Penang Hokkien
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hong
Re: Penang Hokkien
I just found out that there is a tongan-jingmen-xiamen gonghui in Penang.I think they join together because tongan is now under xiamen,hopefully they know that tongan language is closer to chuanchiu but not xiamen.
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Tang Loon Kong
Re: Penang Hokkien
Hi fellow "Hokkienites" - "lu ho bo"? and "An Chnua Ho Say Bo"? "Chial Pah Ah Buay"? "Lu An Chnuah Eniow"? . . . . . .
I have gone through all your comments, and I am delighted that there are so strong interests in Penang Hokkien. Naturally, I come from Penang, Malaysia. I am now in Shanghai.
I worked in Singapore for almost twenty years, and the Singapore Hokkien in my opinion have been inundiated by many Teochew words, and if the Singaporeans Hokkiens came to Penang, they could be classified as Teochews instead of Hokkiens. For me, I am plagued by the effects of a lifetime of official education in the English Language. For example, when a Penang Hokkienite says "Chang Aik", it means taking a bath to envirograte the body. In Penang, if you say "Chang Chui" like many Singaporean do, you could be labelled as a "Teochew". What about "Peng" or "Pnui" for rice?
I am now in Shanghai, China. And for that, I thank myself for being able to read, speak, and write reasonable well in English, Malay, and Chinese (Hokkien included), that I have come to realise the pervasiveness of Hokkien in many other languages. I recently visited Xiamen, some folks over there were telling me that the Penang "Hokkien' that I speak is very ancient. And only some old folks spoke it.
There are many European words that have Hokkien origins, The words are like "lantern", "road", and most famous of all "tea" which is "teh" is Hokkien. I am not surprised when not only my English friend told me about tea, but also my French and Italian friends too. This fact is not popularized in China, for obvious reasons and it is very sad. (Many school children here don't know about this or simply "not informed").
Recently, I ventured with the idea of connecting the English word "mouse" with Hokkien. Here is how I did it. In Hokkien, a mouse is called "miau che" or "miau chu" and "miau" sounds like "mou" which is cat. Then I can conclude safely that the English "mouse" has Hokkien origins.
Let me first quote, the Malay "jambu". I recently talked to a Taiwanese friend of mine, and he said tha same stony fruit was called "yamboo" in Hokkien. Take a look at "mabok" (drunk) which is "mamuk" in Chinese, but the ". . muk" is wood which is ". . bok" in Hokkien, hence "mabok" has Hokkien origins. There are many more. I find this inherent weaknesses among Singaporeans because in my opinion, they have little touch with the Malay Language, and hence unable to see these connections easily, because of, I think, the overdrive of the "Speak Mandarin Campaign" plus the westernisation process and the full prominance given to the English Language. Then what about the Malay word "agak"?
Then let us go to the Korean phrase "Anya Ha Say Yo" which is "How are you?" in the English Language, and in Hokkien, it is "An Chnua, Ho Say Bo?" Another world is "Kim" which means gold in both Hokkien and Korean. Guess why the Koreans called the world "Say Keh"?
In the Tagalog Language, we have "so si" which means key as in key and lock. We also have "peh chai" and "tnee koay" which means Chinese white cabbage and glutinuous rice cakes respectively in Hokkien, and they are the same things. All these words or phrses are exactly the same in Hokkien.
Then let us go to the Japanese phrase "Sin Seh" which is exactly the same in Hokkien. We do not have to ask where the first "Sin Sehs" in Japan came from. Look at another famous Japanese surname "Tanaka" which means from the family of "Tan" and in Hokkien this would be "Tan e Ka". Therefore all Mr Tanakas in Japan are Hokkiens, eventhough many would vehemently deny this out of political and natioalistic acculturisation.
I can go on and on.
