page_title: Singaporean Mandarin
section_title: Chinese writing style
hierarchical_section_title: Singaporean Mandarin / Chinese writing style and literature / Chinese writing style
caption_attribution_description: English: The front page of the Lat Pau newspaper of 16 January 1925. From this date, the newspaper switched from using Classical Chinese to Written vernacular Chinese (白话 báihuà). 中文（新加坡）‎: 叻報 – 民國14年1月16日的報導已改用白話文
context_page_description: Singaporean Mandarin is a variety of Mandarin Chinese widely spoken in Singapore. It is one of the four official languages of Singapore along with English, Malay and Tamil.
  Singaporean Mandarin can be classified into two distinct Mandarin dialects: Standard Singaporean Mandarin and Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin. These two dialects are easily distinguishable to a person proficient in Mandarin. Standard Singaporean Mandarin is the register of Mandarin used in more formal occasions in Singapore and can be heard on television and radio. It is also the form taught in all Singapore government schools, while Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin is the form used by the general populace. They tend to infuse the language with many words from other Chinese dialects, Malay and English.
  Singaporean Mandarin only became widely spoken by the Chinese community in Singapore after the Speak Mandarin Campaign in 1979. It is today considered to be the second most commonly spoken language in Singapore, after English. Due to its widespread usage, Singaporean Mandarin has replaced Singaporean Hokkien as the lingua franca of the Chinese community in Singapore today.
context_section_description: Before the May Fourth Movement in 1919, Singapore Chinese writings were based on Classical Chinese. After the May Fourth Movement, under the influence from the New Culture Movement in China, the Chinese schools in Singapore began to follow the new education reform as advocated by China's reformist and changed the writing style to Vernacular Chinese.
  Singapore's Chinese newspaper had witnessed this change from Vernacular Chinese. Lat Pau (叻報), one of the earliest Chinese newspaper, was still using Classical Chinese in 1890. By 1917, it continued to use Classical Chinese. But by 1925, it had changed to Vernacular Chinese. After this, all Chinese newspaper in Singapore used Vernacular Chinese.
caption: Lat Pau 6 January 1925, changed to vernacular Chinese
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