The author has a college classmate who went to Singapore to study for a postgraduate degree after graduating from undergraduate studies. He returned to China once during his studies. Several classmates found time to meet. She is the only one among several people who went abroad to study for a postgraduate degree. Her classmates were quite envious, but they all knew that she was not good at English and asked how she adapted to the environment when she just arrived in Singapore.
Her answer is very simple. Singapore is full of Chinese people, and there is no problem in communicating in Chinese , but coursework needs to be written in English and can be solved through intelligent translation software.
What the author is talking about is the real Singapore. According to statistics, Chinese accounts for 75% of Singapore's total population. Although Chinese is not the official language, basically Chinese in Singapore speak Chinese, but their level is at the stage of being able to speak, recognize, and not writing.
Singapore's independence on August 9, 1965, after which Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew announced one thing: Singapore abolished Chinese and used English as its official language.
"forced" independence
independence is a blessing worthy of history for the average country, but not for Singapore.
Lee Kuan Yew wrote a passage in his memoir, "Some countries were originally independent, some countries fought for independence, and Singapore's independence was imposed on it. Whenever we look back at the moment when we signed an agreement to separate Singapore from Malaysia , we always feel pain, and I have never been so sad. The separation of the family became a fact, and I failed many people."
From Lee Kuan Yew's words, we can see that even if he was elected as prime minister, he had no joy at all, and he even felt pain, because he was not considering his political career, but Singapore's future development issues.
When Singapore was just independent, the population was only 2 million, 75% of them were Chinese, Singapore Island accounts for 88.5% of the land area. The 63 small islands around are all very small, and the island's tamsui has been imported.
As the newly independent Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew took his post in his position and began to seriously think about Singapore's future development ideas. After some thought, Lee Kuan Yew made a far-reaching decision, was to abolish Chinese in Singapore. He also personally closed the Nanyang University , which spreads Chinese culture. His determination can be seen.
At that time, Singaporeans Some people speak Chinese, some speak Malay , and some speak Tamil . The national culture behind the language is. Choose any language as Mandarin and may cause dissatisfaction among people of other languages. In order to avoid the social unrest in Singapore that had just been independent, Lee Kuan Yew chose English.
choose English
75% of Singapore are Chinese. Why did Lee Kuan Yew insist on abolishing Chinese? In his writing " Lee Kuan Yew's view of the world ", there was also a passage, "We also keep in touch with the world through language. Fortunately, the United Kingdom ruled Singapore in the past, and it left behind English. If Singapore was ruled by France like Vietnam, we must forget French and learn English to keep in line with the world. That would definitely be a very painful and difficult transition."
"Connecting with the world" is not only Lee Kuan Yew's most fundamental purpose of abolishing Chinese . After comprehensively analyzing Singapore's advantages and disadvantages, Lee Kuan Yew decided to let Singapore and the world develop trade in line with the world.
The land area is small and the island has limited resources, but Singapore's geographical location is very advantageous because it is adjacent to the southern entrance of Malacca Strait , which is a throat place.
To keep pace with the world, Singapore must be able to speak English. In addition to facilitating communication, it can also allow Singaporeans to adapt to Western thinking and value concepts faster, because language is not just a tool for communication, there are many potential factors hidden behind it. With English as a breakthrough, Singapore has begun its transformation and development path.
Lee Kuan Yew first started to develop the manufacturing industry. In 1968, the Jurong Industrial Zone and multiple light industrial bases were established. After improving the basic facilities of the manufacturing industry, he began to find ways to attract foreign investment and formulated many preferential policies.
Lee Kuan Yew's policy soon saw its effectiveness, and Singapore once became the world's major exporter of electronic products. From Singapore's independence to 1983, Singapore's GDP has maintained rapid growth, and an island country with a small area has become one of the " Asian Four Little Dragons ".
. Lee Kuan Yew believes that the abolition of Chinese is indispensable for the achievement of these achievements. In fact, Lee Kuan Yew chose English on the surface, but in fact he chose to move closer to the European and American countries that speak English. Although 75% of Chinese were Chinese, the achievements of the New China at that time were not strong enough to drive Singapore's economic development.
In addition to determining that Singapore is taking the "small but fine" development path, Lee Kuan Yew is also planning how to cultivate a group of elite talents that are suitable for it.
Talents have nothing but two sources, one is to attract foreign elites, and the other is to cultivate local elites. Looking at the world pattern at that time, the talents of Britain and the United States have far exceeded those of other countries. The experience of studying in the UK has also allowed Lee Kuan Yew to see the grand occasion of sending national talents. Whether it is to introduce talents or cultivate talents, English is undoubtedly an effective way to attract foreign and American countries.
The implementation of Chinese
also prompted Lee Kuan Yew to abolish Chinese, that is, Chinese is too difficult to learn compared to English, which is also Lee Kuan Yew's own personal experience.
Although Lee Kuan Yew is from Meizhou, Guangdong, he has lived in Singapore since he was a child and received British education since he was a child. When he grew up, he went to study in the UK. Influenced by the growth environment and educational environment, Lee Kuan Yew has already agreed with the Western value system in his thoughts.
Lee Kuan Yew also had the experience of learning Chinese, but it was too difficult to write horizontal, vertical and square square characters. In the end, Lee Kuan Yew gave up learning Chinese, and he did not want Singaporean citizens to endure the "heart-wrenching pain" of learning Chinese characters like him. chose English that was simpler to write.
From the development of Singapore, it can be seen that Lee Kuan Yew's decision was extremely correct at the beginning, but with the development of the world situation, Lee Kuan Yew has gradually realized the disadvantages of abolishing Chinese.
After the reform and opening up, China has risen rapidly and its share in world trade has become increasingly larger. Lee Kuan Yew keenly smelled the business opportunities in China's vast market and tried to carry out exchanges and cooperation with China, but language has become an obstacle.
Lee Kuan Yew is a dedicated president. After realizing this problem, he began to promote bilingual teaching in Singapore, integrating Chinese as a foreign language into people's lives.
But after a period of development, the cultural value behind the English language has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and it is not that easy to promote Chinese.
Summary:
On March 23, 2015, Lee Kuan Yew, known as the "Father of Singapore", passed away at the age of 92. He devoted his life to the people of Singapore. Under his leadership, Singapore has indeed embarked on the correct development path and joined the ranks of developed countries.
Lee Kuan Yew insisted on abolishing Chinese at the beginning of Singapore’s independence, even though 75% of Singaporean nationals were Chinese.
Looking at Lee Kuan Yew's attitude towards the Singapore language is a barometer of changes in the world situation. From his initial insistence on abolishing Chinese to his later encouragement to speak Chinese, he also indirectly proves that China's influence in the world is gradually increasing.
