Fearing the death of a dialect

Like most Penangites who are proud of their heritage, the writer is troubled that Hokkien isn’t spoken as much as it used to be. 

Sunday, 3 Dec 2017

By Wong Chun Wai

IF there’s one clear feature that separates Penangites from the rest of the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, it is the distinct northern-accented Hokkien.

It doesn’t matter whether we are in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, London or Timbuktu but we can pick up a Penangite whenever we hear this northern style dialect with its rich sprinkling of Malay words that denotes its nyonya-baba linguistic roots.

But each time I return to Penang, I can feel the linguistic changes that are taking place. Whether we realise it or not, Penang Hokkien is slowly disappearing.

Penangites are fiercely proud of their Hokkien as it is entirely different from the one spoken in Singapore, Taiwan or Xiamen in China.

As older Penangites, perhaps we can be a little snooty, as we sometimes dismiss the Hokkien spoken elsewhere as somewhat crass and unrefined.

Only the Hokkien spoken by the Chinese community in Medan closely mirrors that of Penang Hokkien, presumably because of the proximity between Penang and the Indonesian city.

Whether rightly or wrongly, or plainly out of ignorance, Penangites feel the sing-song delivery sounds better.

Words such as balai (police station), balu (just now), bangku (stool), batu (stone), cilaka/celaka (damn it), campur (to mix), jamban (toilet), gatai/gatal (itchy) gili/geli (creepy), sabun (soap) and kesian (pity), are an integral part of the Penang Hokkien dialect.

If the person is not from Penang, then he or she has to be from Kedah, Perlis or Taiping.

Even Penangites of other racial groups can easily speak, or at least understand Hokkien. My fellow moderation advocate, Anas Zubedy, speaks excellent Hokkien. So do my colleagues executive editor Dorairaj Nadason and sports editor R. Manogaran.

But the daily use of the dialect is rapidly being replaced by Mandarin. Go to most coffeeshops today and the hawkers or helpers are likely to tell you the price of food in Mandarin.

I am feeling a little uncomfortable because I am a very parochial and sentimental Penangite. It doesn’t help that I do not speak Mandarin.

Although I am a Cantonese, Hokkien is the spoken language in my family home and the changes that are taking place do have an effect.

Even most of the Penang state government leaders are not from Penang. Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was born in Johor and grew up in Melaka.

Senior state exco member Chow Kon Yeow is from Kuala Lumpur but he studied in Universiti Sains Malaysia. Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy is Sitiawan-born but he spent most of his time in Selangor.

Exceptions are the children of the late Karpal Singh – state exco member Jagdeep Singh Deo and Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh Deo – and other state assemblymen.

The Penang Monthly bulletin, in its May issue, dramatically headlined the situation “Penang Hokkien on life support.”

In an interview with Penang Monthly, the Penang Hokkien Language Association secretary Ooi Kee How was quoted as saying that “people think there’s no benefit in learning or speaking Hokkien, which is not true. Yes, you can survive if you do not speak Hokkien; you can get by with speaking only one language your entire life.”

“But the thing is, something will diminish. Our creativity, our cultural identity, will decline. A lot of innovations will disappear, because different languages shape the way we think differently.”

And what has brought about the decline of the Penang Hokkien? It’s a combination of factors. For one, a whole generation of Penangites have been educated in Chinese schools, at least at the primary level.

This is unlike the older generation of Penangites like me, who are now in the 50s, who attended schools using English as a medium of instruction. In the absence of Mandarin, we spoke mainly Hokkien and English but people in their 30s and 40s find it more comfortable conversing in Mandarin – and for sure, not English.

Then there is this huge impact of Chinese TV shows, especially over Astro. They are entirely in Mandarin, with shows from mainland China and Taiwan, and in Hokkien, which is spoken in a manner more similar to those used in Melaka and Johor.

It is no surprise that the sales staff at malls also expect the Chinese community to speak in Mandarin, and understandably they will begin the conversation in Mandarin – because you are expected to know the language.

There is also the impact of China as the new economic powerhouse of Asia, if not, the world. Mandarin has taken over the dominant spot as a language with economic value, and certainly prestige. That is the reality but it may well be at the expense of a rich heritage.

