Use of dialects can bridge generation gap

I concur with the letter “Govt policy against Chinese dialects may be ripe for review” (Aug 22).

Mr Lee Kuan Yew wanted the young to be bilingual — English and their mother tongue — for economic survival and the retention of cultural ballast.

Still, many of our parents and grandparents are conversant in their dialect and may feel alienated or marginalised if we simply use English and Mandarin.

When I was young, I learnt Teochew from my parents. Today, I can read the Chinese newspapers, as my dialect was a launch pad for me to acquire Mandarin in secondary school even though I did not learn it in primary school.

There are similarities between Chinese dialects and Mandarin. There are also idioms unique to certain dialects.

Some popular songs by Frances Yip, Luo Shi Feng and Xiao Fengfeng sound beautiful in Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew, respectively. If one tries to sing them in Mandarin, the flavour is lost.

Let us help bond the young with the older generations through dialects, which are part of our cultural heritage too.