Hokkien a blend of local tongues

While I was still fresh with e-mails messages with a popular blogger, Mahaguru58 who is a Penangnite, I stumbled across this fabulous news in thestar, north edition. Yes, Penang Hokkien is dying off and fading away.

Just because the younger generations prefer to speak more English and Mandarin rather than Hokkien, Hokkien dialect is dying and not blooming. When one migrates to KL, they pretend that they do not speak Hokkien and talk the Cantonese. Oi, come on lah, your slang will prove that you are not the local-cantonese lah. Do you know you could be judged by the slang and key note you use when you talk the Canto. If you a Hakka you will drag your Canto longer, while a Penang hokkien will have a lower key. Don't believe me, survey yourself!

This is good.....see ang moh lang also learns and value Hokkien lah (see English man too values Hokkien dialect)

WHILE Penang Hokkien proponents warn that the dialect is in danger of dying out, expatriates and the non-Chinese community are embracing this unique lingo.

Gemstone dealer Ronni Pinsler, 58, considers himself a local, having been “in and out” of Penang since 1971.

“I am able to communicate but not to the extent of discussing Jungian theories,” Pinsler who is married to a Malaysian, said.

“I took classes to better communicate with my wife’s family.

“Penang Hokkien is an exotic hybrid. My main reason for learning it is to facilitate my ongoing research into Taoist and folk religion practices,” he said, adding that the most difficult aspect of picking up the dialect was the intonation.

“For example, buy and sell both have similar pronunciations but the tone used is different. Also, I tend to confuse it with Singapore Hokkien.

Asked about his favourite phrase, Pinsler said there were many.

Learning Hokkien: Pinsler (left) and Gijzel at the Hokkien class.

“Recently I learnt chiak bay pa, goh bay si (eat not full, starve won’t die). I often use mm chye si (not scared to die) when I come across inconsiderate drivers. They always look astonished,” he said, adding that he also liked the onomatopoeia “you so neoow one” (you are very stingy).

He noted that it made “all the difference” when one was able to speak the dialect here. More interesting stories here. A dialect that is easy to learn