dialect speakers

recently, i chanced upon a couple of incidents that makes me feel a little sad. it's about dialect speakers and the future of their children. the following are 2 incidents that i would like to share...

• last week at the bedok south hawker center, i was having breakfast and i saw this very lively and cheerful 10-year old boy. through his soliloquy, i was able to conclude that he's a very smart boy. what made me sad was that he was uttering his thoughts in hokkien. and the way he interacted with his father and god-father, i can see that the chances of him getting a decent quality environment where he can be nurtured is very slim. his dad was a helper of the chicken rice store. and looking at the picture he was playing with (picture of the two taoist gods / guardian of hell), and the fantasies that he was self-uttering, i saddens me to think of the challenges he would face eventually as he tries to fit into this very english-educated society.

• this morning at the marine terrace hawker center, i witnessed this toddler - must have been no more than 3 years old. i was amazed with her thoughts and line of questioning - she told her dad she is thirsty and would like to drink cold soya bean milk. when her dad told her drinking cold soya-bean drink is not good for her, she asked why and if so, then how then can it be improved... simple questions but i was surprised by her ability to link logic and derive more questions... again, what dishearten me was that the conversation between her dad and her was in pure solid hokkien!
  

i was brought up in similar environment when i was young. my parents are not educated. seeing the parents of the two small kids above reminded me of how my parents brought me up. i had faced the challenges and at some point in my life, felt inferior to my english-speaking better off classmates and contemporaries. it has affected my life eventually. but in these two incidents, the differences between them and other singaporean kids are even more distinct compared to my time. these two incidents also tell me that amongst our dialect speaking communities, we have children who are really bright and that they have the potential to be developed cognitively. if done correctly, they will have a very bright future. what saddens me was the fact that even if education opportunities are equal, i do not think these children will ever have the chance to grow up in a home environment that will give them a good start in life (assuming what i observed to be the same in their home). and in this very harsh and cruel singaporean society, it can only mean that they are set for life's failure if they remain in singapore.