Maybe some of us here can organize an international institution to preserve the memories and the pervasiveness of the Hokkien Language in other languages like the Malay, English, Korean and Japanese, and see that the Hokkien Chinese culture influences on the other which arose because of the travel adventurism of the Hokkiens. It would take great time and effort nevertheless. However, these efforts cannot compare against what our forefathers faced when they left the shores of Fujian hundreds of years ago to seek their fortunes outside China, largely due to the huge merchant fleets that existed in the early years of the Ming empire.
When I speak or (try reading) Chinese, I always connect first to Hokkien, the strongest culturally linked-lnguage that I have learnt since childhood, then I also connect to both the Malay and the English Language. The English Language is the last language I refer to when I speak Chinese, because other than some words, the sentence structure is entriely different from Chinese.
I am lucky because of the fact that I still retain, and continue to grapple with many other langauges that have high correlations and interactions with the Hokkien Language. Look and listen carefully, then sound of the Hokkien Language is very pervasive in this modern world, and the Hokkiens should seen this as the contribution of their forefathers to the world. The present generation should try to record and confirm these facts for posterity, thus making sure their contributions are not lost in the madding rush in the name of economic development or politically generated ignorance.
Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your time.
Let talk some more if you have the time. A for me I will keep a look out. When I get one gem, I will let you all know.
Tang Loon Kong
Shanghai, China
B.Sc, M.A., M.Sc
I have gone through all your comments, and I am delighted that there are so strong interests in Penang Hokkien. Naturally, I come from Penang, Malaysia. I am now in Shanghai.
I worked in Singapore for almost twenty years, and the Singapore Hokkien in my opinion have been inundiated by many Teochew words, and if the Singaporeans Hokkiens came to Penang, they could be classified as Teochews instead of Hokkiens. For me, I am plagued by the effects of a lifetime of official education in the English Language. For example, when a Penang Hokkienite says "Chang Aik", it means taking a bath to envirograte the body. In Penang, if you say "Chang Chui" like many Singaporean do, you could be labelled as a "Teochew". What about "Peng" or "Pnui" for rice?
I am now in Shanghai, China. And for that, I thank myself for being able to read, speak, and write reasonable well in English, Malay, and Chinese (Hokkien included), that I have come to realise the pervasiveness of Hokkien in many other languages. I recently visited Xiamen, some folks over there were telling me that the Penang "Hokkien' that I speak is very ancient. And only some old folks spoke it.
There are many European words that have Hokkien origins, The words are like "lantern", "road", and most famous of all "tea" which is "teh" is Hokkien. I am not surprised when not only my English friend told me about tea, but also my French and Italian friends too. This fact is not popularized in China, for obvious reasons and it is very sad. (Many school children here don't know about this or simply "not informed").
Recently, I ventured with the idea of connecting the English word "mouse" with Hokkien. Here is how I did it. In Hokkien, a mouse is called "miau che" or "miau chu" and "miau" sounds like "mou" which is cat. Then I can conclude safely that the English "mouse" has Hokkien origins.
Let me first quote, the Malay "jambu". I recently talked to a Taiwanese friend of mine, and he said tha same stony fruit was called "yamboo" in Hokkien. Take a look at "mabok" (drunk) which is "mamuk" in Chinese, but the ". . muk" is wood which is ". . bok" in Hokkien, hence "mabok" has Hokkien origins. There are many more. I find this inherent weaknesses among Singaporeans because in my opinion, they have little touch with the Malay Language, and hence unable to see these connections easily, because of, I think, the overdrive of the "Speak Mandarin Campaign" plus the westernisation process and the full prominance given to the English Language. Then what about the Malay word "agak"?
Then let us go to the Korean phrase "Anya Ha Say Yo" which is "How are you?" in the English Language, and in Hokkien, it is "An Chnua, Ho Say Bo?" Another world is "Kim" which means gold in both Hokkien and Korean. Guess why the Koreans called the world "Say Keh"?
