Hokkien language
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in T ...
spoken natively in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. Within Chinese linguistic academic circles, this dialect is known as Singaporean Ban-lam Gu. It bears similarities with the
Amoy
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
spoken in Amoy, now better known as
Xiamen
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
, as well as
Taiwanese Hokkien
Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about 70% ...
which is spoken in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
.
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
is the
Min Nan
Southern Min (), Minnan ( Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwan ...
pronunciation for the province of
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
, and is generally the term used by the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
in Southeast Asia to refer to the 'Banlam' dialect. Singaporean Hokkien generally uses Amoy as its standard, and its accent is predominantly based on a mixture of
Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
and
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...
speech, with a greater inclination towards the former.
Like many spoken languages in Singapore, Singaporean Hokkien is influenced by other languages or dialects spoken in Singapore. For instance, Singaporean Hokkien is influenced to a certain degree by Teochew, and is sometimes regarded as a combined Hokkien–Teochew speech. In addition, it has many loanwords from Singapore's four official languages of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
,
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
and
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
.
Nevertheless, the grammar and tones of Singaporean Hokkien are still largely based on Banlam. When compared to the
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
accent spoken in
Tainan
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...
and
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
, the accent and pronunciation of Singaporean Hokkien inclines toward the Quanzhou accent, which is also close to the pronunciation of
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
and Xiamen, and is less close to that of Tainan, which has a greater inclination towards the Zhangzhou accent.
History
From the 19th until the early half of the 20th century, there was a large influx of Chinese migrants from southern China into Singapore. This led to
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
constituting almost 75% of Singapore's population. Of these Chinese, many originated from the regions of
Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
and
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...
in
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
province. They brought
Min Nan
Southern Min (), Minnan ( Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Sinitic languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwan ...
to Singapore, which was then propagated throughout the Malayan region. As there was no formal Chinese name for Min Nan in the early 20th century, these migrants began to use their place of origin as the name of their speech, and thus called the dialect "
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
", referring to Fujian province.
During the 19th century, many traditional private Chinese schools in Singapore (referred to as ) generally used Hokkien to teach
Chinese classics
Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...
and
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning
"literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning
"literar ...
. However, by the early 20th century, Mandarin began to replace Hokkien as the medium of instructions in Chinese schools after the founding of many Mandarin-medium schools.
During the 1950s and 1960s, many political speeches in Singapore were in Hokkien, in order to reach out to the Chinese community in Singapore. There was also a thriving Hokkien cultural scene that included Hokkien story-telling, opera, and media in Singapore.
After 1979, the Singapore government began to push for the use of Mandarin in Singapore, spearheaded by the
Speak Mandarin Campaign
The Speak Mandarin Campaign (SMC; ) is an initiative by the government of Singapore to encourage the Chinese Singaporeans, Singaporean Chinese population to speak Standard Mandarin Chinese, one of the four official languages of Singapore. Launch ...
. Following this, the Singapore government also began to employ a more stringent censorship, or ban, of Hokkien media in the Singaporean Chinese media. Consequently, all Hokkien-language media in Singapore had to be dubbed in Mandarin before being allowed to stream on national TV.
In addition, the 1980s saw Chinese-medium education replaced by that in English, causing English to emerge as the most widely used language in Singapore. The emergence of the English language, coupled with heavy promotion of Mandarin, generally led Hokkien to decline in Singapore after 1979.
Current status
Today, the
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
. Although Hokkien is still widely spoken in Singapore today, it is not as widespread as before and is mostly restricted to the older generations. The most common places to hear Hokkien spoken in Singapore are at the country's
hawker centre
A hawker centre or cooked food centre is an open-air complex commonly found in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. They were built to provide a more sanitary alternative to mobile hawker carts and contain many stalls that sell different variet ...
s or
kopi tiam
A ''kopitiam'' or ''kopi tiam'' () is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese community of ...
s.
Speaking ability varies amongst the different age groups of the Hokkien Singaporeans. The elderly are generally able to communicate effectively in Hokkien. On the other hand, the middle and younger generations, while generally proficient, have generally lost the ability to communicate as fluently. However, when it comes to using profanities, majority of the younger generation, even among non-Chinese Singaporeans, listed Hokkien as the first out of all languages and dialects. With the Speak Mandarin Campaign from the government, the Hokkien speaking population has been on a gradual decline.
Revival in the 2010s
There is, however, groups of Hokkien Singaporeans working to help preserve, spread and revive the use of Singaporean Hokkien in the country.
