Excerpts of speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry & Education, at the launch of Lychee Fragrance and seminar on bilingualism last Sunday at the News Centre, SPH.
Developing a significant group of people who are highly competent in their mother tongues and English will give us advantage in the increasingly dense linkages of a globalising world.
Individuals who enjoy the flexibility of bilingualism and the cultural understanding it allows will be able to interpret the world for others, and to adapt more confidently to a changing and culturally ambiguous international environment.
As a society, the mingling of multiple perspectives provides fertile soil for fresh and novel ideas to take root and grow. It also nurtures a deeper respect for the differences between cultures that do endure.
Local literature now faces the challenges and opportunities of a completely new setting. First, we are effectively a bilingual society, after four decades of nationhood.
The 2000 census showed for the first time that a majority of the Singapore population is now literate in two or more languages （56% in 2000 compared to 45% in 1990）。 This is especially so for the better educated, and for the young.
Among Chinese youth - those aged 15-24 - 88% are literate in Mandarin and 98% in English. Literacy does not, of course, translate into depth of understanding of culture. But our bilingual education does provide us with an important base to leverage on.
The second change is in the wider world, in Chinese identity and culture. Until the 1990s, scholars described the identity of the Chinese people as reflecting a century and a half of humiliation.
Just 10 years ago, many observers also felt that the Tiananmen tragedy had irreversibly also severed the emotional attachment of the modern-day Chinese diaspora, in the US and elsewhere, to the mainland.
These accounts are now rapidly becoming a distant past. China is emerging as a major world player. Its continuing economic modernisation and technological advancement is giving the Chinese people new confidence in themselves. It is transforming the meaning of being Chinese, in a way that scholars are just beginning to examine.
We do not know exactly how Chinese society will evolve as it advances economically - how individualistic or community-oriented socially, or how nationalist or internationalist politically.
But culturally, it is more likely to be more open to the world, driven by the tremendous enthusiasm of young Chinese generations to learn from the West and catch up as quickly as possible.
We are unlikely to see a return to an insulated culture. Every primary school student in China now studies English - from Primary 1 in the cities, and Primary 3 in the countryside. In 20 years, they will have a vastly larger intelligentsia reading and communicating with the world in English.
Likewise, many more people outside China will learn Chinese. Just last week, I visited a school in the Boston area, one of the top performers in the US （Roxbury Latin School）。 It is 360 years old, the oldest continuing school in the US.
The students still take Latin and Greek, and do well in them. But the principal told me that he was trying to persuade the school board to have the students take Chinese in future.
He felt it was very odd to groom future American leaders who did not understand Chinese.
These trends will reshape the way the Chinese interact with the rest of the world over the next generation. They will mean an increased interplay of cultures, greater use of both English and Chinese, greater multiplicity of perspectives, and denser interaction of peoples. It is already becoming evident in cities like Shanghai.
Our bilingualism is a strength we can build on. We are seeking to groom a stronger Chinese cultural elite, which retains its competence in English. But our fundamental advantage will be in being a cosmopolitan Asian city, rooted in Asian traditions and open to the world.
Our cultural eclectism will be an advantage. It will allow our writers to provide a unique set of lens for looking at China and the rest of the world. It is a huge world for us, outside Singapore. Several local Chinese writers and scholars of literature have already gained recognition abroad, including in China.
Our distinct multicultural perspectives, and the continuing appeal of the Singapore model of multicultural society, give us a future in the wider world. It is for us to shape this future, collectively.
The development of literature and the arts, in our many languages and cultures, is essential to growing the creative imagination. It is part and parcel of how we borrow critically from our past, shed practices and beliefs that are unsuitable or irrelevant, and choose and invent our future.
We must build on and strengthen our bilingual tradition, and keep our distinctively Singaporean multiculturalism, to maximise our future potential.