In the Tagalog Language, we have "so si" which means key as in key and lock. We also have "peh chai" and "tnee koay" which means Chinese white cabbage and glutinuous rice cakes respectively in Hokkien, and they are the same things. All these words or phrses are exactly the same in Hokkien.
Then let us go to the Japanese phrase "Sin Seh" which is exactly the same in Hokkien. We do not have to ask where the first "Sin Sehs" in Japan came from. Look at another famous Japanese surname "Tanaka" which means from the family of "Tan" and in Hokkien this would be "Tan e Ka". Therefore all Mr Tanakas in Japan are Hokkiens, eventhough many would vehemently deny this out of political and natioalistic acculturisation.
I can go on and on.
Maybe some of us here can organize an international institution to preserve the memories and the pervasiveness of the Hokkien Language in other languages like the Malay, English, Korean and Japanese, and see that the Hokkien Chinese culture influences on the other which arose because of the travel adventurism of the Hokkiens. It would take great time and effort nevertheless. However, these efforts cannot compare against what our forefathers faced when they left the shores of Fujian hundreds of years ago to seek their fortunes outside China, largely due to the huge merchant fleets that existed in the early years of the Ming empire.
When I speak or (try reading) Chinese, I always connect first to Hokkien, the strongest culturally linked-lnguage that I have learnt since childhood, then I also connect to both the Malay and the English Language. The English Language is the last language I refer to when I speak Chinese, because other than some words, the sentence structure is entriely different from Chinese.
I am lucky because of the fact that I still retain, and continue to grapple with many other langauges that have high correlations and interactions with the Hokkien Language. Look and listen carefully, then sound of the Hokkien Language is very pervasive in this modern world, and the Hokkiens should seen this as the contribution of their forefathers to the world. The present generation should try to record and confirm these facts for posterity, thus making sure their contributions are not lost in the madding rush in the name of economic development or politically generated ignorance.
Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your time.
Let talk some more if you have the time. A for me I will keep a look out. When I get one gem, I will let you all know.
Tang Loon Kong
Shanghai, China
B.Sc, M.A., M.Sc
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Niuc
Re: Penang Hokkien
Hi Loon Kong 
ly2 ho2. cin1 cia*3 huan1 ging5 ly2 lai5 cham1 ka1.
I'm really glad to read your sharing. Thanks a lot. I agree that many of your points are true. Yet I hope you don't mind that there are some points I disagree with.
There are at least three major types of Hokkien: Cuanciu, Ciangciu and E-mng. E-mng is often described as the mixture form of Cuan & Ciang. Penang Hokkien is basically Ciang type, while Singapore Hokkien is Cuan type. While it's true that in Singapore people tend to mix languages together - not only Hokkien and Teochew, Singapore Hokkien is not less Hokkien than Penang's. 'cang5 ik8' or 'cang5 cui2' are just variants and can't be used to say that Singapore type is Teochew. Some similarities are shared by Teochew with Cuanciu (e.g. 'y' sound) and some with Ciangciu (e.g. '-io*' instead of 'iu*', '-eng', '-e*'). Teochew has no '-n' and '-t' finals (merged with '-ng' and '-k'). Since Singapore Hokkien exhibits no such features and its tone system is clearly different than Teochew, so there is no reason to say that Singapore Hokkien could be classified as Teochew. Actually all three major types of Hokkien present in Singapore, though many people just mix them. And I think Singapore Hokkien is more similar to Taiwanese than Penang.
Languages interact and influence one another. Hokkien's influence on other languages is bigger than what we may know but it's certainly not as big as what we may wish
Could you tell us why you think that the word "lantern" has Hokkien origin? Linguistic experts trace it to Latin "lanterna" and Greek "lampter" <- "lampein" (to shine). "Road" is derived from Middle English "rode"/"rade". "Tea" is clearly derived from Hokkien 'te5', acknowledged in dictionaries. It's inconvincible to say that "mouse" is derived from 'miau2 chu2' as it has special plural form "mice". Most Hokkien dialects read it as 'niau2 chy2/chu2/chi2' instead of 'miau2...'.