The ease of access to online Hokkien entertainment media and pop music from the internet has helped to connect to the language and culture. Many Singaporeans are increasingly using online and social media platforms to learn, discuss, meet, and interact with each other in Hokkien.
Some of the groups include:
Facebook Singapore Hokkien Language and Culture Society Discussion forum on all aspects of Hokkien Chinese, with a primary focus on the Singaporean Hokkien dialect and its variations from other forms of Hokkien.
Facebook Singapore Hokkien Meetup Group that organizes regular meetups for language practice. It also organizes free language courses and sharing sessions for those who are interested.
Singapore Hokkien Language Meetup Group Same as the Facebook group, but organized over
Meetup
Meetup is a social media platform for hosting and organizing in-person and virtual activities, gatherings, and events for people and communities of similar interests, hobbies, and professions. It was founded in 2002 by Scott Heiferman and four ot ...
.
Phonology
Consonants
Vowels
Variation
Regional accents and tones
When Singaporeans speak Hokkien, they do so with various accents and tones largely from
Tong'an
Tong'an District () is a northern mainland district of Amoy which faces Quemoy County, Republic of China. To the north is Anxi and Nan'an, and to the south is Jimei. Tong'an is also east of Lianxiang and Changqin to the West. It covers
Kinmen
Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...
Longhai City
Longhai District () is a District in Zhangzhou, in the south of Fujian province, China.
Longhai spans an area of , and, as of 2016, it has a population of approximately 736,400.
History
Following the revocation of the sea ban (''haijin'') in the ...
and Southern
Zhangzhou
Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...
accents. In practice, it is common for Singaporeans to mix English conjunctions such as "and" into a Hokkien sentence. Some would include ''hngo2'' (an exclamatory remark in Jinjiang / Nan'an), in addition to the widely used Hokkien exclamatory particles ''lah'' () or ''lor'' ().
No distinction between literary and vernacular readings
In saying years or numbers, Singaporean Hokkien normally does not differentiate between literary () or vernacular () readings of Chinese characters. In Taiwan or Amoy, a distinction is usually made. For instance, the year ''1980'' would be said with a literary pronunciation (); but in Singapore, no differentiation is made and is pronounced as otherwise vernacular .
As another instance, Taiwanese would speak telephone numbers using literary readings, whereas Singaporeans would use vernacular ones instead. For example, the telephone number ''98444678'' will be pronounced in Taiwan as , where in Singaporean Hokkien it would be pronounced as .
Influence from Southern Zhangzhou and Teochew Phonology
Vowel shift from ''ing'' to ''eng''
In Singaporean Hokkien—as compared to Quanzhou (whose accent Hokkien usually inclines toward), Zhangzhou,
Amoy
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
or
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
(all being standard Hokkien), which pronounce the vowel —there is a vowel change from ( or ) to ( or ). This change is similar to pronunciation in regions south of Zhangzhou— Dongshan, Yunxiao,
Zhangpu
Zhangpu County () is a county of Zhangzhou prefecture-level city in far southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. The county seat is located in the town of Sui'an ().
Zhangpu is bordered by the Longhai City in the north, the countie ...
,
Pinghe
Pinghe County () is a county of the prefecture-level city of Zhangzhou, in southern Fujian province, PRC, bordering Guangdong province to the west.
Administrative Division
The administrative centre or seat of Pinghe County is Xiaoxi ().
Towns ...
,
Zhao'an
Zhao'an () is a county in the municipal region of Zhangzhou, southernmost Fujian province, People's Republic of China.
History Qing dynasty to the Republic of China
In May 1907, county officials arrested, on suspicion of piracy, the local lea ...
counties (southern Zhangzhou accent)—and in Teochew and Cantonese.
Below is a table illustrating the difference:
Pronunciation of 'I'
In standard Hokkien pronunciation, (lit. 'I/me') is pronounced as ; but in Singapore, it is pronounced as , which is alleged by some to have been influenced by the Teochew pronunciation although other dialects like Putianese and some regional Hokkien dialects also pronounce it as .
Grammar
There are some differences between the sentence structure used by Singaporean Hokkien and by Standard Hokkien (Amoy/Taiwanese).
For instance, when asking a question "do you want to...?", Singaporean Hokkien typically uses the sentence structure (), whereas Taiwan uses (). The word () is commonly used in Singaporean Hokkien to mean "want to", but in standard Hokkien and Taiwan Hokkien, the word () (which means "want" in Hokkien) is used instead. () in standard and Taiwanese Hokkien it typically means "love to" or "need to".
