singaporean Mandarin typically uses the word "-" (bài) to refer to the days of the week, in lieu of Standard Mandarin "-" (xëngqÃÂ-). For instance:
Both (bài) and 礼æ (lÃÂbài) originate from Hokkien pài and lé-pài respectively.
In colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, 丠(wàn), referring to a "ten thousand" is often used, but (shàqiÃÂn), referring to "ten thousands" is occasionally used too. This usage was influenced by English numbering system and also Chinese Indonesian who frequently uses large Indonesian currency, Rp10000 (0.71 USD) and above.
The word "" (xiÃÂn) 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":
(éryÃÂ) is more common in colloquial Singaporean Mandarin than in Standard Mandarin, which uses (bàle). While èÂÂå·² (éryÃÂ) 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!
When people describe the size of animals, for example, chicken, these are used to mean 'large' and 'small'. Putonghua tends to use and instead. These two words are also used to refer to the body frame of a person. "" refers to people who appear to be tall, masculine or with a large body build. "" is used to describe people with a small built, tiny frame.
In colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, the word "Ã¥ÂÂ" is often used in response to a sentence as an affirmative. It is often pronounced as (with a nasal tone) instead of 'ah' or 'a' (in Putonghua). Putonghua tends to use "æ¯(çÂÂ)/对åÂÂ/对åÂÂ" (shì (de)/duì a/duì ya), "å¦" (ó), "" (à Â), "å¯" (en/ng) to mean "yes, it is".
In Singaporean Mandarin, there is a greater tendency to use the word cái "æÂÂ" (then) in lieu of Standard Mandarin zài "" (then), which indicates a future action after the completion of a prior action. For instance:
In Singaporean Mandarin, one typical way of turning certain nouns into adjectives, such as 場趣 (xìngqù, 'interest'), è¥堻 (yÃÂngyÃÂng, 'nutrition'), 礼負(lÃÂmào, 'politeness'), is to prefix the word "" (yÃÂu) at the front of these nouns.
For example:
is sometimes omitted in writing.
In Singaporean Mandarin, verbs preceding "" may be reduplicated, unlike in Putonghua. This practice is borrowed from the Malay and Indonesian method of pluralizing words. In Putonghua grammar, the use of the word "" (yëxià(r)) is often put at the back of a verb to indicate that the action (as indicated by the verb) is momentary.
For example:
Singaporean Colloquial Mandarin tends to use 被 (bèi) more often than Putonghua, due to influence from English and/or Malay. It is used to express a passive verb.
Compare the following:
Sometimes, colloquial Singaporean Mandarin might use intransitive verbs as transitive.
For instance, è¿ÂæÂÂ¥ (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 "æÂÂè¦Âè¿ÂæÂ¥æÂÂçÂÂÃ¥ÂÂè¯Â". In Standard Mandarin, this is "æÂÂè¦Â让æÂÂçÂÂÃ¥ÂÂè¯Âè¿ÂæÂÂ¥".
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 (å¿åÂÂ, -er finals) and the neutral tone (轻声, lit. 'light tone') are generally absent in Singaporean Mandarin.
The earliest development of Singaporean Mandarin includes the old Beijing phonology (èÂÂå½é³), followed by new Beijing phonology (æ°å½é³) and then finally Hanyu Pinyin of mainland China. In its initial development, Singaporean Mandarin was highly influenced by the ru sheng (堥声, checked tone or 5th tone) from other Chinese varieties. As such, the 5th tone did appear in earlier Singaporean Mandarin. The characteristics of the 5th tone are as follows:
However, due to years of influence from China's varieties of Mandarin, prevalence of the 5th tone in Singaporean Mandarin is declining.
Minor differences occur between the phonology (tones) of Standard Singaporean Mandarin and other forms of Standard Mandarin.
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. The colloquial Hokkien-style Singaporean Mandarin is commonly heard in Singapore, and can differ from Putonghua in terms of vocabulary, phonology and grammar.
Besides Singaporean Hokkien, Mandarin is also subjected to influence coming from other Chinese varieties such as Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, and Hainanese, as well as English and Malay.
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, 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 of traditional 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 the People'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.
Before the May Fourth Movement in 1919, Singapore Chinese writings were based on Classical Chinese. After the May Fourth Movement, under the influence from the New 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 to Vernacular 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, the New National Magazine () 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 as Southern Wind (), Light of Singapore () 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 of Nanyang began to surface the corner. In January 1927, the Deserted Island () published in the New National Press () 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 of Second 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 â 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 non-Mandarin Chinese proverbs in their works. They created unique works of literature. Writers including Miao Xiu (), Yao Zhi (), Zhao Rong (), Shu Shu () 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.
A Mandopop scene began to emerge in Singapore in the 1960s, while the Speak Mandarin Campaign intensified the presence of Mandopop on local radio and television. The 1980s saw the development of xinyaoâÂÂa genre of contemporary Mandarin ballads with themes such as romance and life in Singapore, and popularized by singer-songwriters such as Liang Wern Fook.
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 varieties) 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.
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.
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.
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.
Since the establishment of the Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1979, all Chinese-language programming broadcast by Singapore state media outlets, particularly the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and its successors, have been in Mandarin. Its current incarnation Mediacorp runs two Mandarin-language television channels, Channel 8 and Channel U, as well as the radio stations Yes 933 (contemporary pop), Capital 958 (classic hits), and Love 972 (adult contemporary). SPH Media and So Drama! Entertainment also run Mandarin radio stations, while SPH owns the country's only Mandarin-language daily newspaper, the Lianhe Zaobao.