Catherine Churchman, a lecturer in Asian Studies, in the School of Languages and Cultures in Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, who studied the Taiwanese and Penang Hokkien dialects, reportedly said: “Penangites have become increasingly used to hearing Taiwanese Hokkien, but the Taiwanese are not used to hearing Penang Hokkien.

“Simply replacing Malay loan words with the Taiwanese equivalents does not turn Penang Hokkien into Taiwanese Hokkien either. The grammatical structure of Penang Hokkien is different.”

Fearful of the danger of Penang Hokkien dying, Penang Monthly further quoted Churchman as saying “languages often die the same way, and one of the reasons is simply the existence of a generation gap.”

That melodious Penang Hokkien may not be heard, decades from now, if this frightening trend continues.

https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/on-the-beat/2017/12/03/fearing-the-death-of-a-dialect-like-most-penangites-who-are-proud-of-their-heritage-the-writer-is-tr/


Also:

• Penang Hokkien will be ‘dead’ in 40 years if people stop using it, says language expert
• HOKKIEN IS THE SOLE SURVIVING CHINESE LANGUAGE FROM THE TANG DYNASTY 2,000 YEARS AGO.
• Fearing the death of a dialect

Penang Hokkien will be ‘dead’ in 40 years if people stop using it, says language expert

The Penang Hokkien language is destined for extinction if Penangites keep replacing it with Mandarin or English, says language expert Catherine Churchman.

By Opalyn Mok
2 August 2016

Churchman pointed out Penang Hokkien’s singsong words are a reflection of the multicultural melting pot that makes up Penang. — Picture by KE Ooi

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 2 — The Penang Hokkien language is destined for extinction if Penangites keep replacing it with Mandarin or English, says language expert Catherine Churchman.

A lecturer in the Asian Studies programme in the School of Languages and Cultures at Victoria University of Wellington, Churchman believes that the communities in Penang are becoming more fractured because of the language barrier.

This is simply because most of the younger Penangites are not conversant in Penang Hokkien anymore.

She said Penang Hokkien is unique as it evolved over time and was the main lingua franca spoken on the streets by everyone here including even Malays and Indians.

"Nowadays, I don't know, maybe Malaysia was always like that, but it seems to be getting more fractured when you have people who only speak Mandarin and perhaps Malay… maybe their Malay wasn't so good because they don't speak it very much or people who only speak Malay and maybe some English, and they can't speak to each other which is the cause of problems and all sorts of misunderstandings," she said in an interview with Malay Mail Online recently.

She pointed out Penang Hokkien’s singsong words are a mix of borrowed words and grammar from Malay, English, Cantonese and Teochew, adding that they are a reflection of the multicultural melting pot that makes up Penang.

"What I think happened here is that the Baba Nyonya were the first people to form Penang Hokkien," she said, explaining how during that period, the Baba Nyonyas would speak more in Malay but with incoming sinkeh (new migrants from China), they had to speak Hokkien and this resulted in the formation of a base dialect that is a mix of local cultures, local words and Hokkien from mainland China.

She said from that period of the 1900s leading up to the 1990s, Hokkien was the street language where everyone spoke it on the street regardless of what their mother tongue was at home.

"They may speak Cantonese, English, Malay or Hakka at home but when outside, they all speak Hokkien to interact in the street and this was the case up till the 1990s," she said.

Churchman attributes the change to pressure in schools where students were not allowed to speak their mother tongue in school except for Mandarin or English or Malay.

She believes that in most homes now, they don't speak Hokkien anymore due to a misguided belief that Hokkien is somehow inferior to Mandarin as it is being used as a medium of teaching in Chinese schools.

"It's now very rare to find children who can speak Hokkien or for Hokkien to be used within a family so all that history of the different migration groups that formed this language, I guess it soon won't be a living tradition anymore," she said.

Churchman herself speaks fluent Penang Hokkien due to years of learning it from the Penang Hokkien podcast by John Ong and practising it with local Penangites who still speak Hokkien.

She said the only way to keep the language alive is for Penangites to realise the significance of the language and be rid of the misconception that it was merely a "deviation of the true Chinese" or that Mandarin is the "unifying language for Chinese."

"In Penang, Mandarin wasn't the unifying language. Hokkien was the unifying language for all Chinese up to the 1990s and after that, it was the Singaporean idea of schools... people started saying things like Hokkien is just a dialect and Mandarin is the real language and all of these other ones are just a deviation of the true Chinese which isn't true.

