Excerpts of speech by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry & Education, at the 8th National Primary Schools On-the-Spot Chinese Composition Competition last Saturday.
Bilingualism is an important feature of our education system. It is as important for the future as it has been for the past. Learning the English language, and learning it well, will give all of you a good future. It will allow you to reach out to a world of knowledge and technology, and make the best use of it. It will help you do well in the future, and help ensure that Singapore continues to be successful.
We also learn English so that we can communicate and feel at ease with each other in Singapore, and learn from each other’s cultures.
To understand the importance of English, just look at China. All their primary school students are now learning English. In the cities, they start learning English at Primary One. In the countryside, they start at Primary Three. And there is huge demand for English language training among those who have already left school - either because they did not have a chance to learn the language earlier or because they are trying to achieve a higher command of the language.
In 10-15 years time, Chinese students will be leaving school with a reasonably good standard of English - very likely better than the Japanese and several other Asian countries. They will be able to interact more freely and comfortably with the West, and learn more quickly from the Western countries. It will give them a new competitive advantage.
We must continue to be proficient and confident in our command of English. But it is equally important that we place emphasis on our mother tongues. They provide us with anchors in a world of change - change that will be rapid and often confusing. They allow us to tap the deep reservoirs of wisdom that each of our cultures possesses.
And knowledge of your own culture allows you to learn about other cultures with confidence. Our mother tongues will allow us to be a global city, reaching out to the world, without losing a sense of confidence and pride in our own identity.
Another advantage of being comfortable in our mother tongues is that these languages, too, have economic value. Today, for instance, those having a good grasp of Mandarin find it easier to build relationships within China, and do good business with China. Relating with the Chinese in English will not be the same as relating in Mandarin - even as the Chinese become more comfortable speaking in English.
Not everyone can excel in their mother tongue language, and not everyone will put it to economic use. As a nation, however, we have to make sure that we have a large pool of people who are not just competent but highly competent in the mother tongue languages, and deeply immersed in their cultures. It will give us both cultural and economic advantage as a society.
I therefore encourage you to take both English and your mother tongue language very seriously. They are both good for your future. Those who are able to should also try and pick up at least a casual knowledge of another Singapore language, besides their mother tongue. It will open for you another window into Singapore’s rich multi-cultural life, and a window to new friendships.
本文節錄自貿工部兼教育部高級政務部長尚達曼上星期六為全國國小生現場華文作文比賽主持開幕的演講稿。
雙語政策是我國教育體系的重要一環，正如過去的舉足輕重影響，雙語政策在未來也同等重要。學習並精通英文確保我們有美好的未來，讓我們接觸到廣闊的知識和科技，並從中得到好處。英文將對你的前途發揮作用，也確保新加坡維持領先地位。此外，我們學習英文也是為了與其他國人自在交往，了解彼此的文化習俗。
此刻，我們隻要放眼中國，就知道英文有多重要。所有的中國國小生都在勤學英文。在大城市裏，學生從國小一年級開始學英文，鄉鎮學校則從小三學起。至于那些踏入社會的人，更有迫切掌握英文的需要，也許是因為他們當初沒有學習英文的機會，或者此刻他們對英文有更上一層樓的學習動力。再過10年至15年，中國畢業生的英文水準會相當不錯，極可能比日本和多個亞洲國家人民的英文能力更高。如此一來，中國人將能更流暢自在地與西方進行接觸，加速向西方國家學習的步調;這將提供他們新的競爭優勢。
我們必須維持精通英文的能力和使用英文的把握，但也須同樣重視母語。因為掌握母語，將能讓我們在瞬息萬變而且通常令人迷惑的新經濟中，懂得從本身的文化底殿挖掘出它所蘊育的智慧和資源，增進我們的優勢。對自身文化有了透徹了解，我們才能充滿自信地接觸其他文化。母語讓我們在成為環球化城市和面向全球時，不至于失去自我認同的信念和尊嚴。
充分掌握母語的另一優勢是因為母語也擁有經濟價值。例如，通曉華語的人會覺得無論在中國建立商業關系或經商都會是事半功倍的。即使今天中國人漸漸懂得英文，比起使用英語，同中國人以華語交談畢竟是不同的。
不是每個人都能掌握好自己的母語，也不是每個人都能因母語的使用得到經濟上的好處。然而，作為一個國家，我們須要確保有一大批能掌握母語和對母族文化有深刻認識的人。這將使我們的社會同時具備文化和經濟的優勢。
因此，我鼓勵你認真對待英語和母語;它們對你的未來都很有幫助。除此之外，那些行有餘力的人，更應該嘗試對母語以外的至少一種在地語言有基本認識;那將使你對新加坡豐富的多元文化有深一層的認識，也讓你結交更多新朋友。
·蔡深江譯