Major differences between Standard Singaporean Mandarin and Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin lie in their linguistic features. The use of Mandarin in the Chinese-medium schools led its use mainly by the Chinese-educated or Chinese elites in Singapore.Īfter Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew announced and kickstarted the Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1979, the Promote Mandarin Council started research on Mandarin standardisation based on case studies in Mainland China and Taiwan.ĭifferences between standard and colloquial forms Mandarin was also the language of instruction in the now defunct Chinese-medium schools and education system. This colloquial form of Mandarin served as a bridge between speakers of various mutually unintelligible southern varieties. Before the standardisation of Singaporean Mandarin in the year 1979, Mandarin was largely used in a colloquial form based on the speech of Beijing, with infusions from various southern non-Mandarin Chinese varieties such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese and Hakka. Mandarin (the standard language of China based on northern dialects) has been used as a lingua franca in Singapore alongside Hokkien (a south-eastern Chinese topolect) since the end of the Second World War. Minor discrepancies appear in different vocabulary usage.

In terms of phonology, vocabulary and grammar, Standard Singaporean Mandarin is similar to Putonghua ( Standard Chinese in the People's Republic of China). Standard Singaporean Mandarin is also the register of Mandarin used by the Chinese elites of Singapore and is easily distinguishable from the Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin spoken by the general populace.

The written form of Chinese used in Singapore is also based on this standard. It is used in all official Chinese media, including all television programs on Channel 8 and Channel U, various radio stations, as well as in Chinese lessons in all Singapore government schools. Standard Singaporean Mandarin ( simplified Chinese: 新加坡标准华语 traditional Chinese: 新加坡標準華語 pinyin: Xīnjiāpō Biāozhǔn Huáyǔ) is the standard form of Singaporean Mandarin.

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