Where Next? HOMEPAGE UNITED STATES UNITED KINGDOM Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Congo, Democratic Republic Congo, Republic Corsica Costa Rica Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Easter Island Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Northern Ireland Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts & Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent & the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome & Principe Saudi Arabia Scotland Senegal Serbia Seychelles Singapore Sierra Leone Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks & Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uruguay US Virgin Islands Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wales Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Let's Learn Penang Hokkien

     Tweet   

Penang Hokkien is the most commonly used dialect in Penang, understood by many Chinese in the state. Today we are going to have some fun learning it. It was brought over by Chinese early seafarers who left the southern port city of Zhangzhou in Fujian Province, to settle in the coastal areas of the Malay peninsula, during the Qing Dynasty. Penang Hokkien is very easy to learn. Once you get your intonation right, you will find that the grammer is quite simple. When Penang was opened as a British trading port in 1786, many of these Chinese settlers immediately moved in from their settlements in Kedah and the now Seberang Perai. Though their contact with the local Malays, they have borrowed many Malay words. The word for soap, for example, is sabun, borrowed from Malay (who in turn, borrowed from the Portuguese). The early Chinese settlers in Penang spoke what we know today as Penang Hokkien. They prospered as traders and merchants under the British. When tin mines in Krian Pauh were opened in the second half of the 19th century, they were quick to cash in on the opportunity, bring workers from their homeland to work the tin fields, and establishing clan associations to look after the coolie's welfare. Penang Hokkien, being the lingua franca of the Chinese on the island, was brought south into the Krian Pauh area, so that when Taiping was established around the 1870's, it because the predominant dialect there. Although the newcomers or "Sin Kheh" were not all Hokkien people, they learned the language as it was the most common Chinese dialect at that time (Mandarin was not yet popular until the turn of the 20th century). Today, you will find that Penang Hokkien is still being used by the Chinese, even though Mandarin has made in-roads among the younger generation. Why learn Penang Hokkien? Well, if you are a foreigner coming to live in Penang, you will find that learning Penang Hokkien gains you much respect among the local Chinese, among your colleagues, your subordinates, your vendor in the wet market, your local friends. And why am I teaching you Penang Hokkien? As a person who is working to preserve and celebrate Penang's heritage, I am concern that Penang's intangible heritage is being overlooked. Penang Hokkien is one such heritage whose survival is being threatened by the homogeny of Mandarin. I want to keep Penang Hokkien as a living intangible heritage of Penang, and the only way to keep it out of the museums is to put it on the streets. Penang Hokkien is not a very difficult language to learn. The grammar is quite simple. To help you learn the language in the shortest possible time, I will split this course into two section. In Part One, you learn the Components of Speech. In Part Two, you are given Situations where you will most likely get the opportunity to try the Hokkien that you've learn. The pronunciation and vocabulary that I will teach you is that of Penang Hokkien. There are variants of the Hokkien dialect spoken in Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines and Fujian Province. The Hokkien that you will learn here is the one that you can use and be understood in Penang. One of the most important aspects in learning Penang Hokkien is to get the intonation correct. For that matter, I would advise you to seek the help of someone who speaks Penang Hokkien, to pronounce to you the words that are taught in this course. Do not be afraid to try your new-found skill with the people you meet in Penang. They will definitely be impressed, and will appreciate your effort! How to get started I recommend that you start by learning the Part 1: Components of Speech, then continue to Part 2: Situations. That way, you have established the foundation in the dialect before handling conversations. As Penang Hokkien is a spoken dialect, I romanize the words to make it easier for you to learn.