Chinese Internet lingo tackled in online game show aimed at young S'poreans
SINGAPORE – How do you say “Clifford Pier” in Mandarin? Does the Internet lingo “chi tu” literally mean “eat dirt”?
These questions and more were tackled in a game show held over videoconferencing platform Zoom on Thursday evening (Dec 9) to encourage young Singaporeans to speak Mandarin.
The programme, called Let’s Discover Mandarin, covered Mandarin terms unique to Singapore and Internet lingo in Chinese.
The guests, Lianhe Zaobao columnist Giam Meng Tuck, Capital 95.8FM presenter Yeow Seng Yong and twins Austin and Ashley Soon, who run the TikTok account Chinese Hackers, put their knowledge of Mandarin to the test in the show.
Mr Giam was paired with Mr Austin Soon, while Mr Yeow was paired with Mr Ashley Soon.
They had to guess the English names of road names that sound similar in Mandarin, differentiate between types of local drinks and guess the meaning of some Internet slang.
For example, “chi tu” directly translates to “eat dirt”, but it means being short of money that one has to eat dirt, figuratively.
Mr Giam and Mr Austin Soon were shown a photo of Clifford Pier and got its Chinese name right – hong deng ma tou. But it was Mr Yeow and Mr Ashley Soon who won in the end.
Radio 88.3Jia FM DJ Heng Kaiying was the host of the game show, which is organised by the Promote Mandarin Council (PMC) and the Speak Mandarin Campaign.
This is the first time the organisers have used an online game show instead of a talk show for their online programme to promote the use of Mandarin. It is the fourth iteration of the programme since they launched it in December 2019.
The programme, which drew 278 attendees, is supported by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hong Leong Foundation, SBS Transit and the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.
Ms Heng, 42, a PMC member for three years, said learning Mandarin can be a daunting task for many young Singaporeans.
“After they pass their Chinese exams, they might burn their textbooks and think they are done with the language. But it can be a fun language rather than a subject they have to pass,” she said.
“Some people who are fans of Korean dramas can pick up the language quickly, so it shows that if you have an interest in the language, (its difficulty) won’t stop you.”
Ms Heng added that she hoped the new game show format can show young people that speaking Mandarin can be fun.
Mr Giam, 68, said there is scope for greater use of Mandarin in young people’s daily lives. One way would be to create Mandarin or bilingual videos to post on social media.
He added: “If Singaporeans of all ethnic groups give up their mother tongue, Singapore will become a monolingual society… and will lose its diversity.”
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