Bilingual Policy
(1970s onwards)

The first language policy made by the Singapore government was aimed at constructing the multicultural identity of the nation. Implemented shortly after Singapore gained independence, the Bilingual Policy sought to bring about hegemony within each racial group and most importantly, establish a lingua franca among the different races for racial harmony and economic progress. English was chosen as the lingua franca and Mandarin, Tamil and Bahasa Malay (out of a variety of dialects) were chosen to represent the mother tongues of the three main racial groups (Chinese, Indians and Malays respectively). The Bilingual Policy was implemented upon all students under the Singapore education system where it was made compulsory for students to take up one mother tongue of their ethnic group and the English language. In 1978, a review of the policy was conducted and it was found that the Bilingual Policy was ineffective because students were not able to learn the official mother tongues proficiently. To promote the level of proficiency in mother tongues across the school boards, the government introduced language streaming where students were allocated to different levels of studying. Each level is defined by the intensity of the focus on English and the mother tongues. The students were grouped into three levels after a national exam (known as PSLE). Students in the "Special" course focused on their mother tongue and English. Students in the "Express" course concentrated less on their mother tongues and focused on English whilst students in the "Normal" course focused exclusively on English. 

Outlining the Bilingual Policy in this manner helps to reveal the way in which the Eurasian community has been impacted by the policy. The first thing to take note of is that in the languages listed for mother tongue, non of them can be considered as the mother tongue of the Eurasian community. What is often the case for Eurasians is that they adopt another races' mother tongue as their own, to fulfill the education requirements in Singapore. Most of the time, they would adopt either Mandarin or Malay. The Eurasian's compliance to such a policy is often initiated willingly. In the words of one of our interviewees, "The government is the one who is in power and it is simply easier and better for everyone to go along with their policies". For the survival of the community, often compliance rather than a confrontational style would be favored by the Eurasians. The community has "developed a political strategy of survival, through a reconciliatory politics, one that is generally non-confrontational, pragmatic, and politically aware... " (Rappa, Antonio)

 Thus to a certain degree, in learning the mother tongue of a different race the Eurasians are assimilated into two of the three main racial groups. Of course, it is not necessarily the case that when one learns a language of a different race, one necessarily fits into the culture of that race because besides language,  belief systems and even physical appearances are important aspects of a culture. However, Eurasians are also known to be less clannish than other races, especially in comparison to the Chinese, and so the Eurasians inter-mixing with the different races (even in marriage) is no surprise at this conjecture. (Rappa, Nicolette)

Yet having no mother tongue of their own, impedes the transmission of its culture and identity to the members of its own community and to those who are not of the community. One could argue alternatively that the above concept of linking one's mother tongue to one's culture and heritage is a construction of the Singapore government. A case in point would be the Eurasians themselves who view English as their mother tongue, even though efforts made by the state have tried to separate English from mother tongues according to the supposed functions they play in society. With or without the government validation, the notion of English as a mother tongue for the Eurasians goes unchecked within the community and other races. (Rappa, Nicolette)

The second thing to take note of is that the streaming system of segregating students into different levels favors students with good linguistic abilities. Although the Eurasians are very proficient in English, yet the mastery of their supposed mother tongues leaves much to be desired.To help Eurasian students in the area of learning mother tongue, much welfare has been provided by the EAS in terms of tuition and additional classes. However, an education system that is bias towards individuals with good linguistic skills, does not recognize that there are others who excel in different areas beside language and to discount their rights to a better education and greater social mobility seems to be a great injustice.  

The intention of this essay is not to call for a complete revamping of the Singapore school system (though it is implied but will not be pursued further) but to see how the Bilingual Policy has affected the Eurasian community and in turn, affected the usage of language. We have seen how the Bilingual Policy ironically strengthens the claim of the Eurasians that English is their mother tongue (because of their students above-average performance in the English language compared to the other races). However, the community's proficiency in English comes at the cost of Kristang, which has been slowly eradicated from families as the communication tool between different generations. Kristang pales in comparison to English in terms of its importance and relevancy in academia and the economy at large. However, in regards to the culture and the Eurasian Community, Kristang is emblematic of the Eurasian's heritage.

