A possibility for revitalisation?

According to Kaplan (1997; 63), "language revival occurs in a situation where a language has entirely died off or is on the verge of dying off." However, given the stance of the Government (both past and present) on Mandarin usage, and its fear of the erosive nature of the Chinese dialects, it is unlikely that the Chinese dialects will undergo language revival.

Language revival also requires an "extraordinary effort on the part of the affected language community as well as on the part of the dominant community in which the minority is embedded" (Kaplan, 1997; 64). If we see the dominant community as the larger, English and Mandarin speaking population, and this community as being influenced by the Government and its dictates, then it remains up to the affected language community to effect any sort of change. Obviously, given the economic benefits of using standard English and Mandarin, speakers have no incentive to speak their dialects, aside for purposes of establishing solidarity. Moreover, a "linguistic ecology" (Kaplan, 1997; 63) no longer exists for the dialects.

One can argue that language maintenance (on the part of the individual) sustained over a prolonged time frame may prevent language death. On the other hand, if no further effort is put in, the dialect would merely stagnate, or even enter a state of gradual decline. On the premise that such language maintenance can only be carried out on the group and individual level, we are not so optimistic of its long-term survival.

When it comes to maintenance of the dialects, we have a few suggestions. These are by no means foolproof:

1. The Huay Kuans could provide more scholarships/bursaries to members of the community who qualify for tertiary (in particular, university) education on the condition that they should be fluent in their dialect and be expected to participate in clan activities (grooming them for future leadership positions perhaps?). A Hainanese friend of ours, Diana Koh, is on such a scholarship, although there is no obligation on her part to fulfil. Even then, she says:

"I will take part in the activities like going back to Hainan Island, which is something coming up this year's end. With two other friends, we have to teach a group of fifteen students each basic Hainanese before going there. It's kind of fun...we get to know each other and meet Hainanese from all over the world. It's a part of me and I don't want to lose it".

Presently, the Hokkien and Teochew Huay Kuans also offer similar scholarships/bursaries. We would like to suggest that they continue to do so, with an added requirement for the scholars to possess linguistic mastery of the dialect, if this is not already stipulated.

2. Culinary classes for members of the same dialect, or even other dialects, especially for archetypal Chinese cuisine such as mooncakes, porridge, rice dumplings. By interacting informally to whip up a dish or two, there will be inevitable borrowings of certain lexical items, for example, ingredients.

3. The Teochew and Hokkien Huay Kuans can have the audio pronunciations of common lexical terms on their websites. In their move towards becoming more IT-savvy to keep up with the times, this could help in generating some form of interest, even amongst the youth. They could also put up the English translation of those words/phrases so as to facilitate access to non-speakers.

4. Organise karaoke competitions in Hokkien and Teochew with prize money! Even non-speakers have a reason to be there because they might have participating elder family members or relatives. A carnival-like atmosphere can be fostered at the occasion, and if this is successful there can even be competitions for specific age groups (especially youth). This could encourage them to be proficient in the dialect.