Eat potatoes or sweet potatoes?

In the Singapore context, when a Chinese person wants to make a point that he cannot speak Chinese, he will say in Hokkien (or the Fujian dialect) that he is "jiak kantang" or "eat potato". The interesting thing about this phrase is that "jiak" means "eat" in Hokkien, but "kantang" is a borrowed word from Malay (correct spelling in Malay is "kentang") meaning "potato". Uniquely Singaporean expression.

Since Asians eat mostly rice and westerners eat mostly potatoes, I suppose that is how this phrase came about. If you eat potatoes, then you must be western-trained and therefore speak English.

Chinese people do eat potatoes, but most prefer sweet potatoes instead. If you are Chinese in Singapore and can speak Chinese, you would not refer to yourself as being a sweet potato eater. For that matter, there is no equivalent expression for those who are proficient in Chinese. A derogatory term for those who are educated in Chinese but speak little English is "Chinese helicopter", meaning that he speaks English haltingly or with a stutter (the sound of which is like the whirring blades of a helicopter).

An evangelist friend from a Chinese-speaking church commented that there is a dearth of local Chinese-speaking pastors and evangelists. In fact, many of the pastors here were once English-educated and have crossed the language divide due to a need. This made him call us "Jiak kantang cho huan zi kang" (吃马铃薯，作番薯工）or "eat potatoes but do sweet potato work". This is not ideal because communication is more than just being able to speak the language. Communication involves understanding the other culture, nuances and expressions. Just because I speak basic Chinese does not mean I understand the Chinese person's psyche. For someone like me who grew up "eating potatoes", this is definitely true. However, being a lifelong student always opens the door to another's heart. Sincerity will always win the day.

Regardless of what kind of staple food you eat, let's be open to another culture and language. Our lives will be so much richer for the education.

Here's to celebrating diversity!

Xinyao music, uniquely Singaporean

Language is an integral part of our culture and who we are. Singaporean songwriter Liang Wern Fook wrote this song sometime ago but was slapped a ban because some of the lyrics were sung in Hokkien and Cantonese, not a pure Mandarin song. What a blow to a very successful songwriter! Those were the days of the Speak Mandarin Campaign. No dialects were allowed in public broadcasts, only Mandarin. Then, dialects were said to erode the learning of Mandarin. So many years later, this song has been revived and given a second chance, as a movie soundtrack, no less. The music genre, 新瑶 or xinyao, is uniquely Singaporean. How so? Only if you appreciate such music. The tunes are folksy, down-to-earth and singable by anyone. This song 麻雀衔竹枝 (Ma Que Xian Zhu Zhi) with no English title tells the story of how the average Singaporean Chinese grew up. Everyone can relate to the story. You may not understand Chinese, but I think you will enjoy the tune. It brings back memories of old Singapore and how many of us grew up, when life was simpler and more carefree. Music crosses cultural boundaries. Yet music is a language of its own that speaks directly to the heart without words. Learn Mandarin and you'll be able to appreciate the song even more! Pick up a package today! Fun Language Tools

Learn dialect, connect with the older generation

There must be something about speaking the language of our ancestors that makes us feel complete. Is a language only about communicating with another person, or is there more to it?

I wrote about young people wanting to revive Chinese dialects in Singapore. Some time back, I had commented on an article about the language of our ancestors being able to touch our hearts. Today's article is about a young man who started making children's picture books for two Chinese dialects (Hokkien and Cantonese) that are commonly spoken in Singapore. What started as a fun learning experience for his nephew, it has now become a small business of sorts. Anyone wanting to learn those dialects would have fun learning. After all, who doesn't like feeling like a child all over again?

What tickled me the most was the name of his website: Sibey Nostalgic. "Sibey" in Hokkien is an expression to mean "extremely". It is as colloquial as you can get. It's also very appropriate since the site sells books to teach you Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew.

The best part about the books is not that they are available, but that you need to connect with someone who speaks the language fluently to learn the proper pronunciation. This is not a self-tutoring package. Instead, it is a family building, inter-generational package. Both children and adults can have fun with it. After all, language learning is meant to be fun!

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