SINGAPORE — Languages that once filled Singaporean homes, hawker centres and family gatherings are becoming increasingly difficult to hear among younger generations.
Hokkien, Teochew, Baba Malay and other heritage languages are facing a steep decline as English becomes the dominant language spoken at home. Yet, in an unexpected twist, renewed interest among younger Singaporeans, community groups and even cinema audiences is giving some of these languages a new lease on life.
The question now is whether that revival can become something more than a passing trend.
According to Singapore’s 2020 Census of Population, only 8.7 per cent of residents aged five and above used Chinese dialects as the language most frequently spoken at home — down 5.6 percentage points from 2010. At the same time, English rose sharply, from 32.3 per cent in 2010 to 48.3 per cent in 2020.
The numbers underline a generational shift: many younger Singaporeans may understand fragments of the language spoken by their grandparents, but struggle to hold a full conversation.
And that loss is about more than vocabulary.
When a language disappears, more than words are lost
For Eugene Lee, co-founder of LearnDialect.sg, the importance of dialect became especially clear while volunteering at nursing homes.
He recalled encountering elderly residents who were more comfortable speaking dialects but struggled to communicate with caregivers who did not understand them.
In one instance, an elderly woman was visibly cold but could not easily tell a nearby nursing assistant that she was uncomfortable.
Lee said that when he spoke Hokkien or Teochew to some residents, their demeanour could change almost immediately. They became more engaged and began sharing stories about their lives.
That experience eventually inspired Lee and his wife, Ski Yeo, to establish a dialect-learning platform. Their early lessons were aimed at healthcare workers, including migrant workers from Cambodia, India and the Philippines.
Today, their students also include Singaporeans trying to reconnect with parents and grandparents.
Some are learning because they want to speak to ageing relatives. Others are picking up their partner’s dialect before marriage.
In other words, for some learners, learning Hokkien or Teochew is not about passing an examination or improving their career prospects.
It is about being able to talk to family.
Young Singaporeans are discovering what they missed
That desire to reconnect is also appearing among younger learners.
Hokkien instructor Anddi Goh told CNA that some secondary school students join his classes because they hear their parents and grandparents speaking Hokkien but cannot understand what is being said.
The problem is particularly poignant: the language is still being spoken around them, but they are increasingly becoming outsiders to those conversations.
That is why language advocates say classrooms alone may not be enough.
Michael Jow, co-host of the Singapore Hokkien Meetup, argues that heritage languages need a “living space” where people can actually use them.
His monthly meetups give learners opportunities to practise Hokkien with others — something many do not get at home.
As Jow put it, a spoken language cannot be maintained simply by studying it. People have to actually speak it.
Then came a surprise from the cinema
Perhaps the clearest sign that interest in dialects has not disappeared came in 2026 with the unexpected success of the Teochew-language film Dear You.
The film generated strong interest among Singapore audiences, prompting additional screenings of its original Teochew version.
In June, Singapore authorities approved additional Teochew screenings after noting strong public interest. By July, another 100 screenings had been approved, while the Infocomm Media Development Authority said it was reviewing guidelines concerning dialect use in films.
The development also prompted a wider discussion about the place of Chinese dialects in Singapore.
The Ministry of Digital Development and Information said dialects remain an important part of Singapore’s cultural heritage, carrying traditions, stories and forms of expression while helping people maintain connections to their cultural roots and community histories.
That matters because the popularity of Dear You challenges the assumption that younger audiences have completely lost interest in heritage languages.
They may simply need a reason — and a place — to encounter them.
It is not only Hokkien and Teochew
The preservation challenge extends beyond Chinese dialects.
Singapore’s heritage-language landscape includes languages such as Baba Malay and Malayalam, each carrying its own history and cultural identity.
Baba Malay, traditionally spoken among Peranakan Chinese communities in Singapore and Malacca, developed from contact between Hokkien and Malay. The National Heritage Board describes it as a Peranakan language that was once widely used but is now vulnerable as English becomes increasingly dominant.
At NUS, linguist Dr Nala Lee has spent years documenting Baba Malay, including recording conversations with older speakers and developing a grammar of the language.
Her work has also contributed to revitalisation efforts, including the ChakapBot AI chatbot project designed to support interest in the language.
Malayalam faces a different but related challenge.
The Malayalam Language Education Society Singapore was established around 2010 after parents wanted their children to learn Malayalam and preserve their linguistic connection to the community.
According to its chairman, around 1,000 students have passed through the organisation since its founding, although only around 50 to 60 students are currently active.
Singapore is now facing a difficult balancing act
The decline of Chinese dialects is closely linked to Singapore’s bilingual education framework and the long-standing emphasis on Mandarin among Chinese Singaporeans.
The government has also made clear that Mandarin remains important, while recognising that dialects form part of Singapore’s cultural heritage.
The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth has said that dialect arts and cultural practices can complement, rather than compete with, Mandarin, and pointed to support for groups preserving dialect traditions, including clan associations and traditional arts organisations.
Community organisations such as the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan and Teochew groups continue to run classes and cultural programmes.
The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre has likewise documented efforts to preserve Teochew through language classes, textbooks, competitions and activities involving different generations.
The challenge, however, is turning preservation into everyday use.
A language that exists only in archives, textbooks or occasional cultural events can be documented — but it becomes much harder to keep it alive as a living language.
The real battle may begin at home
Singapore’s heritage-language advocates appear to agree on one crucial point: interest alone will not save a language.
A viral film can generate curiosity.
A class can teach vocabulary.
An archive can preserve recordings.
But languages survive when people use them — at home, with friends, with grandparents and across generations.
That is why the current revival is both encouraging and fragile.
Young Singaporeans are rediscovering languages their grandparents once spoke fluently. Community groups are creating new spaces to practise them. Researchers are documenting languages before older speakers disappear. Even popular culture is demonstrating that audiences are willing to listen.
But Singapore’s Census figures show how much ground has already been lost.
The next generation may therefore face a choice that previous generations rarely had to confront:
Not whether they can speak their grandparents’ language —
but whether they will make the effort to keep speaking it.
Because once the last fluent speakers are gone, no movie, textbook or archive can fully recreate what was once an ordinary family conversation.
And that may be the real race against time for Singapore’s heritage languages.
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