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Showing posts with label Hokkien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hokkien. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Penang Lang: Feeling increasingly displaced in Penang, sad the demise of colourful language

槟城人(Penang Lang) - Home | Facebook

Feeling increasingly displaced in Penang, too

DATUK Seri Wong Chun Wai’s article expressed my sentiments exactly (“Feeling lost in Penang”, On The Beat, Focus, Sunday Star, Jan 27; online at bit.ly/star_hokkien /A banana's feeling lost in Penang, fearing will be illiterate in future).

I attended primary and secondary school at Convent Green Lane, and later went on to do my Sixth Form at St Xavier’s. Needless to say, I do not speak any Mandarin either. I, too, feel increasingly displaced in Penang, and am so sad to see Hokkien perceptibly fading away.

In preparing for my sociolinguistics class with undergraduates, I came across an interesting website by the Persatuan Bahasa Hokkien Pulau Pinang, speakhokkien.org. Others are concerned too.

(By the way, my class was studying concepts of language loss and language death, and I picked Penang Hokkien as a case to highlight the issue. In my demo, I spoke some and we all had a great big laugh – my personality inexplicably transforms when I speak Hokkien!)

One of the last bastions of Penang Hokkien could possibly be the Sg Ara market. During a visit sometime last year, I could still hear quite a bit of this beautiful dialect being spoken, to my great delight.

Thank you for highlighting the issue from a heartfelt personal perspective. I will include it in the reading list to help my students understand that language loss is not some abstract theoretical construct but is real and happening in our own backyard in Penang.

(By the way, wah ah boey khi bank gia ang pow long. Wah boh eng! Ah bo wah khi pasak bey kah ho :-)) (I haven’t gone to the bank to get ang pow packets. I am not free! Maybe it’s better that I go buy them in the market.)

JOY QUAH Kuala Lumpur The Star


Sad to see the demise of a colourful language

FIRSTLY, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai’s article, “Feeling lost in Penang /A banana's feeling lost in Penang, fearing will be illiterate in future ”.

I was sent a link to the article by an old Auckland University friend who now lives in Singapore.

I’m a “banana” still living in Auckland after 40 years. And like Wong, I get pretty lost in Penang whenever I return.

Being ex-Penang Free School, I never learnt Mandarin. I worked in Shanghai for a year-and-a-half and my colleagues there used to tease me, “You can’t read Mandarin? You can’t write Mandarin? You can’t speak Mandarin? You must be illiterate!”

Penang is now starting to feel like China.

I find it’s more common nowfor Chinese youngsters to converse in Mandarin than in Hokkien. I speak Hokkien to the hawkers and get told that I must be from overseas! The Penang sing-song Hokkien will soon disappear. It’s a shame.

Like Wong, I too avoid Penang during Chinese New Year – it’s just too hectic. My wife and I visit mid-year when there are no events, celebrations or festivals. This year, it’s May/June. Wonder if there’s durian around then!

Have a Happy New Year, Keong Hee Huat Chai!

MICHAEL ONG Auckland, New Zealand The Star


Related post:

Children admiring a Hokkien glove puppet theatre performing 'Journey to the West' on a portable wooden stage at the Little Pe
.

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Penang-lang 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.

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.

Mandarin is quickly taking over this unique Penang Hokkien dialect and for sure, English is also being affected in daily conversations.

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.

On The Beat by Wong Chun Wai

Wong Chun Wai began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 27 years in various capacities and roles. He is now the group's managing director/chief executive officer and formerly the group chief editor.

On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.

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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Phison’s silicon wafer plan; Mandarin, Hokkien, the main lure

Pua: ‘The assembly of the finished flash memory products would be outsourced to small and medium enterprises in the country.’

Phison’s silicon wafer plan  
By DAVID TAN  davidtan@thestar.com.my

Its partner Silterra may produce essential components in Kulim

GEORGE TOWN: Phison Electronics Corp's partner Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd may undertake the production of silicon wafer in Kulim Hi-Tech Park for the flash memory chips to be developed and designed in Penang.

Phison chairman and chief executive officer Pua Khein-Seng told StarBiz that Silterra was now studying the feasibility of manufacturing the silicon wafer for the Phison's unit, which would be established in Penang in three to six months.

“The unit will undertake the development and design of flash memory applications and solution products. Our other partner, Index Diversified Sdn Bhd, will distribute and market them in the local and South-East Asia markets,” he said.

“The assembly of the finished flash memory products would be outsourced to small and medium enterprises in the country. We will decide on the volume of units to be produced six months later,” he added.

Pua also said that the investment of US$1mil to US$3mil would be for the salaries of engineers and purchasing the necessary equipment.

