A dialect that is easy to learn
LANGUAGE teacher Lee Siew Har firmly believes that Penang Hokkien dialect is easy to learn.
The former IT trainer and consultant who has been teaching the dialect for more than three years, said what was important was a “keen interest”.
“I have developed a proper syllabus content for my basic and level 1 to 5 students who are taught comprehension, conversational skills and composition.
“My foreign students can pick up the vocabulary easily. It is only their pronunciation and intonation that may be slightly difficult – they still speak with a slang,” she laughed, adding that her Dutch student had a wider vocabulary than some of the locals.
“They are surprised when he corrects them. Penang Hokkien uses many Malay words like batu (stone) and mata (police) because of the Baba Nyonya influence but there are Hokkien words to describe them. For instance, not many people know that the Hokkien word for police is keng chat,” she explained.
Ironically, the 56-year-old said although she taught working adults, college students and professionals the dialect, her nieces and nephews could not speak it well.
“My students are Indians, Malays and expatriates who want to learn Hokkien to be accepted by the local community, yet local Chinese are reluctant to speak it with their children.
“I constantly have to persuade my nieces and nephews to speak to me in Hokkien. When they do speak in Hokkien, it is not very choon (Hok-kien for accurate).
“I do not know if it is still happening now but back when I was in school, the prefects used to ‘fine’ us 10 sen each time we spoke in a local dialect because they were trying to promote the use of English and Bahasa Malaysia. I think this is not good because it will cause local dialects to die off,” she said.
Learn to Speak PHD — Penang Hokkien Dialect author Tan Choon Hoe said most of the expatriates who studied with him were either married to Penangites or are long-stay visitors.
“My students Albert Kordesch and Steve Melemma said their wives refused to teach them because they would always end up arguing.
“I remember Steve saying how happy he was when he could understand a man saying sam gor khor (RM35) to his wife when they were buying groceries at the market,” he said.
Tapestry of Baba Poetry author Johny Chee advised those keen on learning “pure” Penang Hokkien to approach native speakers of the older generation.
“To master the dialect, one must not only learn the words and phonetics well — it is also important to embrace the culture which includes traditional songs and poetry.
“Start composing your own ditties. My book and CD is a creative attempt to get people interested in Penang Hokkien. My purpose was also record our culture for future generations. That is why I included many words that are no longer in use,” he said.
Embrace culture: Chee and Annie Lim putting on a Baba Nyonnya show at the George Town heritage site listing celebration recently.
This article is courtesy from The Star Metro
