ICA: Parents' dialects to be included in digital birth certificates from Sept 1

[zoossh]

Is it specifically catered for new citizens who still want to show off their caste and region they came from??

We can lump all of them under others

 

[zoossh]

going by your logic, might as well write off sook ching massacre as well.

My logic do not write that off

it is just about having a correct line on birth certificate so u r bringing up many completely unrelated events

keyword is unrelated and completely

 

[Multiversal]

Madam Yuen Shuqin, 36, who is Cantonese and has a two year old son, and is expecting a baby girl in November, said she will still speak dialect to her children occasionally "to keep the tradition going."

Cantonese is her mother tongue.

If she speaks the Mandarin dialect, she is just speaking another person's mother tongue to her children.

The Mandarin dialect has a certain prestige because China chose it to be putonghua. The Chinese government never said that "Mandarin is Chinese". It acknowledged that Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew etc are various spoken forms of Chinese, so it only calls the Mandarin dialect "putonghua".

It is good to retain our Mother Tongue, the true mother tongue, though it is not going to be easy because we need to learn English and Mandarin as well.

 

[zoossh]

jesus, you can write off such simple thing off after decades of relentless language persecution and discrimination? all just for the sake of blind obedience to the pap and for what? your gst voucher?

Jesus I never wrote off anything

U r the one writing things that is unrelated to what I wrote

what’s wrong with you ?

 

[pieface]

Cantonese is her mother tongue.

If she speaks the Mandarin dialect, she is just speaking another person's mother tongue to her children.

The Mandarin dialect has a certain prestige because China chose it to be putonghua. The Chinese government never said that "Mandarin is Chinese". It acknowledged that Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew etc are various spoken forms of Chinese, so it only calls the Mandarin dialect "putonghua".

It is good to retain our Mother Tongue, the true mother tongue, though it is not going to be easy because we need to learn English and Mandarin as well.

From what I experienced, I noticed Cantonese have the strongest affinity to their Mother tongue. At home they usually speak cantonese one.

Hokkiens on the other hand mostly refuse to pass down the language because of the old misconception of it being uncouth and language of the gangsters. Hence choosing to speak either english or mandarin.

I am fortunate enough to have grandparents to speak to in hokkien when I was younger, nowadays still useful as a tools to speak with older folks.

Hokkien is my ancestral tongue not Mandarin dialect.

 

[Multiversal]

Those born after 90s don't have this affiliation liao

Increasingly, Singaporeans are born in either Malaysia or China. They may want to keep the regional identity here...especially the Chinese who may not be from Guangdong or Fujian but Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hebei, Jilin...

Whenever I went to places where there were a lot of Chinese, I would hear all kinds of Chinese dialects being spoken, which even drawing on my knowledge of Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew, I could not understand.

The requests for dialects to be included probably came from new citizens rather than the boomers or zoomers.

 

[lousydk]

what's the point of putting that field in?

 

[Multiversal]

From what I experienced, I noticed Cantonese have the strongest affinity to their Mother tongue. At home they usually speak cantonese one.

Hokkiens on the other hand mostly refuse to pass down the language because of the old misconception of it being uncouth and language of the gangsters. Hence choosing to speak either english or mandarin.

I am fortunate enough to have grandparents to speak to in hokkien when I was younger, nowadays still useful as a tools to speak with older folks.

Hokkien is my ancestral tongue not Mandarin dialect.

I guess you are well educated, and your work circle, your office, is one where English is widely spoken.

I have worked in places where most of my colleagues were not so well educated, and dialects were spoken. Even though they do understand and can speak Mandarin (maybe flunk the subject or only got a low score), they still prefer to speak their mother tongue.

As for English....they really cmi wan. Like primary skool standard...they also paiseh to speak it unless bo bian, they need to speak to a Malay or Indian or FTs/FWs.

 

[nightkids7089]

The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has received several queries about the non-inclusion of the parents’ dialect in the digital birth certificate of a child.

2. Several fields of information which are not necessary for policy and other administrative needs, including the parents’ dialect, were not included in the digital birth certificate, to simplify the registration process, and to reduce the number of fields. Information about the parents’ dialect continues to be registered by ICA, and is available in Singpass.

3. However, we acknowledge the feelings that have been expressed on the matter. We have therefore decided to include parents’ dialect[1] in digital birth certificates issued from 1 September 2022.

Dialect Information in the Birth Certificate

4. Prior to the introduction of the digital birth certificate, the physical birth certificate of a child carried the registered dialect of the parents. It did not carry the dialect of the child.

5. With the introduction of online birth registration and the digital birth certificate to replace the physical birth certificate, the registration process was simplified. The number of fields in the digital birth certificate was also reduced. In addition to parents’ dialect, the following information was excluded - the parents’ country of birth, the mother’s address, the child’s place of birth registration, and a section called “Informant’s Particulars”. Only information which is required for policy or other public administration needs, was retained in the digital birth certificate.

6. The information relating to a person’s dialect is still available in Singpass. Singaporeans who are 15 years and older and provisioned with a Singpass account can access their dialect information via Singpass under the Personal tab. For those below the age of 21, their dialect information can also be found in their parents’ Singpass profile, under the Family tab.

