Open AccessHokkien as a Heritage Language of Citizenry in Singapore
Author(s) -
Jyh Wee Sew
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
issues in language studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2180-2726
DOI - 10.33736/ils.2393.2020
Subject(s) - citizenship , narrative , population , variety (cybernetics) , ethnic group , sociology , ethnology , geography , linguistics , political science , anthropology , computer science , demography , philosophy , artificial intelligence , politics , law
In examining Hokkien as a heritage language in Singapore, this discussion hopes to contribute to an enriching of the perception of citizenship in an ever-evolving national narrative towards one people (Mathew, 2017). The Singapore Census of Population statistics indicate that 11% of ethnic local Chinese households speak Hokkien. Singaporean television serials and movies that use Hokkien as the medium of narration achieve encouraging viewership and box office ratings, hinting that Hokkien is understood, or appreciated by a significant number of the local population as a language of prominence. Therefore, since Hokkien holds a key to common Chinese Singaporean cultural memories, this paper contemplates if learning Hokkien could cultivate a collective resilience when balancing professional, and personal challenges. To this end, 冰冰Show, a contemporary Taiwanese variety program available on YouTube, is used to evaluate the potential power of this language in nurturing citizenship.