WHATEVER hub Singapore aims to be, it must be a language hub. If this fails, all others will not succeed. To this end, English and Mandarin are certainly necessary but definitely insufficient.

Singapore must be an international city where these and many other languages flourish. This is a resource which we can and must develop.

Having said this, let us remember that something that is imperative may not be pleasurable: for example, visits to dentists or mothers-in-law.

Languages enable us to communicate not only with our immediate neighbours, but also with foreigners whether here or abroad. They enable us to tap into the immense store of knowledge and wisdom of the greats, whether past or present, oriental or occidental.

All these are within easy reach because of the Internet. Much information on myriads of topics is available with a click of the mouse. Even the poor can have immense collections of libraries and entertainment resources on his desk, but the key to these treasures is linguistic capability.

Ee Teck Ee

This article was first published in The Straits Times.