The Mission for Penang Hokkien

I am a man with a mission. My mission is to ensure the survival of Penang Hokkien, for as long as I am around, to give it respectability as a language that can be easily used for written communications and to give a sense of ownership of Penang Hokkien to all speakers, not just Hokkien people, but also the Teochews, Hakkas, Cantonese, Taishanese, Hainanese and more, all the Penang Chinese people who speak Penang Hokkien and consider it their language.

I regard Penang Hokkien the same way Americans regard English. Americans may come in all shades of skin tone, yet they speak English as their native tongue, without bearing allegiance to the British flag or the English crown, nor seek alignment with British history. In a similar fashion, Penang Hokkien should be inclusive rather than divisive. It should accept and embrace all Hokkien speakers, even if they don't have pure Hokkien blood in their veins.

To do what I want to do, I often have to challenge the powers that be - the linguists and the academics. Linguists and academics are people too. At times, they may hold a differing opinion. If a linguist does not agree with you, it does not mean you are wrong. It just means you haven't found one who agrees. Bear in mind, even academics may disagree among themselves.

In the course of accomplishing this mission, I have had to disagree with many academics if their mission is not aligned to mine. I am clear in my mission and I remain steadfast in the course.

My advice to Penang Hokkien enthusiasts is, always arm yourself with knowledge, do your independent research; you don't have to take everything I say as fact, weigh what I say, understand why I do what I do.

My mission is a good thing for Penang Hokkien. And it provides ownership of the language, not only to the Hokkien people, but to all peoples who speak the language.

Let's accomplish it.

Read also Penang Hokkien Vocabulary

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