"That's not linguistically or historically true... Hokkien didn't develop from Mandarin. They developed from a common ancestor which no longer exists," she said.

She added that many people tend to think Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka or Teochew were deviations from Mandarin and that these were inferior and not worth learning which is untrue as these languages are actually the original mother tongue languages that were spoken by their ancestors.

The polyglot is also currently compiling a Hokkien-English dictionary that she has been working on for the past eight years. It has over 7,000 words in it now.

"I am still gathering Hokkien sentences and expressions even as I go along and I hope to be able to work on it and complete it by next year," she said.

Churchman was recently in Penang to deliver a lecture on Penang Hokkien as a diaspora language.

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/penang-hokkien-will-be-dead-in-40-years-if-people-stop-using-it-says-langua

10 of the best cheap eats in Penang

 

Guardian – Thu, Jun 14, 2012 08:23 BST

Nowhere in Asia can compare with Malaysia when it comes to street food, and although the capital, Kuala Lumpur, is a foodie paradise, ask Malaysians themselves where is the best place to eat, and the unanimous answer will be the tropical island of Penang, and in particular, George Town, a seething, authentic Chinatown.

The stalls here are a gourmet kaleidescope reflecting Malaysia's colourful ethnic mix – as well as offering delicious Malay and Indian cuisine, Penang is unparalleled for the diversity and quality of its regional cooking. You eat well and cheaply everywhere in Penang, but here are 10 places really worth discovering.

Char koay teow stall
Char koay teow (stir-fried ricecake strips) is the iconic Penang street food dish, copied all over Malaysia, but never tastes better than sitting at a low pavement table outside a hawker stall in one of George Town's narrow back streets. Lean Joo Sean has been setting up outside the Sin Guat Keong coffee shop at 5.30pm every day since 1954. You can't miss him with his tall white chef's hat and the clouds of smoke that billow up each time he fires his wok over a flaming charcoal fire. A plate costs 3.40 Malaysian ringgit (about 70p), and he cooks right through till midnight as a steady queue forms for these exquisite fried noodles, prepared to a secret recipe that includes fresh mantis prawns. • 86 Kimberley Street

De Tai Tong cafe
Dim sum is traditionally served for breakfast but at this historic teahouse, in the heritage shophouses of Chinatown, they open for lunch and dinner too. Tai Tong maintains the traditions of dim sum, not just with the variety of its menu, but still employing elderly ladies to push metal trolleys loaded with goodies around the tables. Many customers won't even wait for the trolley to arrive and crowd round the grumpy waitresses picking up plates (around 40p each) of har gow (shrimp dumplings) and chee cheong fun (rice flour rolls filled with barbecued pork). Don't miss the lor mai gai (glutinous rice cooked with chicken, black mushroom and savoury chinese sausage), and for anyone with a sweet tooth, end the meal with a sinful, bright yellow egg tart of creamy egg custard in crisp pastry. • 45 Lebuh Cintra

Kedai Kopi Sin Hwa
The Sin Hwa coffee shop, within walking distance of one of Asia's longest reclining Buddha statues, is renowned for its claypot noodles and duck egg koay teow, but the stall with the longest line is for the 60p bowl of assam laksa. People come from all over the island for this delicious dish. Ask for laksa in most of Malaysia and you will be served a bowl of curry laksa, cooked with a rich coconut milk sauce. This classic Nyonya (Chinese-Malay cooking) dish is very different in Penang though, as the Straits Chinese developed their own fusion version called assam laksa, a tart, hot and sour interpretation. The base is an intense fish soup, flavoured with tamarind, ginger flower, galangal, pungent belacan prawn paste, refreshing sprigs of mint and sliced shallots. • 329 Jalan Burma

Zealand Seafood
Gurney Drive was once the preferred residence of Penang's Chinese millionaires, who built grandiose mansions for themselves with splendid views over the sea. Today, most of the mansions have been replaced with towering luxury condos, but this long waterside promenade remains one of the most popular places for Penangites to eat seafood, and at night the streets are jammed with traffic. But come in the morning when the joggers and tai chi enthusiasts are out, and try Malaysia's most unusual but delicious breakfast, bak-kut-teh. The chefs brew a rich pork and herbal broth for hours, then serve the soup with pork ribs, succulent mushrooms, tofu and fried dough; serious foodies can ask for intestines and offal to be added too. Accompanied by Chinese tea, a hearty portion is £3, with free extra soup. • 62 Gurney Drive

