WHEN I visited the homes of several friends and relatives during the Chinese New Year celebrations recently, I observed that the adults were speaking mostly in Chinese dialects while the children spoke mainly in English or Mandarin.
These children could only communicate with their parents and elders in either English or Mandarin.
The young people of today may see dialects as being of little use, serving no other purpose than to help them communicate with elderly relatives.
However, dialects continue to hold great cultural and historical significance within the Chinese community in Singapore as that was what our ancestors, who migrated to Nanyang from Southern China in search of a better life, spoke.
While it is important to ensure that young people are bilingual in English and Mandarin, it is equally important that they retain a connection to their cultural identity and remember their roots.
Perhaps parents should step up their efforts to teach their children to speak their dialect, and also educate them about their cultural heritage in the process.
Eugene Tai Yun Heng
These children could only communicate with their parents and elders in either English or Mandarin.
The young people of today may see dialects as being of little use, serving no other purpose than to help them communicate with elderly relatives.
However, dialects continue to hold great cultural and historical significance within the Chinese community in Singapore as that was what our ancestors, who migrated to Nanyang from Southern China in search of a better life, spoke.
While it is important to ensure that young people are bilingual in English and Mandarin, it is equally important that they retain a connection to their cultural identity and remember their roots.
Perhaps parents should step up their efforts to teach their children to speak their dialect, and also educate them about their cultural heritage in the process.
Eugene Tai Yun Heng