貿(mào)工部兼教育部高級政務(wù)部長尚達(dá)曼上星期日在報(bào)業(yè)中心為為《荔子情》一書的發(fā)布和一個(gè)雙語教育座談會主持開幕,以下是他致詞的摘要。
培養(yǎng)一批精通雙語的人才,可以讓新加坡在聯(lián)系日益緊密的環(huán)球化世界里占有優(yōu)勢。
能夠靈活掌握雙語和熟悉兩種文化的人才,可以幫助他人了解世局的變化,也能更有信心的適應(yīng)瞬息萬變和文化差異日益模糊的國際環(huán)境。
社會上多種觀點(diǎn)的交流,能為全新的構(gòu)思提供萌芽和茁壯的肥沃土壤。人們也會對不同的文化產(chǎn)生更深的敬意。
本地的文學(xué)創(chuàng)作,正面對一個(gè)全新局面的挑戰(zhàn)和機(jī)遇。
第一、建國40年后,新加坡已經(jīng)是一個(gè)雙語社會。2000年的人口普查第顯示大部分新加坡人口,特別是受過較高教育和較年輕者,認(rèn)識兩種或多種語言（從1990的45%增加到2000年的56%）。
介于15到24歲的年輕華人,88%懂得華語,98%懂得英文。當(dāng)然,這并不代表對文化的深刻認(rèn)識。但是,我們的雙語教育卻為我們提供了進(jìn)一步發(fā)展的重要基礎(chǔ)。
第二、中國人的共同性和文化已經(jīng)有了改變。一直到90年代,許多學(xué)者仍然認(rèn)為中國人的共同性在于反映了150年的恥辱。
許多人覺察到中國人的無力感和無助感,這是西方帝國主義、日本人的侵略、國民黨和共產(chǎn)黨的沖突和戰(zhàn)后40年文化被高度政治化的結(jié)果。
在10年前,許多觀察家也認(rèn)為天安*無可挽回的切斷了現(xiàn)代海外華人對中國大陸的情意結(jié)。
這些都已經(jīng)成為過去。中國已經(jīng)崛起為世界強(qiáng)國,持續(xù)的經(jīng)濟(jì)現(xiàn)代化和科技上的進(jìn)步,賦于中國人全新的信心。身為中國人的意義正在蛻變,這是一些學(xué)者正在探討的課題。
我們不知道經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展將如何改變中國的社會。人們會不會變得崇尚個(gè)人主義而使社會失去凝聚力？中國在政治上會趨向國家主義或者國際主義？
不過,因?yàn)槟贻p中國人希望快速學(xué)習(xí)和趕上西方的沖勁,中國在文化應(yīng)該會對外更加開放。
中國文化不太可能再和外界絕緣。每一名中國小學(xué)生都在學(xué)習(xí)英文,城市小學(xué)從小一開始,鄉(xiāng)村小學(xué)則從小三開始。不出20年,中國便會有大批知識分子能夠以英文與世界交流。
同樣的,很多人會開始學(xué)習(xí)華文。上星期,我參觀了波斯頓一所具有360年歷史和成績卓越的學(xué)校,也是美國古老的進(jìn)修學(xué)校。
學(xué)生們在學(xué)校學(xué)習(xí)拉丁和希臘語,并取得優(yōu)異的成績。但是,校長說要說服董事部讓學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)華文。他覺得學(xué)校培養(yǎng)的未來美國領(lǐng)袖如果不懂華文,將是很奇怪的事情。
這些趨勢會重塑中國人和外界將來的溝通方式。它們意味著更多的文化交流、更多人使用英文和華文、更多觀點(diǎn)的出現(xiàn)、和不同國家人民更緊密的交往。這樣的現(xiàn)象已經(jīng)在一些中國城市出現(xiàn),上海便是一個(gè)例子。
本地華文文學(xué)的未來決定于我們能否適應(yīng)這新的環(huán)境——首先、具備雙語能力,不再只是熟悉任何單一文化的新加坡人；其次、中國和外界的交流將引發(fā)許多全新的觀點(diǎn)。
我們可以進(jìn)一步發(fā)揮我們的雙語優(yōu)勢。我們正努力培養(yǎng)一批能夠同時(shí)掌握英文的華文文化精英。我們的基本優(yōu)勢在于新加坡是一個(gè)國際化亞洲城市,既有根深蒂固的亞洲傳統(tǒng),又能完全對外開放。
我們的文化折中主義是個(gè)有利因素,本地作家將能以獨(dú)特的眼光透視中國和整個(gè)世界。一些本地華文作家和文化學(xué)者已經(jīng)在中國和其他地方享有盛名。
我們特殊的多元文化背景,和新加坡作為一個(gè)多元文化社會模式的吸引力,讓我們在可以在廣闊的世界里憧憬我們的未來。我們必須同心協(xié)力共同塑造這個(gè)未來。
通過我們的多種語言和文化,發(fā)展我們的文學(xué)和藝術(shù),是培養(yǎng)創(chuàng)意想象力的重要途徑。這是借鑒以往的經(jīng)驗(yàn)、推陳出新、選擇和塑造我們的未來的工作的一部分。
我們必須加強(qiáng)我們的雙語傳統(tǒng),保持我們的多元文化特性,以便充分發(fā)揮我們的潛能。
。葉琦保譯
Developing a significant group of people who are highly competent in their mother tongues and English will give us advantage in the increasingly dense linkages of a globalising world.