"Jambu" is clearly Malay/Indonesian. It's absorbed into Hokkien as 'lian2/liam2 bu7'. The chinese characters used in Taiwanese i.e. 連霧 are clearly imitating the sound and not true characters. I have never heard of "mamuk" in Hokkien. Drunk is 醉 'cui3'. "Mabuk" is absolutely Malay, also "agak", "tongkat" etc. It's true that Malay/Indonesian also absorbed a lot of Hokkien words such as 'tahu' ('tau7 hu7' beancurd), 'mie'/'mee' ('mi7' noodle), 'teh' (tea) etc. And it's similarly true that Hokkien absorbed many Malay words.
It's very creative to link Korean 'anyong haseyo' to Hokkien but I afraid it's a bit too creative. Korean - also Japanese and Vietnamese - absorbed a lot of Chinese words and readings, many of them during Han, Tang & Song dynasties. As Hokkien preserves a lot of Old & Middle Chinese readings, it's logical to have words pronounced similarly in Hokkien and Korean/Japanese/Vietnamese. It's also true for other Chinese languages, particularly Southern Chinese (Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, etc).
Japanese surname Tanaka has nothing to do with Hokkien surname Tan as Tanaka is 田中 (Middle Field). It's read as 'chan5/tian5 tiong1' in Hokkien. Hokkien Tan 陳 is Tin in Japanese ('tin5' is also the literary Hokkien reading).
'Sosi' in Tagalog should be a loanword from Hokkien, also "peh chai" and "tnee koay".
I totally agree with you that we should love our Hokkien. Nonetheless wrong information could be deemed as Hokkien chauvinism by others and it's detrimental to our goal. Hopefully you can agree with me on this point
[%sig%]
ly2 ho2. cin1 cia*3 huan1 ging5 ly2 lai5 cham1 ka1.
I'm really glad to read your sharing. Thanks a lot. I agree that many of your points are true. Yet I hope you don't mind that there are some points I disagree with.
There are at least three major types of Hokkien: Cuanciu, Ciangciu and E-mng. E-mng is often described as the mixture form of Cuan & Ciang. Penang Hokkien is basically Ciang type, while Singapore Hokkien is Cuan type. While it's true that in Singapore people tend to mix languages together - not only Hokkien and Teochew, Singapore Hokkien is not less Hokkien than Penang's. 'cang5 ik8' or 'cang5 cui2' are just variants and can't be used to say that Singapore type is Teochew. Some similarities are shared by Teochew with Cuanciu (e.g. 'y' sound) and some with Ciangciu (e.g. '-io*' instead of 'iu*', '-eng', '-e*'). Teochew has no '-n' and '-t' finals (merged with '-ng' and '-k'). Since Singapore Hokkien exhibits no such features and its tone system is clearly different than Teochew, so there is no reason to say that Singapore Hokkien could be classified as Teochew. Actually all three major types of Hokkien present in Singapore, though many people just mix them. And I think Singapore Hokkien is more similar to Taiwanese than Penang.
Languages interact and influence one another. Hokkien's influence on other languages is bigger than what we may know but it's certainly not as big as what we may wish
Could you tell us why you think that the word "lantern" has Hokkien origin? Linguistic experts trace it to Latin "lanterna" and Greek "lampter" <- "lampein" (to shine). "Road" is derived from Middle English "rode"/"rade". "Tea" is clearly derived from Hokkien 'te5', acknowledged in dictionaries. It's inconvincible to say that "mouse" is derived from 'miau2 chu2' as it has special plural form "mice". Most Hokkien dialects read it as 'niau2 chy2/chu2/chi2' instead of 'miau2...'.
