From bilingualism to multilingual confidence: What the Dear You debate is telling us
We can continue to invest in mother tongue education while recognising that dialects and heritage languages deserve a more visible place in our cultural life.
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The debate over Dear You, filmed largely in Teochew, has touched a chord even with younger Singaporeans who may not be fluent in that language.
PHOTO: CLOVER FILMS
SINGAPORE – It took a film to reopen one of Singapore’s foundational policy questions.
Dear You, the Chinese blockbuster filmed largely in Teochew and centred on the emotional worlds of Chinese migrants to South-east Asia, arrived in Singapore with a peculiarity: Its general release here would be in Mandarin-dubbed form, while the original Teochew version would be confined to limited screenings.