Individuals who enjoy the flexibility of bilingualism and the cultural understanding it allows will be able to interpret the world for others, and to adapt more confidently to a changing and culturally ambiguous international environment.
As a society, the mingling of multiple perspectives provides fertile soil for fresh and novel ideas to take root and grow. It also nurtures a deeper respect for the differences between cultures that do endure.
Local literature now faces the challenges and opportunities of a completely new setting. First, we are effectively a bilingual society, after four decades of nationhood.
The 2000 census showed for the first time that a majority of the Singapore population is now literate in two or more languages （56% in 2000 compared to 45% in 1990）。 This is especially so for the better educated, and for the young.
Among Chinese youth - those aged 15-24 - 88% are literate in Mandarin and 98% in English. Literacy does not, of course, translate into depth of understanding of culture. But our bilingual education does provide us with an important base to leverage on.
The second change is in the wider world, in Chinese identity and culture. Until the 1990s, scholars described the identity of the Chinese people as reflecting a century and a half of humiliation.
Just 10 years ago, many observers also felt that the Tiananmen tragedy had irreversibly also severed the emotional attachment of the modern-day Chinese diaspora, in the US and elsewhere, to the mainland.
These accounts are now rapidly becoming a distant past. China is emerging as a major world player. Its continuing economic modernisation and technological advancement is giving the Chinese people new confidence in themselves. It is transforming the meaning of being Chinese, in a way that scholars are just beginning to examine.
We do not know exactly how Chinese society will evolve as it advances economically - how individualistic or community-oriented socially, or how nationalist or internationalist politically.
But culturally, it is more likely to be more open to the world, driven by the tremendous enthusiasm of young Chinese generations to learn from the West and catch up as quickly as possible.
We are unlikely to see a return to an insulated culture. Every primary school student in China now studies English - from Primary 1 in the cities, and Primary 3 in the countryside. In 20 years, they will have a vastly larger intelligentsia reading and communicating with the world in English.
Likewise, many more people outside China will learn Chinese. Just last week, I visited a school in the Boston area, one of the top performers in the US （Roxbury Latin School）。 It is 360 years old, the oldest continuing school in the US.
The students still take Latin and Greek, and do well in them. But the principal told me that he was trying to persuade the school board to have the students take Chinese in future.
He felt it was very odd to groom future American leaders who did not understand Chinese.
These trends will reshape the way the Chinese interact with the rest of the world over the next generation. They will mean an increased interplay of cultures, greater use of both English and Chinese, greater multiplicity of perspectives, and denser interaction of peoples. It is already becoming evident in cities like Shanghai.
Our bilingualism is a strength we can build on. We are seeking to groom a stronger Chinese cultural elite, which retains its competence in English. But our fundamental advantage will be in being a cosmopolitan Asian city, rooted in Asian traditions and open to the world.
Our cultural eclectism will be an advantage. It will allow our writers to provide a unique set of lens for looking at China and the rest of the world. It is a huge world for us, outside Singapore. Several local Chinese writers and scholars of literature have already gained recognition abroad, including in China.
Our distinct multicultural perspectives, and the continuing appeal of the Singapore model of multicultural society, give us a future in the wider world. It is for us to shape this future, collectively.
The development of literature and the arts, in our many languages and cultures, is essential to growing the creative imagination. It is part and parcel of how we borrow critically from our past, shed practices and beliefs that are unsuitable or irrelevant, and choose and invent our future.
We must build on and strengthen our bilingual tradition, and keep our distinctively Singaporean multiculturalism, to maximise our future potential.
