I am delighted by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's decision to include both parents' dialects on digital birth certificates (Clan associations glad that feedback taken on board, Aug 13).

Some infants' names have the surname derived from the pronunciation of the father's dialect, with the given name in hanyu pinyin.

This is a good practice and should be embraced for as long as possible. It blends the best of both worlds.

The parent's dialects indicate the child's ancestral roots in a Chinese province.

Most young children are now no longer familiar with their own dialects, but it is still necessary for them to at least have a fundamental idea of the dialect group they belong to. They may choose to learn their dialects in the future.

Teo Kok Seah