Chinese Language and Its Education in a Global Context-- The Case of Singapore

The Chinese language has now entered an epoch of great integration. A harmonious integration of the different varieties of the language is essential not only for the language’s healthy development but also for the mutual respect among the various Chinese communities in the world. An acceptance of the differences among the Chinese language of the various communities would inevitably result in a proliferation of varieties of the language. In the course of interaction, the language as used by the overwhelming majority will definitely have an advantage and will play a dominant role. Therefore, in the using and teaching of the Chinese language in Singapore, I advocate an approach that orients towards Putonghua, the Chinese language as used in China. From regional, political and historical perspectives, this paper explores the following topics: (1) The teaching of Chinese in Singapore, (2) Chinese language researches in Singapore, and (3) Issues concerning the compilation of a dictionary of the greater Chinese language and research methods in Chinese grammar. It is my thesis that the Chinese language can become a truly international language only when the teaching, textbook compilation and researches in the language are not exclusively the business of Chinese nationals.

Keywords

Chinese language integration teaching of Chinese in Singapore Chinese language researches in Singapore internationalization of the Chinese language

source

International Journal of Chinese Language Education; Dec 2021; Issue No. 10; p.1 - 16

Publisher

Department of Chinese Language Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong
Chinese Language Program, Columbia University
Chung Hwa Book Co. (H.K.) Ltd.

Language

Chinese

ISSN

2520-7733 (Print); 2521-4241 (Online)