Giving Penang Hokkien A Modern Writing System

Learn Penang Hokkien is dedicated to transforming Penang Hokkien from being an oral language into becoming a modern written one. The goal is to educate Penang Hokkien speakers so that they achieve literacy in Penang Hokkien, and can enjoy using it in written communication across all platforms.

It is worth explaining here, what is written communication. To be clear, written communication is different from spoken communication. A writing system is more than just a way to write what we speak. Rather, it is a means for us to express our thoughts in writing, even more precisely than we would do orally. To be effective, the writing system has to support that.

Writing something is different from speaking it. When a language is used in spoken form, the speaker and the listener are usually present. Sentences are usually short. If the listener is unclear about something, he is able to seek immediate clarification.

This benefit is absent from written communication. The writer has to make sure that the reader understands him when he is not around to provide clarification. What he has written will only be read after an interval, when he is not immediately present. Therefore, he is reliant on the writing system to do the work of supporting precise communication.

A writing system goes beyond transcribing sounds. If the purpose is simply to spell out what is heard regardless the meaning, then the best choice to write Penang Hokkien would be to use the International Phonetic Alphabet, which can capture every sound and transcribe it precisely. But transcribing sounds, even precisely, does not necessarily aid communication, if it is detached from the meaning.

A writing system has to work on the practical level. The International Phonetic Alphabet may be used to transcribe every sound precisely, but learners are not able to use any standard keyboard or keypad to write it without a plug-in or installing an app. In all likelihood, only a small circle of hardcore learners would be willing to install plug-in or app, just to be able to communicate. It defeats the wider goal of bring literacy to the masses. Moreover, if general speakers of the language are limited to read in the language but have difficulties in communicating among themselves in the writing system, there is a danger that the system can be used as a means to influence or control the opinion and perspective of the readers.

For a writing system to be effective, it therefore has to support written communication. In other words, it has to be so easy to use so that all learners can use it on any standard keyboard or keypad. An effective writing system not only allows learners to use it to communicate among themselves, the system promotes self expression, enabling them to create content, whether it is writing stories, blogposts, poems, plays, songs or manuscripts.

Being a largely monosyllabic tonal language, Penang Hokkien has many homophones. To ensure effective communication, the writing system has to remove ambiguities where homophones are present. This is achieved by numbering the tones and by introducing a small number of heterographs.

In this present age, it is rare to see a new writing system being created for a language. However, without a written form, the very survival of Penang Hokkien is at stake, as it will lose out to languages that can be written. To overcome this handicap, a written system is created for Penang Hokkien, and a dictionary is also compiled, so that people can make sense of the words in written form.

Languages survive as long as people continue to use them. But society has moved on. In the past, people communicate orally face-to-face whether in the coffee shop or hawker stalls. Nowadays, people communicate in writing, while remain seated in the comfort of their own homes. Oral languages have to evolve to support present-day communication, in order to remain relevant. Otherwise, another language that can do that job, will replace it. It is hoped that by giving Penang Hokkien a writing system that is easy to write, its survival in this present age can be prolonged.

Read also Penang Hokkien Vocabulary

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About this website

Thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye. My hobby is to research information about places, and share the information with people on this website. I started this website on 5 January 2003, and since then, have written about over 20,000 places, mostly in Malaysia and Singapore.

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. While I try my best to provide you information that is as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors. Also, as I might not be able to update some information on time, some of these pages may contain outdated information.