More words...about 300 I can't track down.

[AndrewAndrew]

3) To relax I have pang leng

pang-sim ?

8 ) Sesame something containing môa 蔴 for sure? Is it chi-môa 芝麻 as in Taiwanese. Hoe about the oil, is it 芝蔴油 chi-môa-iû or just 蔴油 môa-iû?

The latter.

[Ah-bin]

Ah, I should have elaborated on pàng leng but I was hurrying to get things posted. Where I heard it it meant more like "relax the rules" or "loosen up" in relation to regulations. I suppose pàng sim is actually good for "relax" in the sense of not worrying about things too. Then the relax for resting is something different again, i suppose it might come within the realm of He·ⁿh-khùn 歇睏 – to rest or He·ⁿh chít-ē• 歇一下

[SimL]

7) Sale (reduced prices) is this kiám-kè• 減價 or something like that?

Yes, kiám-kè• 減價 is exactly correct.

8 ) Sesame something containing môa 蔴 for sure? Is it chi-môa 芝麻 as in Taiwanese. Hoe about the oil, is it 芝蔴油 chi-môa-iû or just 蔴油 môa-iû?

In my usage, it's never 芝蔴, just 蔴. But of course, this 蔴 is always qualified. So, the loose sesame seeds - e.g. for sprinkling on stuff - are môa-chí (蔴子), and sesame oil is môa-iû (蔴油).

BTW, I noticed 籽 used for chí ("seed") a couple of replies back. Is that the benzi?

[Mark Yong]

SimL wrote:
BTW, I noticed 籽 used for chí ("seed") a couple of replies back. Is that the benzi?

I claim responsibility for that one!

Okay, this is where it gets confusing, and I confess that I am nowhere certain of whether what I am writing is correct, but here is what I managed to gather:

The 《康熙字典》 Kangxi Dictionary gives no definition for the character 籽, only stating that it is pronounced the same way as 子.

The 《新華字典》 Xin Hua Dictionary defines the character 籽 as 「某些植物所結的種子」, i.e. the seed of a plant.

So, my use of the character 籽 for tsi1 ‘seed’ is purely provisional, and only to differentiate it from 子 ‘child / little / a suffix’.

Now, as to whether mua5-tsi2 is written as 「蔴芝」:

The compound 「芝蔴」 basically means 'sesame'. This is defined in both the 《爾雅》 Erya and 《正字通》 Zhengzitong:
《爾雅翼》胡麻，一名巨勝。
《正字通》言其大而勝，卽今黑芝麻也。

Quoting a section from Wikipedia’s article on Lingzhi mushrooms (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi_mushroom):
Fabrizio Pregadio explains, “The term 芝 zhi, which has no equivalent in Western languages, refers to a variety of supermundane substances often described as plants, fungi, or ‘excresences’”.

Here is the twister: Wikipedia’s articles on the Japanese rice cake mochi (which looks very similar to mua5-tsi2):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochi
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BA%BB%E7%B3%AC
give the characters 「蔴糬」. I searched both the 《康熙字典》 Kangxi Dictionary and 《新華字典》 Xin Hua Dictionary, but neither had definitions nor readings for 「糬」. However, if the phonetic element 署 is anything to go by, it would give a final of -u2, not -i2.

I suppose the above could carry weight if what we know as mua5-tsi2 today began life as the Japanese 蔴糬 mochi. I think I shall defer that to a native Taiwanese to shed some light on this... amhoanna?

That said, 「蔴芝」 appears to be the accepted way of writing mua5-tsi2, based on articles and images that I see on the Web - though, I cannot quite reconcile how simply reversing 「芝蔴」 can turn the definition from ‘sesame’ to ‘dough laced with sesame’. But then, I suppose the same could be said for 蜜蜂 ‘bee’ and 蜂蜜 ‘honey’！

[Ah-bin]

Thanks again for your contributions. I like how things get sidetracked into interesting diversions.

Like Mark, I prefer 籽 for chí just because it saves confusion with 子 for chú.

As for môa-chî, I believe I have seen it written as [米蔴][米薯] in Taiwan, but this was a few years back. I don't think any mainland dictionary would have either character, as they seem to be very localised 俗字. As for the phonetic, the 薯 is pronounced as an -i in many kinds of Taiwanese, following the example of tu/ti 豬 and many other words.

