She can switch effortlessly between Hokkien, English, Tamil, Malay and even conversational Mandarin.
The multilingualism of 73-year-old S Sarojini reflects a life shaped by Singapore’s multicultural fabric, from growing up in a kampung to being part of a family that spans different races, religions and traditions.
From a young age, Sarojini was constantly exposed to a medley of languages in the kampung. As she listened to her elders chat with neighbours and friends of other races, she gradually picked up the various languages herself.
Growing up multilingual
“My mother spoke to us in Malay and my father spoke to us in Tamil,” she said, explaining that her father hailed from Pudukkottai, India, while her mother was from Malacca, Malaysia.
The mother of three ended up taking Malay as her mother tongue, as her convent school did not offer Tamil.
Watching her mother persevere in speaking Tamil despite her struggles helped Sarojini appreciate the language from a young age. She later learnt to read and write Tamil to honour a promise made to her late uncle.
These days, Sarojini feels most comfortable speaking Hokkien after decades of using the dialect both at work and in her community.
She spent 30 years working at a trading firm, where she often spoke Hokkien with spare parts suppliers.
Even in her current role as an administrator at a consultancy firm, many of her Chinese clients converse with her in the dialect.
Together with her regular interactions with elderly residents in the neighbourhood, it has become the language she speaks most naturally.
Many faiths, one family
Sarojini’s multilingualism is mirrored in her diverse family tree.
She traces her roots to a Chinese great-grandmother and an Indian great-grandfather, whose son later married her Peranakan grandmother.
The family’s diversity extends beyond race. Three of Sarojini’s 11 siblings, who were raised Hindu, later converted to Islam.
“One of [my brothers] was always going to the mosque to meet his friends,” said Sarojini. Another converted because he married a Malay woman.
Her younger sister initially married a Catholic man, but struggled to conceive.
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