Also, unlike Taiwanese Hokkien—which typically uses the word () (meaning "whether or not") when asking a question, which is more formal or polite—Singaporean Hokkien does not use the word (). Instead, it simply adds the word () at the end of the sentence to indicate that it is a question (similar to Mandarin's () or adds a Cantonese intonation () at the end. Adding the word () at the end of a sentence is also used in Taiwanese Hokkien, when one is asking a question in an informal way.
Numerals
The following list shows the colloquial readings of the numerals used to count objects.
Most ordinal numbers are formed by adding () in front of a cardinal number. In some cases, the literary reading of the number must then be used. For example, = , = .
Differences from Standard Hokkien
There are minor differences between Singaporean Hokkien and
Amoy
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
or
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
in terms of vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar.
Amoy
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
and
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
bear close resemblance, and are usually considered the standard in Hokkien, differing only in terms of
vocabulary
A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...
.
Unique vocabulary
Although Singaporean Hokkien is similar to
Amoy
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
or
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
, there exist certain unique Singaporean Hokkien words, which are different from those two aforementioned dialects.
Same meaning, different words
Same word, different pronunciation
There are some words used in Singaporean Hokkien that are the same in Taiwanese Hokkien, but are pronounced differently.
Influences from other local languages
Because Singapore is a multilingual country, Singaporean Hokkien has been influenced by many other languages spoken in Singapore. As a result, there are many non-Hokkien words that have been imported into Singaporean Hokkien, such as those from Malay, Teochew, Cantonese, and English.
Loanwords from other Chinese varieties
There are words in Singaporean Hokkien that originated from other Chinese variants spoken in Singapore.
Malay loanwords
The following are the common Malay loanwords used in Singaporean Hokkien. Most of them are also used in Amoy.
English loanwords
There are also many English loanwords used in Singaporean Hokkien. They are usually used when the speaker does not know the Hokkien equivalent. Some of these English terms are related to working and living in Singapore
Vocabulary from Old Chinese
Certain
colloquial
Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conver ...
pronunciations of Singaporean Hokkien words are directly inherited from the
consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wit ...
system of
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...
. Hokkien did not experience a great phonological change throughout the transition period from
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...
to
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
.
Min dialects, including Hokkien, preserved a unique feature of
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...
: it does not have
labiodental consonants
In phonetics, labiodentals are consonants Place of articulation, articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth.
Labiodental consonants in the IPA
The labiodental consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:
The IPA c ...
. For instance, the word "" is pronounced as in Mandarin, but as in Hokkien. This marks a major difference between
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...
and
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
.
Cultural use
In religion
Hokklo Taoist priests are the largest group among Taoist clergy community in Singapore, they had always conduct their religious services in Hokkien and still continue to do so. Most
Tangki
Tongji (; Tâi-lô: tâng-ki) or Jitong () is a Chinese folk religious practitioner, usually translated as a " spirit medium", "oracle", or "shaman".
This word compounds ''tong'' "child; youth; boy servant" and ''ji'' "to divine" (cf. ''fu ...
or Chinese mediums from Hokkien temples also communicate in Hokkien during spiritual consultation. Some of the Chinese Buddhist temples in Singapore continue to recite the
Buddhist scriptures
Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...
in Hokkien during their daily worship services. The scriptures contain Singapore-style Hokkien romanization are available to assist during the scriptural recitation. There are also Hokkien Buddhist sermons CDs made available and distribute among Hokkien communities in Singapore and overseas. Some of the Chinese Christian churches in Singapore also have services conducted in Singaporean Hokkien.
Music
There exist Singaporean Hokkien writings, folk adages, and ballads written by early Chinese immigrants to Singapore.
Amongst the folk ballads, a few outstanding writings tell of the history and hardship of early Chinese immigrants to Singapore.
There are 18 sections in the poetry ballad "行船歌" (''Hâng-chûn-koa'') ("Songs of traveling on a boat"), which talks about how early immigrants migrated to Singapore.
There is another ballad called "砰嘭水中流" (''Pin-pong-chúi-tiong-lâu'') ("Flow in the midst of water"):
An example of a folk love ballad is "雪梅思君" (''Soat-m̂-su-kun'') ("Snow and plum thinking of a gentlemen"), on the loyalty and chastity of love.