"Jambu" is clearly Malay/Indonesian. It's absorbed into Hokkien as 'lian2/liam2 bu7'. The chinese characters used in Taiwanese i.e. 連霧 are clearly imitating the sound and not true characters. I have never heard of "mamuk" in Hokkien. Drunk is 醉 'cui3'. "Mabuk" is absolutely Malay, also "agak", "tongkat" etc. It's true that Malay/Indonesian also absorbed a lot of Hokkien words such as 'tahu' ('tau7 hu7' beancurd), 'mie'/'mee' ('mi7' noodle), 'teh' (tea) etc. And it's similarly true that Hokkien absorbed many Malay words.
It's very creative to link Korean 'anyong haseyo' to Hokkien but I afraid it's a bit too creative. Korean - also Japanese and Vietnamese - absorbed a lot of Chinese words and readings, many of them during Han, Tang & Song dynasties. As Hokkien preserves a lot of Old & Middle Chinese readings, it's logical to have words pronounced similarly in Hokkien and Korean/Japanese/Vietnamese. It's also true for other Chinese languages, particularly Southern Chinese (Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, etc).
Japanese surname Tanaka has nothing to do with Hokkien surname Tan as Tanaka is 田中 (Middle Field). It's read as 'chan5/tian5 tiong1' in Hokkien. Hokkien Tan 陳 is Tin in Japanese ('tin5' is also the literary Hokkien reading).
'Sosi' in Tagalog should be a loanword from Hokkien, also "peh chai" and "tnee koay".
I totally agree with you that we should love our Hokkien. Nonetheless wrong information could be deemed as Hokkien chauvinism by others and it's detrimental to our goal. Hopefully you can agree with me on this point
[%sig%]
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Niuc
Re: Penang Hokkien
Don't know why the encoding of Chinese characters above became Japanese.
Here are them in Traditional Chinese:
jambu = 連霧
cui3 = 醉
Tanaka = 田中
Tan = 陳
[%sig%]
Here are them in Traditional Chinese:
jambu = 連霧
cui3 = 醉
Tanaka = 田中
Tan = 陳
[%sig%]
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hong
Re: Penang Hokkien
Dear niuc,
Jambu is surely Indian origin .I am a Buddhist who has to study Pali/sanskrit for the buddhist text.India and earth are called JambuDipa/dvipa.
Jambu is surely Indian origin .I am a Buddhist who has to study Pali/sanskrit for the buddhist text.India and earth are called JambuDipa/dvipa.
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Niuc
Re: Penang Hokkien
Dear Hong
Thanks a lot for pointing out that "jambu" is of Sanskrit origin. Was the name given because Indian sub-continent looked like "jambu"?
So I should say that 'liam2 bu7' was borrowed into Hokkien via Malay, just as 'pa2 sat4' ("pasar" -> Persian "bazar") and 'sat2 bun5' ("sabun" -> French/Portuguese??).
[%sig%]
Thanks a lot for pointing out that "jambu" is of Sanskrit origin. Was the name given because Indian sub-continent looked like "jambu"?
So I should say that 'liam2 bu7' was borrowed into Hokkien via Malay, just as 'pa2 sat4' ("pasar" -> Persian "bazar") and 'sat2 bun5' ("sabun" -> French/Portuguese??).
[%sig%]
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hong
Re: Penang Hokkien
Dear Niuc,
Yes,you are right .It is their shape.It seems appear in Hidduism text even before Buddha was born .
Yes,you are right .It is their shape.It seems appear in Hidduism text even before Buddha was born .
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Ben
Re: Penang Hokkien
Dear Loon Kong,
I always think that 'kahwin' is of Hokkien origin (from the mandarin word, Gou1 Yin2, read in Hokkien becomes Gao Yin). I checked with my malay friend and he told me that older generation malay would tell them off if they say Kahwin when referring to getting married. They would be scolded as "Awak binatang kah?" which means are you an animal? To the older malay, Kahwin means 'Mating/Fornication' . They use words like 'bernika' or 'berumahtangga' (not sure about the spelling). For me I avoid using the word 'Kahwin' but rather use the word 'gek hoon' instead.
