The Irony of Lee Kuan Yew's Mandarin Campaign
He was British-educated and began learning Mandarin seriously at thirty-two.
There’s a certain irony in the history of Mandarin in Singapore. The man who pushed Mandarin, pushed aside other Chinese languages, and warned against deculturalization was himself British-educated. He only began learning Mandarin seriously at thirty-two.
Lee Kuan Yew grew up speaking English. Mandarin was something he had to make a deliberate effort to learn as an adult. Yet he went on to launch the Speak Mandarin Campaign, urging Chinese Singaporeans to replace dialects such as Hokkien, Teochew, and Cantonese with Mandarin.
Part of the idea was to keep Chinese Singaporeans connected to Chinese culture, even as English became the country’s working language. But many of the languages being pushed aside were the ones people already spoke at home.
I just find that history so interesting. The man shaping what Chinese Singaporeans should speak was still working to learn the language himself.