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Do they really speak Mandarin in Singapore, I wonder? I thought they would be on some southern dialect. Or does she use the word in place of just "Chinese"?

krallja 5y ago
CIA World Facebook says: English (official) 48.3%, Mandarin (official) 29.9%, other Chinese dialects (includes Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka) 8.7%, Malay (official) 9.2%, Tamil (official) 2.5%, other 1.4%; note - data represent language most frequently spoken at home (2020 est.)
xyzzy21 5y ago
They DO speak Mandarin there (and English) because Chinese-Singporeans tend to dominate and outnumber the other groups politically and demographically. Mandarian is a unique dialect of Chinese. Singaporeans also speak other dialects of Chinese in Singapore but Mandarin is one of the official languages of Singapore so it's what is taught in schools. You can find elements of Hokkien, Hakka and Cantonese dialects mixed into typical Singaporean Mandarin. These have been frowned upon by academics and the government (Singlish has also been frowned upon and incorporates them also) but that hasn't changed the use of these. https://theheartlander.org/2021/08/28/the-last-vestiges-of-chinese-dialects-in-singapore/ https://theheartlander.org/2021/08/28/the-last-vestiges-of-c... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaU7_k8I3o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaU7_k8I3o Taiwan has similar dialects: there is Taiwan Mandarin as well as Taiwanese and Taiwan English. Fun Fact: Singapore and mainland China use simplified Chinese characters. Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional Chinese characters.
hawflakes 5y ago
The word "heaty" is used for "hot" foods. There's a concept in traditional Chinese medicine for categorizing foods as hot or cold. Not temperature but having to do with inflammation. Suffice it to say it seems to be a false friend of the Cantonese pronunciation of the word 熱 which is pronounced "yeet" (rè in Mandarin)

krallja 5y ago

CIA World Facebook says: English (official) 48.3%, Mandarin (official) 29.9%, other Chinese dialects (includes Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka) 8.7%, Malay (official) 9.2%, Tamil (official) 2.5%, other 1.4%; note - data represent language most frequently spoken at home (2020 est.)

xyzzy21 5y ago

They DO speak Mandarin there (and English) because Chinese-Singporeans tend to dominate and outnumber the other groups politically and demographically. Mandarian is a unique dialect of Chinese. Singaporeans also speak other dialects of Chinese in Singapore but Mandarin is one of the official languages of Singapore so it's what is taught in schools. You can find elements of Hokkien, Hakka and Cantonese dialects mixed into typical Singaporean Mandarin. These have been frowned upon by academics and the government (Singlish has also been frowned upon and incorporates them also) but that hasn't changed the use of these. https://theheartlander.org/2021/08/28/the-last-vestiges-of-chinese-dialects-in-singapore/ https://theheartlander.org/2021/08/28/the-last-vestiges-of-c... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaU7_k8I3o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaU7_k8I3o Taiwan has similar dialects: there is Taiwan Mandarin as well as Taiwanese and Taiwan English. Fun Fact: Singapore and mainland China use simplified Chinese characters. Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional Chinese characters.

hawflakes 5y ago

The word "heaty" is used for "hot" foods. There's a concept in traditional Chinese medicine for categorizing foods as hot or cold. Not temperature but having to do with inflammation. Suffice it to say it seems to be a false friend of the Cantonese pronunciation of the word 熱 which is pronounced "yeet" (rè in Mandarin)