Better to embrace, rather than fault, how Singaporeans use mother tongues

I refer to the letter by Voices contributors Alvona Loh Zi Hui and Ashton Ng Jing Kai, “No longer practical for Singaporeans to neglect mother tongues” (Sept 18).

Fluency in another country’s languages may be helpful but is by no means a prerequisite for professional life, especially with English’s empirically established role as the world’s lingua franca. For example, consider how China’s top trading partner is the United States, despite their lack of a common language.

Secondly, pointing fingers at individuals for the apparent decline in mother-tongue language proficiency seems unfair, if not disingenuous.

Policymakers promoted English as it was pragmatic to learn the language. English was then touted as an international language of commerce as well as an unbiased lingua franca for our multi-ethnic nation. It was made an official language and used widely by Singaporeans.

Saying that it is “no longer practical” to disregard mother-tongue languages is patently insufficient when there is no impetus, real or perceived, for Singaporeans to use them.

The writers’ suggestion that teachers encourage students to express their views on current events, such as the protests in Hong Kong, in their mother tongues is well-intentioned but infeasible, given our rate of English monolingualism.

To drive effective, lasting language policy, there must be a nationwide upheaval in Singaporeans’ language use, not merely transparent alarmism.

Next, given all the talk about mother-tongue languages’ cultural significance, why has the argument from culture failed in the modern day? It is necessary to acknowledge that our younger generations do not necessarily see mother-tongue languages as conduits of their Singaporean identity; Singlish or even English may be deemed sufficient.  

I disagree with the writers’ throwaway line: “After all, what is the point of learning one’s mother tongue if one cannot communicate without reverting to English?"

This statement betrays an uncritical understanding of languages, which are neither discrete and unfeeling entities nor putty in governments’ hands. Though institutions have long tried to standardise them, there has been, and will always be, natural variation because languages are spoken by people.

It is high time to acknowledge that code-switching is not a bug but a feature of the way Singaporeans use language. There are examples of this being lauded at some level by Singaporeans and the Government. It is absurd to believe that learning mother-tongue languages is worthless because we cannot speak them according to certain standards.

Rather than fighting against how Singaporeans use language, why not work with it?

Even if the state’s goal is to increase the use of mother-tongue languages, this needs to be put in practice holistically, in tune with the rest of social policy and Singaporeans’ knack for amalgamating varying linguistic resources.

I believe that I speak for many in saying that the kind of diversity that Singaporeans treasure is organic, not engineered.

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