Mother Tongue In Singapore
Introduction
When Singapore achieved independence from Britain in 1959, she chose to become an officially multilingual state. Four languages were being selected as the official language of Singapore, namely English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. While English was being promoted as the “working language” of Singapore, the rest of the official language are considered as the “Mother Tongues” of the major ethic groups in Singapore.
The term ‘Bilingualism’ is of no stranger to all Singaporeans. Almost all the Singaporeans are bilingual due to the bilingual policies that the government has implemented. Through the policies Singapore had been transformed into an English knowing society. It was emphasized that besides being the bridging language among the different races in Singapore, English is also significant to the nation building process and the economic development. However, what about our mother tongue? Why do we need to learn our mother tongue and how will it beneficial to us? Is it just for that 2 points off during o levels?
Hence, this paper will explore the economic benefits of Mother Tongue, specifically Chinese. Quantitative and qualitative secondary data relevant to the study will be examined. Data gathered will be used to analyze the economic benefit of being proficient in Chinese. Although bilingualism is a widespread phenomenon that has been covered extensively by linguists and sociologists, limited research had been done on its economic effects. Thus, this paper
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