HOKKIEN AS A HERITAGE LANGUAGE OF CITIZENRY IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

In examining Hokkien as a heritage language in Singapore, this discussion hopes to contribute to an enriching of the perception of citizenship in an ever-evolving national narrative towards one people (Mathew, 2017). The Singapore Census of Population statistics indicate that 11% of ethnic local Chinese households speak Hokkien. Singaporean television serials and movies that use Hokkien as the medium of narration achieve encouraging viewership and box office ratings, hinting that Hokkien is understood, or appreciated by a significant number of the local population as a language of prominence. Therefore, since Hokkien holds a key to common Chinese Singaporean cultural memories, this paper contemplates if learning Hokkien could cultivate a collective resilience when balancing professional, and personal challenges. To this end, 冰冰 Show, a contemporary Taiwanese variety program available on YouTube, is used to evaluate the potential power of this language in nurturing citizenship.