If an appeal was made to the community to take an interest in the language Kristang, it would be one that appeals to the Eurasian's sense of identity and heritage. A possible measure to maintain and promote the usage of Kristang would be through such an appeal. For the maintenance of the language to be successful in the long run, Kristang could be made as a mother tongue by the government such that through the Bilingual Policy, the next generation of Eurasians would come in contact with the language and have an educational purpose in learning it. It would also give Eurasians an incentive to master their mother tongue since it is a language of their heritage and to a certain extent, better equip Eurasians to deal with the prejudice of the education system. Setting Kristang as a mother tongue for Eurasians might preserve the community's identity in the face of pressures to assimilate into the two largest racial groups, the Chinese and the Malays.

However, what would hinder this movement to promote Kristang would stem from the social factors in Singapore and even from the Eurasian community itself. Firstly,  a member of a community might identity himself with the culture and values of the community but not speak the language of the community, and yet be accepted. The Chinese might identify themselves as Hokkien but not speak the language Hokkien and it would be perfectly acceptable by other members of the community. A case in point is how several Chinese (mostly of the generation after the 1980s) do not speak the dialect of their specific communities, yet identify themselves with the community through other means like food, values and even through surnames. Likewise, the Eurasian community might not see a need to learn the language in order to be identified as a member of the community. Furthermore, the Eurasian community has made several significant headways in establishing themselves as a community, distinct from the other races, through means other than language policy (in particular reference to the establishment of the EAS). Therefore, making Kristang a mother tongue of the Eurasians as a means to "centre" Eurasians on their own culture might not be very effective.

What is perhaps the most compelling reason against Kristang as a mother tongue is that Kristang has no economic or social value in the Singapore context. In comparison to Malay and Mandarin, Kristang has little economic value. The language also has a small population of speakers and less "global mileage" than Malay and Mandarin. What is interesting to note here is that the culture the mother tongue is representative of, is that of a national culture which is economically driven, meritocratic and pragmatic. The government's strict definition of a mother tongue as a language that represented and transmitted one's ethnic cultural values does encompass even the culture of the nation. As practicality takes priority over cultural values, the implementation of Kristang as a mother language would even be opposed by the Eurasian community as it lacks practicality and might even be economically (and therefore socially) disadvantageous to the community.  

Thirdly, Kristang has never been a mother tongue to the Eurasians. When it was first formed, it was used more as a trade language and now, it is perceived as a dialect by the community. What would have been a much more worthier issue (in the eyes of the Eurasians perhaps ) to pursue would be to lobby for the recognition of English as a mother tongue for the Eurasians. However, the practice of reconciliatory politics prevents such an outburst as it would strain the community's ties with the other races. The influential positions of the government body (and the government on the whole) are dominated by the Chinese and though a representative for the Eurasian community has been elected, yet the choice of such a representative is not by the community but by the government. Though grouses do occur once in a while, but nothing of a concrete nature has been done by the community to resolve such problems. A reason for this has been stated by Daus in his essay "Singapore: Eurasians in the Heart of a Metropolis". The Eurasian's ability to carve out a niche of Singapore's society for themselves lay in the fact that they "never threaten[ed] to cross over into the major territories occupied by the other Asians"(74). To quote Daus:

"In exchange for the freedom to carry on with their activities they have withdrawn from any competition which would put the other racial groups under pressure". (75, Daus)

Thus, the making Kristang as a mother tongue might "put other racial groups under pressure", challenging the dominance of the majority races.

Lastly, the obstacle in making Kristang as a mother tongue is the lack of a codified form. Kristang is passed down orally and never in any written form did it appear. Efforts have been made by the EAS to codify the language but complications may arise during the codification of Kristang. For example, should the codified form resemble the informal speech patterns of Kristang speakers or should the codified form take on a formal register? As Kristang is a language used in informal settings, one wonders if adding a formal register to the language takes away much of the spontaneity associated to the language. Besides, codification and graphisation of a language do not ensure its revival and maintenance in the long run. The social and political pressures and conventions stated earlier, may make revival and maintenance of Kristang a near impossible feat.