Speak Mandarin Campaign

The Speak Mandarin Campaign (SMC; simplified Chinese: 讲华语运动; traditional Chinese: 講華語運動; pinyin: Jiǎng Huáyǔ Yùndòng; Wade–Giles: Chiang3 hua2 yü3 yün4 tung4) is an initiative by the government of Singapore to encourage the Singaporean Chinese population to speak Standard Mandarin Chinese, one of the four official languages of Singapore. Launched on 7 September 1979 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and organised by the Promote Mandarin Council, the SMC has been an annual event promoting the use of Mandarin.

In 1966, the Singaporean government implemented a policy of bilingual education, where Singaporean students learn both English and their designated mother tongue, which was Mandarin for Chinese Singaporeans. The Goh Report, an evaluation of Singapore’s education system by Goh Keng Swee, showed that less than 40% of the student population managed to attain minimum levels of competency in two languages. It was later determined that the learning of Mandarin among Singaporean Chinese was hindered by home use of other Chinese varieties, such as Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese and Hakka. Hence, the government decided to rectify problems facing implementation of the bilingual education policy, by launching a campaign to promote Mandarin as a common language among the Chinese population, and to discourage use of other Chinese varieties.

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