Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2016 Manifesto NUSTLS Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2016 Manif | Page 38

Issue 6: Sustainability of Tamil
Author: Mr. Mohamed Shaik Faizal
Constitutional and Institutional Support in Singapore for
Tamil
Aspects of Language Sustenance
•
Evident with the various government policies and tools that
have been in place since independence.
• The most impactful policy has been the 1966 bilingual policy,
which encouraged students of Indian origin to learn and
speak Tamil (MOE Speeches - 2008)
• Tamil is represented in the various institutions of the
country and community, in most government services
including the Parliament, in the bilingual educational policy,
and in the multi-cultural media of the nation.
• Another government initiative, is
the establishment of Tamil
Language Council in 2001, with its
primary objectives to encourage
the speaking of Tamil among the
community and to link the
language with youth (Rajan, 2014,
203).
• There is Tamil studies in the Department of South Asian
Studies, NUS and a Bachelor of Arts in Tamil Language and
Literature undergraduate programme in UniSIM, which
shows that there are various avenues for Tamil to thrive.
Community (Media)
•
•
60
Chart 1: Proportion who Spoke English most
Frequently at Home amongst Indian Resident
Population Age 5 Years and Over by Age
Radio content: In the past, there were literary programmes
such as short stories and radio plays. Now, the programmes
are centered upon songs, movie reviews and news.
Radio is dynamic and pervasive. Hence, it is an important
medium in sustaining Tamil especially in the households.
Education
•
Tamil teachers should encourage weak students to speak
Tamil confidently.
• However, teachers do not have full autonomy as they need
to abide by the guidelines set by the education system.
• The mainstream subjects are conducted in English thereby
reducing the instances of Tamil being spoken outside the
Tamil classroom.
• With English being the lingua franca (a language that is
adopted as a common language between speakers whose
native languages are different), the students are more
comfortable conversing in it.
50
40
30
20
10
Family
•
0
5-14
15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54
2000
2010
55 &
Over
(Demographic Characteristics, Education, Language and Religion 2011)
•
Family has to inculcate the notion of reading books (apart
from textbooks) in children.
If the family does not speak the language, it would not
survive. The language must be reinforced via reading as a
family unit so that the language can be cultivated in a young
child.
Family as the Key in Sustainability
•
•
Evident from the Chart 1, there has been a drastic increase in the percentage of English speakers at homes and the most
drastic increase has been in the 15-24 years age group.
As posited by Rajeni Rajan (2014), Kawasaki (2014), Fishman (1972) and Spolsky (2007), families are seen as the most
important domain and institution for children to learn their mother tongue.
Issue 6: Sustainability of Tamil
PAGE 38