Chinatown used to be an enclave for Chinese settlers in Singapore ever since the British colonized Singapore in 1819. Various “Chinese dialect groups” can be found settling across Chinatown, of which the Hokkiens were one of the main settlers in the region. Join our guided tour as we visit historical sites in Chinatown to understand the history of Singapore Hokkiens.

 

Hokkien language/dialects had a history of over 1700 years, spoken in Southern Fujian province, Taiwan, and by the Chinese diaspora of Hokkien ancestry. Hokkien dialect group (around 45%) is the largest Chinese dialect group in Singapore.

 

Hokkien dialects used to be lingua franca of the Chinese communities in Singapore before 1979 Speak Mandarin Campaign, before being replaced by Mandarin after the 1980s. Therefore, Hokkien dialects played an important role in shaping Singaporean Chinese culture. Join our talk to understand more about the history of Hokkien language, its cultural relation to Singapore.