Rounding off our short series of posts about Bilingualism, here are a few interesting statistics and facts about the Mandarin language:
• In 1979, the PAP launched the Speak Mandarin Campaign with the purpose of unifying under one language Singapore’s multi-dialect Chinese communities and to help further Singapore’s business ties with mainland China.
• Since China became more open as a country in the late 1970s and her economy began to grow, the advantages of being able to communicate in ‘the Mother tongue’ increased also, particularly in the last few decades.
• Research sources vary, but the general consensus as of 2017 is that 50% of the world’s population (approx. 3.8 billion) is bilingual.
• Not far behind, approximately 43% of the global population is believed to be trilingual.
• The percentage of the world’s population speaking more than one language, i.e. a language be-sides their mother tongue, has increased year on year alongside a number of factors, namely, an increase in nomadic working practices and multi racial partnerships.
• Singapore is one of 3 sovereign countries that has 4 official languages – Mandarin Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. The other two countries are Papua New Guinea and Switzerland.
• In Singapore, 76% of the population speak Chinese which includes many different dialects (2000 census).
• 35% of Singaporeans speak Mandarin and 23% English (2000 census).
• Mandarin, based on the Beijing dialect, is the official language of China.
• Mandarin is widely spoken in Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia.
It is now widely agreed that Mandarin is one of the most important languages to study in the 21st century. Even in countries where Chinese is not an official language, such as Australia, USA and UK, more and more students are studying Mandarin.
Here in Singapore, fluency in Mandarin will open up global job opportunities for your child in the future, particularly within the Asia Pacific Region. Though of course at first, ideally they will excel in their Chinese studies at school!
Whether starting young within a quality Chinese playgroup, looking for a Chinese composition class or to extend your child’s learning in a Chinese Holiday Programme, EduGrove meets all your needs as an award winning Chinese enrichment centre in Singapore.
Come learn how EduGrove Methodology aims to provide a holistic learning approach that helps our students build a strong Mandarin foundation to reach their full potential in all areas of development!
