When to borrow into Penang Hokkien

In compiling the Penang Hokkien Dictionary, I often arrive at decision points. In particular, this deals with Hokkien words that are not commonly used. Do I include it, or do I leave it out. But if I leave it out, then our Hokkien will be so much poorer because we cannot express what we want to express. If I put it in, is this still a Penang Hokkien Dictionary?

I look to English for guidance. Even though it has an extensive vocabulary, English borrows unabashedly from French, Latin, and many other languages. Languages, I observe, are like living organisms. If you want them to stay alive, you need to allow them to grow. The decision I am making is, yes, I shall add it in. If the word comes from Taiwanese Hokkien, I will mention it too. The good thing is that my dictionary is not just a word list, I have space to provide as much elaboration as needed. I want people who speak Penang Hokkien to have exposure to words used in other Hokkien dialects, and so, if I come across words I feel are essential to know, I will add them in.

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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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