niuc wrote:Similarly, to this day, I find it very difficult to use the word "lu" (=you) to an elder - it was considered *very* rude, when I was young. For example, in speaking to my grandmother (when I was young, she's now long gone), it was totally impossible to ask "lu be khi bo?" (= do you want to go?). Instead, one had to say "a-ma be khi bo?" (= does grandmother want to go?). This was when asking her directly, not when asking someone else *about* her. Perhaps this too has changed over time - I don't know what the situation is with "lu" in Malaysia and Indonesia nowadays. My other relatives who migrated to Australia all seem very comfortable saying "lu" to their elders - I'm the only one who still doesn't like doing it.
From my experience in Penang, the situation that applies to niuc's description in Indonesia also applies to Penang today, too - i.e., one would say, e.g. 阿嬷, 汝食飽未? ă-mâ, lû chiăk pâ bŭe? The elder would always be addressed by his/her title before the 汝 lû. And perhaps as a mark of reverence to the elders, using the previous example, the words 阿嬷 ă-mâ would somehow be emphasised (i.e. pronounced louder and more 'dragged out') - as if to 'downplay' the lû that follows it... or perhaps it is my imagination.Our variant of Hokkien has no problem using "ly2" (you) to an elder, in this case much like Mandarin, so we would say "a-ma, ly ber khy bo?" or "a-ma, ly ber khy a-mai?". Without "a-ma" it is rude, without "ly" it sounds like asking someone else about her, although it's still acceptable.
niuc wrote:
That sounds like the Penang Hokkien equivalent of 厝內 ch'û lăi. I hear it used sometimes in Penang, but in more casual settings, bO2 seems to be used more liberally.The more polite terms for "bo`2" (wife) are 家內 "ke1-lai7"