An example of love poetry is "針線情" (''Chiam-sòaⁿ-chiâⁿ'') ("The emotions of needle and thread"):
Getai
Singapore also held
Getai
A getai (literally song stage) (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: 歌台) is a usually boisterous live stage performance held during the Ghost Festival commonly held in Singapore, Malaysia and some parts of Indonesia (mainly in Riau, ...
during traditional Chinese festivals, for instance the
Zhong Yuan Festival
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival (traditional Chinese: 中元節; simplified Chinese: ) in Taoism and Yulanpen Festival () in Buddhism, is a traditional Taoist and Buddhist festival held in certain East Asian countrie ...
. During the
Getai
A getai (literally song stage) (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: 歌台) is a usually boisterous live stage performance held during the Ghost Festival commonly held in Singapore, Malaysia and some parts of Indonesia (mainly in Riau, ...
event, it is common to speak a number of Chinese dialects, including
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
. During the 1960s, Hokkien song was particularly popular. The Singapore Hokkien star Chen Jin Lang (陳金浪) was once the compere and main singer during the Hungry Ghost Festival. His famous song "10 levels of Hades" ("十殿閻君") was especially popular.
In opera
Early Singaporean Hokkien opera had its origins in
Gaojia
Gaojia opera () or Ko-kah opera is a form of Chinese opera that originated in Quanzhou, in the Hokkien (Min Nan)-speaking region of southern Fujian province, southeast China. It is famous for its various '' chou'' (clown) roles. The form emerged ...
opera, which was brought from
Quanzhou
Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...
to Singapore during the late 19th century. In 1927, the Taiwanese Gezai opera spread to Singapore. Because its lyrics and singing style were easier to understand, it made a great impact on Singapore. Consequently, by the mid 20th century, it had replaced
Gaojia
Gaojia opera () or Ko-kah opera is a form of Chinese opera that originated in Quanzhou, in the Hokkien (Min Nan)-speaking region of southern Fujian province, southeast China. It is famous for its various '' chou'' (clown) roles. The form emerged ...
opera to become the mainstream Hokkien opera in Singapore.
Currently, Singapore Hokkien opera is performed by two older troupes—Sin Sai Hong Hokkien Opera Troupe (新賽風閩劇團) and Xiao Kee Lin Hokkien Opera Troupe (筱麒麟閩劇團)—and three newer troupes—Sio Gek Leng Hokkien Opera Troupe (筱玉隆閩劇團), Ai Xin Hokkien Opera Troupe (愛心歌仔戲團), and Do Opera okkien(延戲 建歌仔戲, which is the newest.
A Singapore Chinese opera school nurtures talents in opera, including Hokkien opera.
In movies
Singapore Hokkien movies began to appear in the late 1990s, notably by dubbing in Hokkien mainstream Chinese movies made in Singapore. Amongst these, movies directed by
Jack Neo
Jack Neo (born 24 January 1960) is a Singaporean actor, television host, comedian and film director. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1983 to 2003. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was best known for his cross-dressing roles ...
, such as ''
I Not Stupid
''I Not Stupid'' () is a 2002 Singaporean comedy film about the lives, struggles, and adventures of three Primary 6 pupils who are placed in the academically inferior EM3 stream. Written and directed by Jack Neo, and produced by Mediacorp Raint ...
'' and ''
Money No Enough
''Money No Enough'' () is a 1998 Singaporean comedy film about three friends with financial problems who start a car polishing business together. Original story by J P Tan and written by Jack Neo, directed by Tay Teck Lock and produced by JSP Fi ...
'' were popular. They reflected the social environment of local Singaporeans.
In radio
Although Singapore radios started to ban Hokkien in the 1980s,
Rediffusion Singapore
Rediffusion Singapore ( Chinese: 丽的呼声), started in 1949, was the first cable-transmitted radio station in Singapore. It was a Singapore subsidiary of the Broadcast Relay Services (Overseas) Ltd. It was also Singapore's only subscription r ...
continued to broadcast in Hokkien and greatly contributed to the culture of Singapore. For instance, the Hokkien story-telling program ''Amoy folks story'' (''廈語民間故事''), by Xu Shumei (許淑梅), was very popular.
Nanyin
Nanyin (Southern Music) first spread to Singapore in 1901. Many immigrants from Quanzhou began to establish various Nanyin organizations.
Those which survive include the
Siong Leng Musical Association
Siong Leng Musical Association or Siong Leng is a Nanyin musical group from Singapore.Liyuan opera
Liyuan opera () is a form of Chinese opera originating in Quanzhou city, Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jian ...
