Singapore’s Speak Mandarin Campaign: A Historiographical Review

Authors

Xing Fang

Publication Date

2022

Abstract

Language policy functions as a critical instrument in Singapore’s nation building since its independence in the 1960s. This paper intends to examine some major literature in the past fifty years concerning Singapore’s well-known Speak Mandarin Campaign, in order to reveal the chronological development in scholarship. The content of the literature foregrounds paradigm shifts from viewing Mandarin as an identity marker to valuing it as linguistic capital, and from treating identity as a bounded concept to acknowledging its fluidity in the context of globalisation. The evident historical changes in the writing of the studies also reflect shifts in terms of the scholars’ gaze in research, the core subject under investigation, the meaning of critical notions such as national identity and Mandarin, as well as research methods adopted and sources analysed. These findings could reinforce understanding of the scholarly developments concerning Singapore’s language policy and inform the direction for investigating recent progress of the Speak Mandarin Campaign and Singapore’s national identity formation.

First Page

3

Last Page

22

Recommended Citation

Fang, Xing (2022) "Singapore’s Speak Mandarin Campaign: A Historiographical Review," Asian Review: Vol. 35: No. 2, Article 2.
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/arv/vol35/iss2/2