貿(mào)工部兼教育部高級政務(wù)部長尚達(dá)曼上星期日在報(bào)業(yè)中心為為《荔子情》一書的發(fā)布和一個(gè)雙語教育座談會主持開幕,以下是他致詞的摘要。
培養(yǎng)一批精通雙語的人才,可以讓新加坡在聯(lián)系日益緊密的環(huán)球化世界里占有優(yōu)勢。
能夠靈活掌握雙語和熟悉兩種文化的人才,可以幫助他人了解世局的變化,也能更有信心的適應(yīng)瞬息萬變和文化差異日益模糊的國際環(huán)境。
社會上多種觀點(diǎn)的交流,能為全新的構(gòu)思提供萌芽和茁壯的肥沃土壤。人們也會對不同的文化產(chǎn)生更深的敬意。
本地的文學(xué)創(chuàng)作,正面對一個(gè)全新局面的挑戰(zhàn)和機(jī)遇。
第一、建國40年后,新加坡已經(jīng)是一個(gè)雙語社會。2000年的人口普查第顯示大部分新加坡人口,特別是受過較高教育和較年輕者,認(rèn)識兩種或多種語言（從1990的45%增加到2000年的56%）。
介于15到24歲的年輕華人,88%懂得華語,98%懂得英文。當(dāng)然,這并不代表對文化的深刻認(rèn)識。但是,我們的雙語教育卻為我們提供了進(jìn)一步發(fā)展的重要基礎(chǔ)。
第二、中國人的共同性和文化已經(jīng)有了改變。一直到90年代,許多學(xué)者仍然認(rèn)為中國人的共同性在于反映了150年的恥辱。
許多人覺察到中國人的無力感和無助感,這是西方帝國主義、日本人的侵略、國民黨和共產(chǎn)黨的沖突和戰(zhàn)后40年文化被高度政治化的結(jié)果。
在10年前,許多觀察家也認(rèn)為天安*無可挽回的切斷了現(xiàn)代海外華人對中國大陸的情意結(jié)。
這些都已經(jīng)成為過去。中國已經(jīng)崛起為世界強(qiáng)國,持續(xù)的經(jīng)濟(jì)現(xiàn)代化和科技上的進(jìn)步,賦于中國人全新的信心。身為中國人的意義正在蛻變,這是一些學(xué)者正在探討的課題。
我們不知道經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展將如何改變中國的社會。人們會不會變得崇尚個(gè)人主義而使社會失去凝聚力？中國在政治上會趨向國家主義或者國際主義？
不過,因?yàn)槟贻p中國人希望快速學(xué)習(xí)和趕上西方的沖勁,中國在文化應(yīng)該會對外更加開放。
中國文化不太可能再和外界絕緣。每一名中國小學(xué)生都在學(xué)習(xí)英文,城市小學(xué)從小一開始,鄉(xiāng)村小學(xué)則從小三開始。不出20年,中國便會有大批知識分子能夠以英文與世界交流。
同樣的,很多人會開始學(xué)習(xí)華文。上星期,我參觀了波斯頓一所具有360年歷史和成績卓越的學(xué)校,也是美國古老的進(jìn)修學(xué)校。
學(xué)生們在學(xué)校學(xué)習(xí)拉丁和希臘語,并取得優(yōu)異的成績。但是,校長說要說服董事部讓學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)華文。他覺得學(xué)校培養(yǎng)的未來美國領(lǐng)袖如果不懂華文,將是很奇怪的事情。
這些趨勢會重塑中國人和外界將來的溝通方式。它們意味著更多的文化交流、更多人使用英文和華文、更多觀點(diǎn)的出現(xiàn)、和不同國家人民更緊密的交往。這樣的現(xiàn)象已經(jīng)在一些中國城市出現(xiàn),上海便是一個(gè)例子。
本地華文文學(xué)的未來決定于我們能否適應(yīng)這新的環(huán)境——首先、具備雙語能力,不再只是熟悉任何單一文化的新加坡人；其次、中國和外界的交流將引發(fā)許多全新的觀點(diǎn)。
我們可以進(jìn)一步發(fā)揮我們的雙語優(yōu)勢。我們正努力培養(yǎng)一批能夠同時(shí)掌握英文的華文文化精英。我們的基本優(yōu)勢在于新加坡是一個(gè)國際化亞洲城市,既有根深蒂固的亞洲傳統(tǒng),又能完全對外開放。
我們的文化折中主義是個(gè)有利因素,本地作家將能以獨(dú)特的眼光透視中國和整個(gè)世界。一些本地華文作家和文化學(xué)者已經(jīng)在中國和其他地方享有盛名。
我們特殊的多元文化背景,和新加坡作為一個(gè)多元文化社會模式的吸引力,讓我們在可以在廣闊的世界里憧憬我們的未來。我們必須同心協(xié)力共同塑造這個(gè)未來。
通過我們的多種語言和文化,發(fā)展我們的文學(xué)和藝術(shù),是培養(yǎng)創(chuàng)意想象力的重要途徑。這是借鑒以往的經(jīng)驗(yàn)、推陳出新、選擇和塑造我們的未來的工作的一部分。
我們必須加強(qiáng)我們的雙語傳統(tǒng),保持我們的多元文化特性,以便充分發(fā)揮我們的潛能。
。葉琦保譯