And it's not just any Hokkien but the unique variant that for a long time was the lingua franca of Penang. It is also widely spoken in northern Perak, Kedah, Perlis and even across the Straits of Malacca in Medan (with some minor variations).
Interestingly, this particular variant with its unique intonation and vocabulary (a mixture of Hokkien, English and Malay terms) was also the default variant of Hokkien used in the town of Teluk Intan in Lower Perak, at least when I was growing up there. The way its spoken back there nowadays tend to be much more heavily accented with a Cantonese intonation. I supposed its because the earliest migrant labour brought in by the British when they built the town in 1883 were Chinese coolies from Penang.
Anyway I grew up speaking it, despite being Teochew. I suppose it helps that my mother's from Penang. In my somewhat rare sojourn to Facebook, I came across this group called the Penang Hokkien Podcast which lead me to its website. The podcast was set up by John Ong who currently resides in the US. It's great to see somebody take their nostalgia to the next level.
I set up a little SpringWidget for the podcast for my own listening pleasure but feel free to enjoy it here. You can also head straight to PenangHokkien.com and get it in your favourite podcast player.
Oh yeah .. a little warning .. some of the language can be a little "colourful" :)
If you liked this post, consider buying me some coffee. Suggested price is $1.00 for a cup and $10.00 for a 1 lbs bag (personally I am a big fan of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe).
Categories: Malaysiana
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Comments (2)
lucia said:
oh dear me, bob, you didn't know about this penang hokkien podcast website? all along i thought you did. i had mentioned it a few times in my blog. oh but yalah excusable as for sure you don't read my blog everyday. :)
i knew about it ever since it was started as actually i kind of knew john ong before he started this site. during the CNY this year, john was back in penang and there was a gathering of his listeners. i was there and i was lucky enough to win the 1st prize of an ipod shuffle in a lucky draw.
many a times i had wanted to be in the podcast but john's time cannot 'ngam' with my time - a time where i need to find that it is quiet and nobody around.
honestly speaking, it had been months i did not listen to john's podcast as had been too busy. must try to start again listening to it regularly.
Posted on September 18, 2007 11:38 PM
Bob K said:
Indeed! How could you have kept this from me! ;)
Posted on September 19, 2007 12:23 AM