Also present were Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Silterra chief executive officer Dr Kamarulzaman Mohamed Zin, and Silterra Sales and Marketing (L) Ltd, Taiwan Branch senior vice-president Lai Yit Loong.

Lai said the flash memory product, which could be in the form secure-digital and smart cards, would be used in tablets, ultrabooks.

“The flash memory products will also be targeted for use in mobile payment platform and in video recorders for automobiles,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lim said the importance of Phison's investment was that it would lead to talent and technology transfer to Penang.

“The Phison unit will likely be located on the island, and the state government will provide the necessary assistance for the group to establish its presence here,” Lim added.

Phison Electronics Corp was established in November 2000 at Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Starting with the world's first single-chip USB flash drive IC, Phison is now a market leader in NAND Flash controllers and applications including USB, SD, eMMC, PATA and SATA products.

In 2010, the company shipped over 500 million controllers worldwide and topped US$1bil in sales revenue.

Phison also offers system and OEM services for major retail brand names. Founded in November 1995 as Wafer Technology Malaysia Sdn Bhd and renamed as Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd in December 1999, the company offers complementary metalic oxide semiconductor design and a broad range of fabrication processes for integrated chips in advanced logic, mixed signal and radio frequency and high voltage applications.

The principal investor of Silterra is Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

  Mandarin; Hokkien, the main lure
 
By TAN SIN CHOW sctan@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: The Hokkien connection has once again put Penang in the limelight, albeit, this time on a positive note.

Taiwan-based Phison Engineering Corp has chosen to set up its first Malaysian branch in the state this year because the Hokkien dialect is widely used here.

According to its chairman and chief executive officer Pua Khein-Seng, who was raised in Sekinchan, Selangor, the Mandarin and Hokkien dialects were among the reasons for setting up their Malaysian unit in Penang.

Given a choice, the 38-year-old Malaysian said he would have chosen Kuala Lumpur as it was nearer to his hometown. “However, the move will not be viable as my working team from Taiwan only speaks Mandarin and Minnan (which is similar to Hokkien).

“I have a lot of engineers, some of them Malaysians, who do not have a strong command of English or Bahasa Malaysia as they have been based in Taiwan for far too long. They will not be able to survive in Kuala Lumpur.

“It is better for them to be here as the Chinese community here speaks Mandarin and Minnan,” he said during a question-and-answer session during his talk on “Driven to Success Road to Build a $1billion Company”.

Just last month, the Hokkien connection put Penang in the limelight when police busted a Taiwanese-led international Internet syndicate which had chosen the island as its base so that its members could blend in.

Pua said another plus point was the many well-trained engineers and industry players available here. “Here, materials are easily available from the semiconductor and electronics companies.”

Pua, who describes Malaysia as his motherland and Taiwan as his second home, is the inventor of the pen drive when he was only 27.

Phison was set up in November 2000 and within six months Pua had come up with the invention.

Related post:
 Taiwan's Phison IC design project, a 'brain gain' for Malaysia

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Ideas for positive energy,Tips on harmonising bad vibes, Spiritual activity heightens






 Spiritual healer gives talk on home decoration

SPIRITS are everywhere so even if your home is next to a cemetery, you should be able to sell it if the price is not too high, said spiritual healer Master Ong Q Leng.

She was speaking during the question and answer session after her talk themed ‘Protecting Your Property From Bad Energy’ at the Star Property Fair 2010.

Master Ong giving feng shui tips to the crowd
.
“Spirits are everywhere all the time, day or night, you just can’t see them.

“There are people who are not superstitious and they will be willing to buy the property, especially if they can make a profit from it,” she said, when asked if it was okay to leave an apartment empty if there were cemetery plots on both sides of the property.

“If a property does not sell, it is not necessarily because of bad feng shui. You may be asking too high a price. A buyer will already have scouted the area for the right price. Try lowering the price, and you might be able to sell it off.”

To a question on colour schemes, Ong said certain people suited certain colours and people should observe how they felt or how things fared when they chose a certain colour to wear.

Asked if it was really suay (unlucky) to wear all black or black and white, Ong said that it was true that the colours did not suit many people:

“Try it for one or two days, if it does not feel good or things go wrong, then the colours are probably not suited to you,” she said.

Speaking in Hokkien and Mandarin, with English translation provided by master of ceremonies Por Joo Tee, Ong also advised the crowd to try not to wear red or use too much red.

A couple then told how they fell in love with a painting of a tiger and bought it for their home only to be told by a medium that the tiger would “eat up” all their fortune.

Ong said paintings of animals had no bearing on people but reminded them to place them only in the hall and not in the bedrooms, and that the paintings had to face another wall and not the main door or balcony.
“It is only a painting, and cannot harm us. But if you feel unhappy after putting up any decoration, then just take it down,” she said.

