Eng Wai wrote:
Among the sinitic languages, Mandarin is the overwhelmingly dominant language. Cantonese is much understood due to economical and cultural influence. While Hakka has not a base (province) for itself, Hakka people are quite chauvinistic and aware of their status. If you go to wikipedia Ethnic list, Hakka is listed as an ethnic!
I feel that although Hokkienese are comprise much of the SEA Chinese community, Hokkien / min language or culture is not very well researched, respected or appreciated.
Hi, Eng Wai,
"Overwhelmingly dominant"... very subtle way of putting it!
I would be a little less diplomatic and go a little further by asserting that while the promotion of Mandarin does have practical implications, it has been grossly over-rated at the expense and detriment of the other dialects (yes, I still consider Mandarin as a dialect!).
It saddens me to see Hokkien - along with my native Hakka (interesting to hear that I belong to an "ethnic"!) - has degenerated to the status of a "street language" in the eyes of many. The near-destruction of the Hokkien legacy in Singapore, due in no small part to the "Speak Mandarin, not Dialect" campaign, is a cultural and linguistic loss to be mourned. I believe that Mandarin could have been promoted without having to dogmatically drive the dialects into the ghettos.
My very first post to this lively forum (which, by virtue of the number of posts alone, stands as the most active, compared to the Mandarin/Cantonese/Wu forums) was on the preservation of Hokkien in written form, which sparked off a very lively two-way discourse between Sim and me.
One of the hallmarks of a living language is its rich vocabulary, and I personally feel that one effective way is to preserve its literature (though, strictly speaking, there is little or no Minnan literature). Forum entries such as the recent ones recording terms for family relationships, bodily parts, insects, etc. are another ad-hoc way. But ultimately, it boils down to regular and **correct** usage. I personally braved mockery and goofaws, learning the dialect from scratch by regularly conversing with people fluent in it, and making a constant effort to discern between 'correct' and 'incorrect' words and grammar.
