17/06/2026
/// Chinese Teochew Eng Ting Ting, 60, said the film [Dear You] mirrored her grandfather’s journey [from Guangdong province] to Singapore, during which he braved rough seas to reach a foreign land and build a family.
She looks forward to reliving old memories through the film: her grandfather toiling at a small provision shop in a Teochew fishing village at Upper Serangoon Road and the grunts of pigs, ducks and chickens from the backyard of her kampung.
[...] Reports of Dear You being screened commercially in Mandarin in Singapore have sparked dismay among many in the local Teochew community, who say such a move would result in the loss of cultural nuances and hasten the decline of dialect use among the country’s Chinese diaspora.
Teochews make up about one fifth of the Chinese resident population in Singapore, according to the 2020 census. About 75 per cent of Singapore’s population is ethnically Chinese.
Eng said she was disappointed the original version would not be readily available for her and her children in theatres. “My conversations with my grandmother in Teochew have given me an extra dimension in my life, but sadly, my kids do not have a similar experience.”
Nick Huang, an assistant professor of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies at the National University of Singapore, said the choice to screen the film in Mandarin meant a “missed opportunity to appreciate the distinctiveness of the Chinese Singaporean community”.
He noted the linguistic differences between the dialect spoken in the film, which originated from southern China, and that of Singapore’s Teochew community. “Singapore viewers, especially Teochew speakers, might find it interesting and even surprising, to hear these differences for themselves … This point can’t be appreciated with a Mandarin dub.”
In response to queries, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said the Mandarin-dubbed version of the film would be screened commercially for the public.
But exclusive viewings of the Teochew version will be available at the film’s premiere. [...] IMDA added that subsequent festivals and niche events would be allowed to screen the film in Teochew. “This continues to support the bilingual policy which aims to promote Mandarin as the main language amongst Chinese Singaporeans,” it said.
Singapore guidelines dictate that dialect films are allowed on a case-by-case basis. Chinese films meant for theatrical release should generally be in Mandarin, in line with the country’s “Speak Mandarin” Campaign.
Launched in 1979, the movement aimed to promote Mandarin as a common language to maintain cohesion within Singapore’s linguistically diverse Chinese community. It has restricted the use of Chinese dialects like Hokkien and Cantonese in film, television and radio.
[...] Political scientist Jeremy Siow said the government had “notably loosened” its stance on dialect films over the years.
“But more could be done, especially in reviewing and updating the regulations to make it less onerous for filmmakers and distributors to showcase dialect films in Singapore,” said Siow, a postdoctoral research fellow at Oxford University.
[...] [Darlene Machell Espena, associate professor of Southeast Asian studies at Singapore Management University,] urged more recognition for the role dialects played in preserving culture and heritage.
“They carry forms of memory, social relations, and historical experience that cannot be fully captured through state-defined official languages. Acknowledging and preserving these dialects should therefore not be seen as divisive, but as part of a broader effort to sustain cultural diversity.” ///
Linguists and the local Teochew community say watching the hit Chinese film in its original form can help sustain cultural diversity.
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