Japanese mochi as far as I know, is never written as 蔴糬. Instead it is either in kana, or as 餅.

[Ah-bin]

This list concludes the first hundred words. I'll make a summary of the first hundred after I've heard everyone's suggestions.

1) a Skewer

2) To smuggle - I had this word somewhere but I can't track it down!

3) To summon - I guess this one is usually just kiò lâng lâi, not sure whether there is a more official sounding expression. I know the word itself has been borrowed into PGHK in the sense of " court summons" used for a parking ticket

4) Sunscreen - I doubt there is one for this....

5) Times (x) - like division, this one will be hard to find, I think, since mathematics has not been taught in Hokkien for a very long time.

6) Tablemat, place mat

7) To start a car or engine,

8 ) Style (khoán?) I came across the Word iāuⁿ 樣 in Johnny Chee's Tapestry of Baba Poetry the other day. I was wondering whether others have heard it used much, and whether there is much of a difference between it and khoán. I also found choáⁿ-iāuⁿ 怎樣 "in what way" in the same book. I know it from Chiang-chiu but had no idea it was used in Penang as well. I have only heard áⁿ-choáⁿ before.

9) Surroundings. Mr Cheah's book gives khoân-kèng 環境 but does anyone actually say this?

10) Tablecloth - I've invented my own one on the analogy of báng-tà 蠓罩 (mosquito net) to be tóh-tà 桌罩...but I'm sure there is another word.

[SimL]

Hi Ah-bin,

Sorry for the slow response - I'm very busy at the moment. But, I did check the first 30-40 questions with my parents on the past weekend, and got a few (but only a few) additional pieces of information.

I'll post these as soon as I can. As for the latest 10, I'm sorry to say I can't help on any of them.

[Mark Yong]

Ah-bin wrote:
Style (khoán?)

Yes, 款 khuan2 would be the usual word used. Common compounds (other than the familiar 安（兮）款) an1-e-khuan2) would include 像款 siang7-khuan2 “of the same type/kind”, 做款 tso3-khuan2 “to put on airs / be showy (擺架子)” and 臭款 tshau3-khuan2 “bad habit”.

Ah-bin wrote:
I also found choáⁿ-iāuⁿ 怎樣 "in what way" in the same book. I know it from Chiang-chiu but had no idea it was used in Penang as well. I have only heard áⁿ-choáⁿ before.

I have never heard 怎樣 choáⁿ-iāuⁿ used in Penang before. For me, it has always been 安怎 áⁿ-choá. That said, my mother-in-law (who is of 同安 Tang-Uaⁿ ancestry) sometimes says 一樣 Jit-Iuⁿ.

Ah-bin wrote:
a Skewer

There is a word 籤 tshiam1. I normally hear it in 牙籤 gae5-tshiam1 ‘tooth-pick’. I am not sure if it is an appropriate translation of ‘skewer’ (I presume you are referring to the steel ones?), but I also use the word to describe the wooden/bamboo ‘satay-style’ ones (a quick Google Image search for 肉籤 brings up quite a few photos of them).

[Ah-bin]

Many thanks Sim for doing that, and Mark too, for your answers. I am very grateful for any answers that can be filled in.

Now it's time for me to get on with the comprehensive list of the first hundred, together with the few additions I have from Mr. Cheah's book and consultation with other dictionaries. I won't be putting them in the dictionary until I have checked them with others, though.

[Mark Yong]

Ah-bin wrote:
To smuggle - I had this word somewhere but I can't track it down!

It could be my imagination, but the compound 走貨 tsau2-hue3 seems to ring a bell. As an aside, there is also a colloquial term for counterfeit products, i.e. 水貨 tsui2-hue3.

Ah-bin wrote:
Times (x) - like division, this one will be hard to find, I think, since mathematics has not been taught in Hokkien for a very long time.

On those rare occasions when I have conversed with Chinese-educated Penangites on mathematics, those that do not opt for the Mandarin version use 乘 seng7. And by extension, 除 tshu7.

Ah-bin wrote:
Surroundings. Mr Cheah's book gives khoân-kèng 環境 but does anyone actually say this?

In my limited experience, most Penangites I have spoken to tend to just say 境 keng2, as in 即爿兮境眞正秀 tsit-peng e keng tsin-tsiaⁿ sui. I suppose context allows for safely dropping the 環 khuan3 prefix.