Language Dilemma and Singapore

["Sherman Cheung" <sdchak@hotmail.com>]

Does anyone know why Singapore is trying to stuff Mandarin down the 
throats of Chinese people in Singapore? I believe you can speak whatever 
dialect you want. So, why is Singapore going on a campaign to make 
People speak Mandarin, when they already speak another Dialect
(Hakka, Teochew, Yue etc.), When you have English to serve the job 
admirably, as the Language of Goveernment and commerce. (It makes me 
wonder if Singapore is towing the line of Beijing or Taipei.)
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This reminds me of Greece, during the 1920's to the 60's, When the 
government tried to enforce "Katharevousa" or Pure Greek cleaned of 
Italian, Turkish, French, latin, Byzantine features. The Government
was up against the established Greek language of Demotica (with all of 
the features mentioned above),told the people to stop speaking it that 
it was corrupted and that Katharevousa was "the" and w/o it how can you 
understand Greek History. The people rebelled, many were killed, 
(By the Greek Government),it sparked debates in the literary circle some 
ppl were for, it some ppl weren't and knowing the temperament of Greeks 
decided to kill each other the issue of languge  and now today we have 
"katharevousa" for Government papers, technical reports, church, 
Newpapers and "Demotic" for the everyday spoken language, for folk 
music, poems, etc., But if you go into the countryside, you encounter 
very strange forms of spoken Greek which refuses to die in the near 
future,the Greek government tried to enforce katharevousa and 
encountered problems, so now they have two standard languages, and a 
bevy of local Greek Dialects such as Karamanlidika of Asiatic Greece 
(Turkey), Tsakonian (last surviving member of Doric Greek, which is 
unintelligible to the people who speak the Attic Local and Official 
Dialects and Demotica), and Pontic in Asiatic Greece and the 
Caucasus(Also Unintelligible to Demotic speakers.), and the variaties of 
Greek spoken in Italy and Corsica., and the shepherds Dialects of 
Sarakatsani, Karagouni, etc.
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I say diversity is good, and I take Dr. C.F. Lau's observation that all 
Languages have a right to live, Including our Own Hakka Dialect.
I agree we must have a passive knowledge of Putonghua or Guoyu, But we 
must speak our Dialect at home and with our Hakka Brothers and sisters. 
I hope Singapore will not erupt into armed revolt over the issues of 
language like Greece had done for 50 years, (but you never here it in 
the news)I doubly hope that I could here all dialects spoken in 
Singapore and Hope the Singapore Government can be a little more 
tolerant.

History: Before I started to Study Hakka recently., I studied Greek,  
the History of the language,and folk culture,  Particularly the periods 
from the Roman Empire to the Byzantine, to the Latin Occupation of 
Constantinople, the TourkoKratia (Ottoman occupation) and the 
present,Most of the Dialects we hear in Greece today got their formation 
within these time periods. I love Greece as a adopted Homeland But I 
love China also, Thats why most of my Greek friends call me 
Chinese-Greek, I'm a staunch supporter of the Shelved Foreign Policy of 
the "Megali Idea", and wish for the return of Constantinople (istanbul) 
to Greece. That is the involvement/History I have with Greece.

Sherman Cheung
New York City, NY  

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