What is your opinion, or can anyone contribute to this?
PS. How about the word 'Cukup' which in mandarin could be Ju3Gou4 ?
I always think that 'kahwin' is of Hokkien origin (from the mandarin word, Gou1 Yin2, read in Hokkien becomes Gao Yin). I checked with my malay friend and he told me that older generation malay would tell them off if they say Kahwin when referring to getting married. They would be scolded as "Awak binatang kah?" which means are you an animal? To the older malay, Kahwin means 'Mating/Fornication' . They use words like 'bernika' or 'berumahtangga' (not sure about the spelling). For me I avoid using the word 'Kahwin' but rather use the word 'gek hoon' instead.
What is your opinion, or can anyone contribute to this?
PS. How about the word 'Cukup' which in mandarin could be Ju3Gou4 ?
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Tang Loon Kong
Re: Penang Hokkien
It seems that many are ready to point out the many regions that Hokkiens come from, and therefore suggests confusion which leads to weaknesses in the dialect.
There is no 'chauvinism' in Hokkien. If it was so, then, other people would not have adopted the langauge and culture, and the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia would not have happended. The fact is that we are able to debate today about this subject is that our ancestors were seen as bringing benefits to the local population, therefore the people thrived.
There is in fact nothing to be ashame off. People with great culture should not whimper in the dark, but instead offer assistance and understanding to a greater world for better harmony among the different peoples. This is definitely not 'chauvinism'. There is no mass condemnation of other languages, but just to suggest likely connections and linakges, so that we see how united the world is, instead of being drugged polticially and egostically to break away from these ancient linkages by selfish, contending nationalistic interests which are already working very hard to chip away the linkages.
I agree with 'Ben' who said about the word 'cukup' which I have forgotten. In Chinese it is Ju3Gou3. It is an exact match. As for the word 'kahwin', I will start to sniff around for the origin, and see if there is any connection or linkeges.
However, I must disagree with 'Nuic' who claims to have never heard of the word 'mamuk' in Chinese. 'Jui' is a simple (not so serious) form of 'mamuk' which incidentally means 'insensitive as wood' which actually means dead drunk. And in Hokkien, the correct for wood is 'bok' and therefore 'mabok'. Perhaps, it is due to too much education in the English Language and this concerns me particularly.
So sorry Nuic, if I jolted your 'glass house' with my revelation of my 'Hokkien words'. Sometimes discomfort can set off a great journey for further discovery. This is not being chauvinistic but being generous in offerring suggestions so that the world can be more more united.
Maybe 'Nuic' can tell me where the English 'chair' came from. Here is my suggestion. 'Chey' is a Hokkien word for seat, and maybe the Hokkiens showed the Westerners a chair and asked them to 'chey' sit on them, and
then it became 'chair'. What do you think ladies and gentlemen?
Sometimes, when one studies history, one should not go to universities for the official versions. We should go to the different societies and live in them. From there, we will have to use our imagination and intelliegence to trangress the official versions of history. Then we will learn alternative history.
Incidentally, 'sabun' is not Hokkien but French which is 'savon' or something like that for soap. What about 'Laksa'?
Good, let us all keep it up. Ladies and Gentlemen.
There is no 'chauvinism' in Hokkien. If it was so, then, other people would not have adopted the langauge and culture, and the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia would not have happended. The fact is that we are able to debate today about this subject is that our ancestors were seen as bringing benefits to the local population, therefore the people thrived.
There is in fact nothing to be ashame off. People with great culture should not whimper in the dark, but instead offer assistance and understanding to a greater world for better harmony among the different peoples. This is definitely not 'chauvinism'. There is no mass condemnation of other languages, but just to suggest likely connections and linakges, so that we see how united the world is, instead of being drugged polticially and egostically to break away from these ancient linkages by selfish, contending nationalistic interests which are already working very hard to chip away the linkages.
