Maris Stella High School was the youngest among nine pioneer Special Assistance Plan schools chosen to usher in a new era of bilingual education in 1979. If notable schools in Singapore are to be considered as cultural spaces embodying values in relation to their history and identity tied to Chinese education, the most relevant aspects tied to the idea of heritage would include the physical features of important buildings and monuments, followed by the experience and memories of cultural practices tied to the respective places and features. Owing to limitations in resources of manpower and time, only three formal interviews were recorded, with one current teacher and two alumni who studied in Maris Stella in the 1970s and 80s, one of the two alumni having also returned to the school as a teacher during the 1990s.

This article assesses whether Baba Malay is an endangered language and its potential for long term transmission in Singapore. Along with the other non-official and minority languages, Baba Malay has suffered a rapid decline, not least because of the official language policy of post-independent Singapore (with its emphasis on ‘English-knowing bilingualism’, Pakir, 1991). As the Baba Malay speakers are ‘Chinese’ in ethnic identification, their children progressively entering the school system had to learn ‘Chinese’ (that is, Mandarin) as their second school language, after English, the medium of instruction ‘for all’. In twenty-first century Singapore, a rapidly dwindling group of Baba Malay speakers can still be found in the wider speech community, but how are they resisting (and simultaneously absorbing) the inevitable forces of globalization, technology, and modernization and the rapid rate of language change in the country? The current status of Baba Malay, and the current size of the Baba (also known as ‘Straits Chinese’ and ‘Peranakan’) community are examined here, with special reference to language maintenance and revival measures, such as those introduced and enacted by local community groups (for example, the Gunong Sayang Association, Singapore and the Peranakan Association of Singapore).

The policy stipulated that schools in Singapore should be “local” rather than “nationalistic.” Apart from serving to contain the activities of Malayan communists, the 1948 Malayan Emergency also implemented a series of harsh restrictions on Chinese schools. This included the ban on hiring of teachers from China, stipulating that teachers and textbooks had to be trained and produced, respectively, locally. The first and second goals of the syllabus focused on the cultivation of students’ abilities in listening, speaking, reading, and writing the language whereas the rest focused on the cultivation and shaping of their capabilities and moral values. Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 and declared its independence from Malaysia in 1965. Singapore’s Chinese textbooks for secondary schools had always included the learning of knowledge in language, composition writing, and literary content. With the push towards this beneficial wave of reform, the Ministry of Education’s Curriculum Planning & Development department continued to review the syllabus of Chinese literature.

Singapore’s multi-racial and multilingual vibrancy has contributed to the evolution of its language ecology. The all-time high of 71% of ethnic Chinese students in the first year of school coming from English-speaking homes, indicates that the last frontier of mother tongue has been usurped by English. Under such circumstances, it is useful to retrospectively examine the situation of the Chinese dialects in the past and the present, and envision the future development of Chinese dialects in Singapore. This chapter analyses the historical and social contexts that have shaped the development of Chinese dialects in Singapore. It also analyses survey findings to evaluate the use of dialects, and attitude towards dialects, among Chinese Singaporeans. Despite the less favourable perceptions associated with dialect use, portrayed by policy makers, the findings indicate that respondents remain positive towards the use of dialects among family members and in heartland locations. Based on the positive attitudes and inclinations to equate their sub-ethnic identity with dialect use, there is still some impetus for the retention of Chinese dialects in Singapore for pragmatic and functional uses. However, the survival of Chinese dialects will face challenges with the gradual decrease in active speakers, especially if individuals, community groups and official heritage boards do not actively preserve, revive or curate such languages through collective efforts.