The Singapore government continues to employ a calibrated approach toward dialect film screenings, balancing cultural preservation with its core bilingual policy. Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How, alongside other representatives, outlined how the nation manages dialect media. While English and Mandarin remain the primary languages for public broadcasting and national unity, the government permits dialect usage in films and programs under specific conditions, such as for artistic expression, cultural heritage, or reaching senior demographics who primarily communicate in dialects.
- The Singapore government maintains a balanced policy that prioritizes English and Mandarin for national integration while accommodating dialects in specific media contexts.
- Dialect film screenings and broadcasts are assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account artistic merit, cultural significance, and the target audience.
- Regulatory flexibility is granted for platforms such as cinemas and video-on-demand services, which face fewer restrictions than free-to-air television.
- Dialect communication remains a vital tool for engaging senior citizens, particularly for disseminating health and social service updates.
Based in Singapore, CNA (Channel News Asia) covers global developments with an Asian perspective, with correspondents based in major cities across Asia, including Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing, as well as in New York, Washington D.C. and London.
Official website: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/
Original video here.
This summary has been generated by AI.
"If one has done one thing right, he will not need ro unleash a thousand speeches to explain his misdeed"
— someone named Moon Tzu, by his work "Art of Talking Your Way Out"
this days in 2026 the younger gen dialects of different group decline so we need films being it in our TV or cinema
Tamil is an Indian dialect.
Dialects is finished just like what the "Stop at 2" campaign which affected our population. It's common to have 1 or 2 or even none in families.
As usual not proactive, when face with pressure from public the they sing a different tune.
Morning world 🌍
To be able to speak our ancestral dialect does not diminish our ability to speak Mandarin, English, Malay, etc lah! It may in fact have upgraded our DNA to allow our children to pick up even other languages e.g. Korean, German, Japanese, ….! The idea that speaking dialects impairs us from learning Mandarin is unproven by facts. For me, when I visited Guangdong & Fujian, I felt completing at home and at ease communicating with the locals in their dialects. It is also most surreal in my ancestral province to hear my dialect being used generally everywhere and I became one of them. We don't speak Mandarin well because we speak English at home ……. 😇
The idealism of Speak Mandarin campaign or bilingual policy should follow that of the stop at two policy. They were fools agenda after all, pushed by young over-developed minds who saw themselves as being able to foresee the final outcome of human progress.
Siao liao, lu tar ti kar, lim kopi la, lol
I think today I’ll give that parasite a look at incase i ruin beoncee coming to live with me .
Cant type i drunnkg driving
Why do the English speeches sound like the audience is entirely ethnically Chinese? By “dialects”, do they mean just the “Chinese dialects”? By encouraging “everyone to learn Mandarin”, do they mean “everyone Chinese”? As a Chinese-Singaporean, I’m troubled by the heavily ethnocentric language used.
Also, why does it take a groundswell of public comments and the popularity of a single movie for policymakers in IMDA to start asking themselves or assessing if current public policies have outlived their purposes or remain relevant in today’s cultural context?
The PAP is really afraid of Teochew! In 1992, the opposition party managed to break into Parliament relying precisely on the Teochew dialect!
Dialects are roots and way of life, English are the international language for communications, whether want speaks Mandarin or not is not important, when go for job interviews English still the requirements
Weird, they said Chinese and Chinese dialect are our Chinese culture. Are they really to today's Singaporean. I did come across this Singaporean and his youtube video calling Chinese and Chinese dialect low class peasant languages. So, are we the problem due to IMDA or our over consummation of foreign media, mainly the West and Japanese?
what right does the singapore government has , to restrict our Chinese population of dialect materials ???!
we have enough of western assimilation for over a century, its time to reflect our mistake !
Like going back in time😂
The time has changed since 1979. It is time to abolish the dialect ban.
Why do we need government green light for dialects. Its our undeniable right to our language.
Sick pap absolute control over the population.
Too late already, too few ppl understand the dialects and we have YouTube and all using English.
Even if they lift up restrictions, still need to teach the youths with dialect lessons in schools.
经过60多年的漫长时间，新加坡好不容易才使双语政策成形，但我觉得还未真正的成功；原因是即便只是双语，大部分的新加坡人今天都还是无法精通双语，更何况再添加方言。如果再鼓励方言在家中流通，新加坡将来的一代会更加无法掌握双语的运用，这种政策不止减速根本就是驾倒车。我要强调的是，历史只是过程，不是永恒不变的真理；你可以回顾借镜历史， 但非常现实的你无法再回复生活在历史的怀抱里。要前进要生存必须与时并进，这是实实在在的生存之道。老实的说一句，我已77岁了，我的母语华语却是半桶水，对新加坡一路走来的成功体验非常深触。只此一部方言电影就如此的激动，那还了得！由于今日的地缘政策，共产党想借此机会统战多国，扰乱人心以不战而胜的策略来令你终归选边, 这不是不可能的事。说讲方言只是人云亦云，几十年来没有说及方言的日子还不是过的好好的。P.S. If you'd like to read this in English, you can ask an AI to translate it for you. Thank you.