I agree with 'Ben' who said about the word 'cukup' which I have forgotten. In Chinese it is Ju3Gou3. It is an exact match. As for the word 'kahwin', I will start to sniff around for the origin, and see if there is any connection or linkeges.
However, I must disagree with 'Nuic' who claims to have never heard of the word 'mamuk' in Chinese. 'Jui' is a simple (not so serious) form of 'mamuk' which incidentally means 'insensitive as wood' which actually means dead drunk. And in Hokkien, the correct for wood is 'bok' and therefore 'mabok'. Perhaps, it is due to too much education in the English Language and this concerns me particularly.
So sorry Nuic, if I jolted your 'glass house' with my revelation of my 'Hokkien words'. Sometimes discomfort can set off a great journey for further discovery. This is not being chauvinistic but being generous in offerring suggestions so that the world can be more more united.
Maybe 'Nuic' can tell me where the English 'chair' came from. Here is my suggestion. 'Chey' is a Hokkien word for seat, and maybe the Hokkiens showed the Westerners a chair and asked them to 'chey' sit on them, and
then it became 'chair'. What do you think ladies and gentlemen?
Sometimes, when one studies history, one should not go to universities for the official versions. We should go to the different societies and live in them. From there, we will have to use our imagination and intelliegence to trangress the official versions of history. Then we will learn alternative history.
Incidentally, 'sabun' is not Hokkien but French which is 'savon' or something like that for soap. What about 'Laksa'?
Good, let us all keep it up. Ladies and Gentlemen.
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Tang Loon Kong
Re: Penang Hokkien
Hi Again
Ladies and Gentlemen
I recently visitied the the website, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang_Hokkien and found the claims that words such as kisien (kesihan) and suka (to like).
Perhaps I can offer better suggestions on these two words, which I find interesting.
First, the word "kisein" or kesian or kesihan (kasihan in Malay). I do not think, that it was from Malay. In fact, there is a Chinese word that has the same meaning, and the Chinese is "kesi". From this point of view, there is disturbing evidence to suggest that the Hokkien word "kiesin" may not have been from the Malay Language, and infact the reverse possibly.
Second, the word "suka" or "sukak". Take the whole word, divide it into two parts. The first part would be "su" and the second part "kak". Then we can see the connections and linkages clearer now. The "su" means essential as in "su eow" which means essential, and the "kak" which means fitting or suitable as in "kak sah" which means fitting clothes. The meaning of the complete is thus not lost the two parts are rejoined to form "suka". This trend of analysis should not be derailed by the fact that "suka" is one word in Malay. It could have easily been two words. If it were, then the connections and the linkages would have been clearer. Therefore, from here, "suka" means more than just like, but "essentially fitting".
Can anybody please look up on "kampong" and "compound"?
Ladies and Gentlemen
I recently visitied the the website, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang_Hokkien and found the claims that words such as kisien (kesihan) and suka (to like).
Perhaps I can offer better suggestions on these two words, which I find interesting.
First, the word "kisein" or kesian or kesihan (kasihan in Malay). I do not think, that it was from Malay. In fact, there is a Chinese word that has the same meaning, and the Chinese is "kesi". From this point of view, there is disturbing evidence to suggest that the Hokkien word "kiesin" may not have been from the Malay Language, and infact the reverse possibly.
Second, the word "suka" or "sukak". Take the whole word, divide it into two parts. The first part would be "su" and the second part "kak". Then we can see the connections and linkages clearer now. The "su" means essential as in "su eow" which means essential, and the "kak" which means fitting or suitable as in "kak sah" which means fitting clothes. The meaning of the complete is thus not lost the two parts are rejoined to form "suka". This trend of analysis should not be derailed by the fact that "suka" is one word in Malay. It could have easily been two words. If it were, then the connections and the linkages would have been clearer. Therefore, from here, "suka" means more than just like, but "essentially fitting".
Can anybody please look up on "kampong" and "compound"?