in the Straits Times that "putting Hokkien on the silver screen gives Hokkien a kind of rebellious effect. It's like the return of the repressed." The success of 881 is also reflected by album sales of 881 movie soundtrack, which became the first local film soundtrack to hit platinum in Singapore. In other instances, the movie Singapore Ga Ga, a tissue seller sings a Hokkien song while Perth features a Singaporean taxi driver using Hokkien and Cantonese. Local directors have commented that non-standard Chinese varieties are vital as there are some expressions which just cannot be put across in Mandarin Chinese, and that the different Chinese varieties are an important part of Singapore that adds a sense of authenticity that locals will enjoy. Indian languages in the media Indian languages besides Tamil are managed slightly differently from the Chinese varieties. Even though only Tamil has official language status, there have been no attempts to discourage the use or spread of other Indian languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Telugu, and Urdu. For one, movies in these languages are shown in some local cinemas, such as Rex and Screens of Bombay Talkies. Furthermore, the local Indian TV channel Vasantham has also allocated specific programme timeslots to cater to the variety of Indian language speakers in Singapore. Language-specific societies Chinese clan associations play a role in maintaining the non-standard Chinese varieties. In the past, they provided support to migrant Chinese, based on the province they originated. Today, they provide a place for people who speak the same variety to gather and interact. For example, the Hokkien Huay Kuan holds classes for performing arts, calligraphy, and Hokkien Chinese. They also organize the biennial Hokkien Festival, which aims to promote Hokkien customs and culture. With such efforts, perhaps non-standard Chinese varieties in Singapore will be better equipped to resist erosion. Apart from the efforts to maintain local Chinese varieties, the Eurasian Association holds Kristang classes for people who are interested in learning Kristang. In this way, it hopes to preserve what it perceives to be a unique part of the Eurasian heritage in Singapore. Notes References Further reading External links National Language Campaigns