Media and The Arts
The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) restricts the use of Chinese dialects in the media. The rationale is that Chinese Singaporeans are already burdened with learning English and Mandarin, and a greater presence of Chinese dialects in the media will only add to their mental load. However, to cater to older Singaporeans who speak only dialects, videos, VCDs, DVDs, paid subscription radio services and pay TV channels are exempt from MICA's restrictions. Two free-to-air channels, okto and Channel 8, are also allowed to show dialect operas and arthouse movies with some dialect content respectively. More local films are also made containing, or in dialect. There are no restrictions on entries for film festivals.
Dialects are not as controlled in traditional arts. As such, they have managed to survive, and even flourish in these areas. In Singapore, types of Chinese opera include Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese and Cantonese. In the past, this diversity encouraged the translation of scripts for popular stories between dialects. After the implementation of the bilingual policy and Speak Mandarin Campaign, Mandarin subtitles were introduced to help the audience understand. Today, as usage of English rises, some opera troupes not only provide English subtitles but translate the whole opera into English. For these English-Chinese operas, subtitles may be provided in either Mandarin, dialect or both. In this way, Chinese opera reaches out to as wide an audience as possible despite being dialect-specific.
Chinese clan associations also play a role in maintaining dialects. In the past, they provided support to migrant Chinese, based on the province they came from. Today, they provide a place for people who speak the same dialect to gather and interact. For example, the Hokkien Huay Kuan holds classes for performing arts, calligraphy, Chinese language and Hokkien dialect. They also organize the biennial Hokkien Festival which aims to promote Hokkien customs and culture. Efforts such as these could help Chinese dialects resist erosion.
The Eurasian Association also holds Kristang classes for anyone interested regardless of age. In this way, it hopes to preserve what it feels is a unique part of the Eurasian heritage.
Read more about this topic: Languages Of Singapore
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