Background Information

7. Upon birth, in the national registration database, ICA ascribes to a child the dialect of the father. Individuals, including the child, the father or the mother, can subsequently change his/her dialect registered with the Government via a written declaration to ICA. This means that an individual can have a different registered dialect from his/her father, or even both parents.

8. This has been the practice since the 70s. In consideration of the fact that there were races in Singapore that did not have dialect groups, individuals were allowed to also register the language/dialect that they spoke, instead of their dialect by lineage. Hence, dialect registration changed to the current practice, where individuals can change their registered dialect via a written declaration to ICA.

9. Those who wish to check the latest registered dialect of an individual can do so via the individual’s Singpass, which is the authoritative source of the latest registered dialect information. The dialect information of the parents in the child’s birth certificate, may not be their latest registered dialect.

Inclusion of Parents’ Dialect in the Digital Birth Certificate

10. We should have made clear the reasons for not including the information on the parents’ dialect in the digital birth certificate, and that the information was still available in Singpass.

11. Taking into account the feedback, however, ICA will include the parents’ dialect in the digital birth certificate of a child, from 1 September 2022. For digital birth certificates issued between 29 May and 31 August 2022, parents may re-download their child’s digital birth certificate from 1 September 2022 onwards, with the inclusion of the parents’ dialect, at no additional cost. More details will be shared on the ICA website (www.ica.gov.sg) in due course.

https://www.ica.gov.sg/news-and-pub...ents-dialect-in-the-digital-birth-certificate

blah blah blah......

does it matters to include dialet groups?

the kids nowadays speak mostly angmo, little to no mandarin......does not even know a teeny weeny bit of dialect......

so wats the point ??

to have a 认宗归祖 feeling ah......

 

[TheLookingGlass]

Many if not most kids can't speak dialect anyway.

 

[zoossh]

what a twat, you sure have a very malleable conscience and adaptive moral compass. able to self convince ownself to accept such atrocity. go and get your gst voucher!

Since when is any atrocity accepted?

and you are talking to a strong opposition supporter so I’m not sure what u r getting at

but u need to watch your language

 

[Duncallmebro]

What's the use? Hokkien can apply to retire in China Fujian next time?

 

[nightkids7089]

I guess you are well educated, and your work circle, your office, is one where English is widely spoken.

I have worked in places where most of my colleagues were not so well educated, and dialects were spoken. Even though they do understand and can speak Mandarin (maybe flunk the subject or only got a low score), they still prefer to speak their mother tongue.

As for English....they really cmi wan. Like primary skool standard...they also paiseh to speak it unless bo bian, they need to speak to a Malay or Indian or FTs/FWs.

i tink depends on the place, environment and culture (maybe) you work in

last time i work as delivery driver in bengawan solo, all the male drivers inside speak hokkien......then i move on to polar and the uncle drivers spek mandarin.......

my 1 cent opinion

 

[Multiversal]

what a twat, you sure have a very malleable conscience and adaptive moral compass. able to self convince ownself to accept such atrocity. go and get your gst voucher!

I have used up my CDC voucher. $100.

Already started using my NS voucher. $100. Think left about $70+ now.

GST voucher $300 and $400 - cannot say whether I started using or not because it was credited into my POSB a/c and the money is now part of my total balance.

Some people can be cynical and say "Give you cheekon wing, take back the whole cheekon". Say ish like this, but to be honest, and most important, to be fair, Singapore has the money, and in hard times, the government used the money as stewards to help the people. Let's give credit when it is due....

 

[sohguanh]

Many if not most kids can't speak dialect anyway.

So that is why we should just let dialect vanish slowly? Maybe ok since they are the new generation once we go to live in Mandai Crematorium and other final resting places

 

[TheLookingGlass]

So that is why we should just let dialect vanish slowly? Maybe ok since they are the new generation once we go to live in Mandai Crematorium and other final resting places

That's likely the reason why they don't bother to include.

 

[Multiversal]

i tink depends on the place, environment and culture (maybe) you work in

last time i work as delivery driver in bengawan solo, all the male drivers inside speak hokkien......then i move on to polar and the uncle drivers spek mandarin.......

my 1 cent opinion

I even worked in a place where there were a lot of Malays. Every day they would all talk in Malay among themselves, but when they needed to talk to me, they switched to English, and could actually speak fluent English!

 

[sohguanh]

I wonder if NS still scold vulgarities in Hokkien or not. Becuz parents worry kids dunno dialect no worry for your sons go inside come out will know already. They will learn how to greet you parents accordingly and you don't have to worry dialect will vanish slowly.

 

[zoossh]

what a twat, you sure have a very malleable conscience and adaptive moral compass. able to self convince ownself to accept such atrocity. go and get your gst voucher!

Any confusion is solely on your part

l support correctly placing our origin on the birth certificate. That is completely unrelated to sook ching. That is completely unrelated and in fact opposite of the previous wrongdoing in language policy

I never mentioned anything on the two things u mention. My posts are unrelated to the two things u mentioned. My posts do not lead to the matters u raised.

i do not get where on earth u get the idea that I supported atrocities and keep insisting on it as if it is true

 

[eflash]

put liao is it mean know how to speak the dialect?

Haha... No