Creating a truly Penangite Language
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One Home One Language: creating a truly Penangite Language (6 February 2013)
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When I set forth to create an online course to teach Penang Hokkien, my initial intention was just to make learning Penang Hokkien easy for visitors and expatriates. Since then, I find that my ambition has expanded by a quantum leap. I began to realise the importance of not only creating greater exposure for Penang Hokkien, but also in establishing its sovereignty as a truly Penang language, a language that every ethnic group in Penang can learn and use.
Three hundred and fifty years have passed since the forefathers of Penang Hokkien arrived and settled along the coast of Kedah. These largely illiterate people developed the language which was passed to Penang when it opened in 1786. Our forefathers' oral form of communication generously embraced loanwords from their neighbours. Refugees of war, they were a peace-loving people, and they brought with them a beautiful, courteous language. Until the 19th century, when the Sinkhehs arrived, our forefathers lived in peace amongst their Malay and Indian brethren. There was not a single record of them fighting one another, or envying one another, or hating one another.
But now the world has changed, and not for the better. Now it is the Establishment that is determined to divide us, to judge us by the color of our skin and the choice of our faith. We should resist this by celebrating common denominators that unite us.
Many of us were born in Penang. We grew up in Penang. We know Penang as our one and only homeland. Fujian Province is as foreign as the moon. Now, just as we consider ourselves Malaysian first, and Malay/Chinese/Indian second, so too, we should consider Penang Hokkien as a truly Made-in-Penang language, and open the gates for everybody to learn it.
While we appreciate the ties Penang Hokkien had with its land of origin, the language has come a long way in establishing its own identity. Penang Hokkien is not a language of Fujian Province - we can't use it to speak to people there. This is a Penang language, our language. We, the people who speak Penang Hokkien, have to be willing to sever the links it had with standard Hokkien, so that Penang Hokkien can stand on its own right. Barriers that prevent other races from learning it should be torn down.
The first step towards tearing down the barriers and establishing a truly Penangite Hokkien is in creating its own written form. For this purpose, I base it on the Roman alphabet. It is the common denominator that is familiar with all races in Penang, whether he is a Malay, Chinese or Indian. Just as the Malay language moved from jawi to rumi, and in so doing became easier for all races to accept, so too should Penang Hokkien transition from Chinese ideograms to the Roman alphabet, and from romanisations developed elsewhere to romanisation developed locally in Penang. The way I write Penang Hokkien is the same as how a Malay, Chinese or Indian would transcribe it phonetically, based on his knowledge of English and Malay. The message I'm bringing to all is, you don't need to know Chinese to know Penang Hokkien.
Apart from the four base tones that are added to ensure the syllables are pronounced correctly, the written form of Penang Hokkien that I've developed is the same as how Penangites would spell the names of their favourite dishes (char koay teow, wan tan mee, lor mee, etc.), the names of roads in George Town (Tiong Lor, Larm Chhan Na, etc.) and even how they spell their own names (Ong Seng Huat, Tan Cheng Bee, Leong Chee Keong, etc.)
While purists of standard Hokkien will condemn this effort as popularizing a corrupted form of creolised, pidgin Hokkien, I hope the people of Penang themselves will accept it as their language, their own language, one they can use to communicate warmly and intimately among themselves.
It is my aspiration that what I have developed will eventually be accepted by all, and those who have previously adhered to standard Hokkien romanisation will accept it as the way forward in creating a language that unites us all.
If you like to learn Penang Hokkien, go to:
https://www.penang-traveltips.com/penang-hokkien.htm and join the Learn Penang Hokkien Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/learnpenanghokkien/
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New Properties in Penang
Looking to buy property in Penang? Get the e-brochures right here without having to visit or contact individual developers.- Anggun Residences E-Brochure, Batu Kawan
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- Taman Nuri Emas E-Brochure, Nibong Tebal
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- The Loft @ Southbay E-Brochure, Batu Maung
- The Terraces Condominium E-Brochure, Bukit Jambul
- Trehaus Condo Villas E-Brochure, Bukit Jambul
- Triuni Residences E-Brochure, Batu Uban
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- Waterside Residence E-Brochure, Gelugor
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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.
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