Asked on the best stance or image to choose when buying idols of deities, Ong said what mattered more was the idol’s condition.

“If after some time praying to the idol, you feel that things are going well, then it should be fine. If you feel that things are falling apart, then it’s probably not right,” she said.

Asked if the idols of Hok Lok Siu (three Chinese deities representing good luck, status and longevity) could be placed inside the house, Ong said they could only be placed as decorative pieces but not as idols to pray to because they were only supposed to reside at temples and not at houses.

She also told the audience to pray from the heart and not out loud and face the sky with eyes closed and hands clasped together, preferably between 6am and 11am, and to say please when praying.

“Don’t be too greedy but remember to pray for your own health and strength first before praying for your loved ones,” she added.

Ong’s talk received a great response from the large crowd.

Source: Starmetro

Tips on harmonising bad vibes

By PRISCILLA DIELENBERG
prisdberg@thestar.com.my

TECHNICALLY, there is no house with bad feng shui, according to spiritual healer Master Ong Q Leng.

“Even houses with the worst chi (vital energy) can be corrected,” claimed Ong, 34, who offers healing, spiritual cleansing, feng shui tips and general consultation services.

Ong: Her talk will be in Hokkien and Mandarin.
She said some old houses had bad chi because of spirits that co-habited the space over the years.

“There are three types of spirits - those that are wandering as they could not move on after death, those that chose not to move on though they could, and the bad ones that go around causing trouble,” she said.

Ong added that proper cleansing had to be done to appease the spirits that caused distress or unrest to those who occupied the house.

“When I enter a premises with bad chi, I use my sixth sense to get a clear picture of the situation and instructions from my spiritual master, and take it from there,” said Ong.

She will share her thoughts on a combination of feng shui and paranormal phenomena during her talk on ‘Protecting Your Property From Bad Energy’ at 4.30pm on Sunday at the Star Property Fair 2010.

Her talk will be in Hokkien and Mandarin, with a smattering of Bahasa Malaysia and English. There will be a translator on standby to help with the question-and-answer session. The talk is for non-Muslims only, and admission is free.

Ong will also be giving tips on auspicious locations within a house, choosing colour schemes and how best to arrange certain furniture.

The talk will be among the highlights of the three-day fair to be held at G Hotel and Gurney Plaza from 10am to 10pm starting today until Sunday.

More than 20 major developers, including some from Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh, will offer an array of property launches, special packages and attractive rebates during the event, organised by Star Publications (M) Bhd in collaboration with Henry Butcher Malaysia Penang.



Spiritual activity heightens

By PRISCILLA DIELENBERG
prisdberg@thestar.com.my, 10/9/2010

THE seriously ill are more susceptible to death during the Phor Thor or Hungry Ghost month, according to spiritual healer Master Ong Q Leng.

Ong, 34, said in the recently concluded seventh lunar month, a few of her patients, who were on the road to recovery, simply gave up and succumbed to their illnesses rather than burden their loved ones who had to care for them.

“One patient was progressing well. The colour had returned to her cheeks but she had a change of heart and told her daughter who was bathing her one morning to hurry up as ‘they’ were waiting for her.

“She suddenly passed on in the middle of her bath,” said Ong, who also noted that there had been many cases of murder and suicide during the period.

She said those, who had seriously ill loved ones, should provide them with more love and care during the seventh month.

“You can tell that it is time for them to depart if they can no longer eat and sleep, the face has turned pale and yellowish, and the eyes are lifeless,” she added.

The Hungry Ghost month had always been a busy time for Ong, who offers services of healing, spiritual cleansing, feng shui tips and general consultation.

“One client sought my services after friends spotted two young children in the back seat of her car. It turned out that she had two previous abortions and the boy and girl spirits were her two children.”

Ong said spirits were at their most powerful during the seventh month but those released from the gates of hell were not harmful.

“The harmful spirits are the wandering ghosts that roam the earth freely throughout the year.”
During the Hungry Ghost month, she said it was best that children, aged below five, stayed indoors after 7pm, and adults low on luck did the same after 9pm.

She also advised people not to consume too much alcohol or speak nonsense during the seventh month, and not to quarrel or fight at home as that would attract an “audience” to watch the drama.

“Don’t scold but be more loving to your spouse and children, and smile more to avoid misfortune,” she said.

Ong also advised those who observed the Hungry Ghost festival to burn smaller offerings for their departed loved ones during that month.

“When you burn too many things, it will attract greedy evil spirits who come and snatch the offerings from your loved ones.

“Smaller amounts attract less attention and that means more chances that your loved ones will receive them.

“You only need to burn offerings for someone once a year and it should be done during the day, that is between 8.30am and 7.30pm,” she said