金門話

[SimL]

Hi FutureSpy,

As I was the first time I met you, I'm very heartwarmed by your attitude to "less well-known" languages. I got interested in Danish in exactly the same way, and I too can still remember all the times when people said "Why don't you learn Swedish" (though I'd forgotten until you reminded me by bringing up the issue). I suppose here the attitude was even more extreme, because the idea behind their question was "if you're silly enough to learn something as obscure as a Scandinavian language, then why not at least choose the least obscure of them all". And my reply was exactly the same as yours: "Because I find the sound of Danish fascinating (fascinatingly ugly, but never mind ), and I'm really impressed with their culture and society.

Hi Ah-bin,

Lovely reply about the "Chinese vs. Europeans" vs. the "Hokkien speakers vs. 'other Chinese'". I found it really eye-opening, and something I had never though of before.

I'm going to be away from the net for quite a number of days. I wonder what sorts of discussions will have arisen while I'm away !

[FutureSpy]

Cathy, if I'm not mistaken, I remember have read someone describing something similar as being one of the reasons why one should take some time learning Shanghainese. I'm just not sure who and where to quote it here...

Since I still can't speak Taiwanese, I still haven't had such an experience. But every Taiwanese I've met who had it as their mother tongue are extremely nice to me after I tell I'm learning it. Not sure if it's because of the language itself, or it's just their natural hospitality, but their reactions never fail to positively surprise me

Sim, Scandinavian languages are nice ones! I tried to learn Norwegian in the past, but I was never diligent enough and lacked discipline. I'll leave it up to you to guess how it all ends... I guess I got a little bored 'cos I couldn't find anything I really liked to listen in Norwegian. It's extremely hard to find artists singing in Norwegian (I didn't really like the few ones I found), and I guess it's the same with Danish. They all sing in English! There are Swedish artists singing in Swedish tho. Given the Scandinavian continuum still exists, I wonder how are cross-border relationshisp between Norway and Sweden and their relationship with their respective official languages...

See you once you're back, Sim!

[amhoanna]

This thread about bahasa Kimbng has taken a nice turn. It's not surprising that people on a Hokkien forum would have these kinds of thoughts. Personally I am more in the Kadri (Ah-bin) camp. I like to stick a nightstick up people's nationalisms, etc. I tend to be active with the languages I learn. I turn myself loose in a language relatively early compared to F-Spy, apparently -- let alone Sim. I like port city tongues, not just for their saltwater taste, but for their potential to subvert the national languages. Can't do that with "obscure tongues", that's why I don't go in for obscure tongues much. But I must admit that much can be learned from obscure tongues, much more than from the port city market languages I tend to chase. And Kadri's other pt is very true, that the reward increases with "impracticality". I must admit it confuses me to see F-Spy learn languages but then not use them! Why not go reap that reward? But I can respect your pursuit for what it is.

Speaking of 金門, the National Quemoy University recently put itself on the map as just that, instead of National Kinmen University.

http://www.nqu.edu.tw/eng/index.php

[Ah-bin]

Cathy, if I'm not mistaken, I remember have read someone describing something similar as being one of the reasons why one should take some time learning Shanghainese. I'm just not sure who and where to quote it here...

I am guessing it's William Hannas in his "Asia's Orthographic Dilemma", describing the joy of speaking Wu to people in Taiwan in the 60's.

[FutureSpy]

I turn myself loose in a language relatively early compared to F-Spy, apparently -- let alone Sim.

Indeed. Yesterday, I was in the supermarket with a friend of mine, and two French girls approached him and asked in English if he knew where the eggs were. I should have said something in French, but I was too shy to do so. And now I wonder why didn't I ask them where they were from... What if they spoke Occitan, omg? Or perhaps Alsatian? They looked somehow Germanic...

I hope something changes when I leave Brazil for the first time.

[amhoanna]

Interesting, U've never left Brazil.

I met some farangs from Marselha last yr in Bangkok. In answering where they were from, they all felt compelled to say, "Marseilles. Marselha." Speaking in English. But none of them spoke Occitan.

[SimL]

Interesting, U've never left Brazil.

I think FutureSpy is a fair bit younger than most of us, and a huge bit younger than me !

[FutureSpy]

I think FutureSpy is a fair bit younger than most of us, and a huge bit younger than me !

Not that young. I turned 24 this year, and that's almost 25, which means I'm almost hitting 30 and still haven't done anything. I still don't even have an university degree nor any working experiences

[niuc]

I like the accent, sounds very musical and easy on the ears. It's like first time too I hear those kind of E and I in Hokkien. Are your vowels like that too? The ones they represent by er and ir?

Yes, the vowels are identical, including those represented by "er" and "ir". So there are 8 vowels in 金門 and 同安 variants: a, ir, er, e, i, o•, o, u. In Singapore, o• is often written as "or".

Glad to read so many postings in this forum recently!

[SimL]

Hi niuc,

Yeah, it's great to see all this activity again. As on previous occasions, it's the new members who are stimulating discussion, with their comments and questions.

BTW, did you have any "rubber seed experiences" as a young boy?