. In 1977, the then chairman of the association, Ting Ma Cheng (丁馬成), advocated for the ASEAN Nanyin Performance (亞細安南樂大會奏), which helped to revive Nanyin. In addition, in order to educate young people about this performance art, he also published two books on Nanyin and
Liyuan opera
Liyuan opera () is a form of Chinese opera originating in Quanzhou city, Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jian ...
.
Currently, the
Siong Leng Musical Association
Siong Leng Musical Association or Siong Leng is a Nanyin musical group from Singapore.
There are some letters written in
Pe̍h-ōe-jī
(; ; ), also sometimes known as the Church Romanization, is an orthography used to write variants of Southern Min Chinese, particularly Taiwanese and Amoy Hokkien.
Developed by Western missionaries working among the Chinese diaspora in South ...
from early Hokkien migrants in Singapore.
An example was provided by the descendant of Tan Book Hak, a cousin of
Tan Kah Kee
Tan Kah Kee (; 21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) was a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist active in Singapore and the Chinese cities of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xiamen, and Guangzhou.
A prominent figure in the overseas Chinese c ...
.
Places in Singapore
Singapore's Chinese name "新加坡" (''sin-ka-pho'') originated from Hokkien's transliteration of "Singapore". In addition, there are many other place names in Singapore that originated from Hokkien:
Ang Mo Kio
Ang Mo Kio is a planning area and residential town situated in the North-East of Singapore. Located approximately north of the Downtown Core district, Ang Mo Kio is the 3rd most populated planning area in the North-East Region and ranks 8th ...
and
Toa Payoh
Toa Payoh (, ta, தோ பாயோ) is a planning area and matured residential town located in the northern part of the Central Region of Singapore. Toa Payoh planning area borders Bishan and Serangoon to the north, the Central Water Catc ...
, for instance.
See also
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Hoklo people
The Hoklo people or Hokkien people () are a Han Chinese (also Han Taiwanese) subgroup who speak Hokkien, a Southern Min language, or trace their ancestry to Southeastern Fujian, China and known by various endonyms or other related terms such a ...
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Hokkien culture
Minnan culture or Hokkien/Hoklo culture (Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bân-lâm bûn-hòa; ), also considered as the Mainstream Southern Min Culture, refers to the culture of the Hokkien people, Hoklo people, a Han Chinese subgroups, group of Han Chinese ...
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Hokkien architecture
Hokkien architecture, also called Hoklo architecture or Minnan architecture, refers to the architectural style of the Hoklo people, the Han Chinese group who have historically been the dominant demographic of the Southern Chinese province of Fujia ...
*
Written Hokkien
Hokkien, a Min Nan variety of Chinese spoken in Southeastern China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, does not have a unitary standardized writing system, in comparison with the well-developed written forms of Cantonese and Vernacular Chinese (Mandarin). ...
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Hokkien media Hokkien media is the mass media produced in Hokkien. Taiwan is by far the largest producer of Hokkien-language media.
The "golden age" of both Hokkien popular music and film in Asia was the mid-1950s through to the mid-1960s.
Films
Many films in ...
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Holopedia
The Southern Min Wikipedia (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ''Wikipedia Bân-lâm-gú'') or ''Holopedia'' is the Southern Min edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It is the second largest Wikipedia in a variety of Chinese, after Mandarin. Written in Pe̍h- ...
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Hokkien influence on Singaporean Mandarin
Singaporean Hokkien is the largest non-Mandarin Chinese dialect spoken in Singapore. As such, it exerts the greatest influence on Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, resulting in a Hokkien-style Singaporean Mandarin widely spoken in the country.
I ...
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Speak Hokkien Campaign
Speak Hokkien Campaign (, Tâi-lô: ''Kóng Hok-kiàn-uā Ūn-tōng'') is a social movement dedicated to the language revitalization of the Hokkien language. The campaign was launched online by some Hokkien speakers from Penang, Malaysia, and i ...
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Singaporean Mandarin
Singaporean Mandarin () is a variety of Mandarin Chinese spoken natively in Singapore. It is one of the four official languages of Singapore along with English language, English, Malay language, Malay and Tamil language, Tamil.
Singaporean M ...
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Singdarin
Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, commonly known as Singdarin or Singnese, is a Mandarin dialect native and unique to Singapore similar to its English-based counterpart Singlish. It is based on Mandarin but has a large amount of English and ...