Resumen

PAOLIELLO, Antonio. Singing Singapore: The Xinyao Phenomenon Between Mandarinization and Resistance. Estud. Asia Áfr. [online]. 2025, vol.60, n.2, e3000.  Epub 26-Ago-2025. ISSN 2448-654X.  https://doi.org/10.24201/eaa.v60i2.e3000.

In this article, after introducing the situation of Singapore’s Sinitic languages and the state’s recurrent campaigns of Mandarinization, I will focus on a typically Singaporean cultural product: the xinyao-Mandarin songs written and performed mostly by young students between the late 1970s and the early 1990s and considered an important expression of local Sinophone culture. By analyzing some of the lyrics, I will demonstrate how, despite being a consequence of the policies aimed at promoting Mandarin, they also represent a site of resistance to linguistic homogenization and to the invisibility of languages such as Cantonese and Hokkien, traditionally spoken by the Sino-Singaporean population.

Palabras llave : Sinophone; pop music; Sinitic languages; linguistic resistance; Mandarin.

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