New Lane satay stall
Satay is the street dish most closely associated with Malaysia, and as it is usually cooked at Muslim Malay stalls, this automatically means beef or chicken satay. But the Chinese love pork satay, and although this is becoming increasingly rare in the rest of the country, Penang still has many hawkers. Ngiom Far Luan has been cooking satay for more than 30 years just outside the Maxim Cafe on New Lane. Her secret is in the way she fans the flames and uses charcoal, which gives the meat a unique smoky taste. A stick costs less than 20p, so order a dozen. New Lane is a street food paradise with about 50 stalls serving hokkien mee (stir-fried noodles), popiah (fresh spring rolls), ikan bakar (chargilled fish, often stingray, on a banana leaf) and lots more.

Restoran Kassim Mustafa
Lebuh Chulia is the classic meeting point for backpackers passing through Penang, lined with bars, restaurants and budget hostels. Kassim Mustafa is an airy, family-run corner cafe, open 24 hours a day, which for 30 years has been serving classic mamak cuisine – Indian Muslim cooking with a strong Malaysian influence. For a first visit, try their nasi kandar, biryani rice with a couple of wickedly spicy curries – squid, chicken or beef – that will cost around £2. Then come back after midnight, when they start serving slowly roasted lamb shank, or for a different style of fusion cuisine, there is Thai-style moi sup (rice porridge soup) or tom yam campur (chicken and seafood soup). • 12 Lebuh Chulia, penangnet.com/k-mustafa

Chee Cheong Jook Congee stall
Porridge in Penang has nothing to do with breakfast; it refers to congee, a milky rice porridge that can be eaten at any time of the day with an incredible variety of things – most commonly fish or pork, seasoned with tangy preserved vegetables, chives, Chinese vinegar and century eggs. But this tiny stall, just off the Chowrasta Street food market, is for serious fans of nose-to-tail cuisine, as the ingredients feature crispy pork intestines, innards from the stomach to the tongue, all hanging up on a neat line ready for chopping, and even pig-blood cakes. The friendly cook, who has been here 35 years, is always delighted when a tourist dares sit down, and at just 50p a bowl it is worth a try. • Outside 25 Jalan Kuala Kangsar

Weld Quay Restaurant
Eating seafood can be relatively expensive in Penang, but not if you discover this favourite local haunt hidden away on the busy harbour road, right by the ferry terminal. Also known as the Tree Shade restaurant, because a huge tree has been left growing in the middle of the entrance, this looks at first like a fishmongers, with trays of exotic fish, live crabs and prawns displayed on mounds of dripping ice, alongside an open kitchen lined with blazing woks. The idea is you choose what you want to eat, how you want it cooked and what the price will be, then head into the restaurant at the back. For around £5-£6 a head, you can try a main course of pomfret steamed with ginger, black pepper prawns or chilly crabs, accompanied by rice and a vegetable dish. • 21 Pengkalan Weld

Townview Seafood Cafe
With its huge red neon crab outside, and the wriggling fish and strange-looking crustaceans swimming around huge aquariums, it's not hard to guess the speciality here. But in the open-air entrance is also a brilliant self-service buffet serving a Chinese version of the traditional Malay nasi campur ("mixed rice" topped with various meats, vegetables, peanuts, eggs and fried-shrimp) – you can choose from crispy pork belly, chilli lala clams, fish cakes, and kai-lan (a leaf vegetable) in oyster sauce. Expect to pay £2-£3 depending on how many dishes you choose. Worth noting that Townview stays open till 5am • 11 Jalan Macalister

Sup Hameed
Open from the early morning till the early hours of the night, Hameed's is great to start the day with a freshly-made roti canai (Indian-influenced flatbread) dunked in a spicy fish curry or a thicker, doughy murtabak stuffed with chicken. At lunchtime the kitchen serves old planter specials such as homemade oxtail soup. Located near Penang's bar and club quarter, Hameed's hots up after midnight, where its comfort beef and mutton soups are popular – try a bowl of the supposedly aphrodisiac beef sup torpedo, popularised by Anthony Bourdain on his TV series – well worth it for around £1. • 48 Penang Road

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2012

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