Since the first episode until this week’s 154th show, I only have one goal in mind. That’s having fun while we use our beloved Penang Hokkien dialect. When I started this website, there were no other media at all that utilize Penang Hokkien dialect as the main communication language/dialect. The closest are the southern Malaysian style Hokkien or Taiwanese. I have always dreamt of doing radio or TV shows in my very own dialect that I use every single day. Not a “proper” Hokkien used elsewhere. It is “proper” to me if it is what I use since childhood.
The author Tan Choon Hoe (also a listener) recently released a new book that touched on this very topic. I agree with him that if we don’t do something now, we may actually lose our own dialect. We tend to not appreciate the goodness that is right in front of our eyes. Gems that glitter day in and day out next to us are treated as road side rocks.
My role as a web savvy thirty something year old, plus a bit of a joker since I was a child, is to take the dialect and put it to use in a very unique and high tech way so that I’m attracting not only those who appreciate the dialect, but those who are rediscovering the dialect through the marvel of technology and internet. In addition, I find humor to be a good way of encouraging the usage of Penang Hokkien without any extra effort. I guarantee you, after listening to several of the shows here and especially if you have been on Penang Hokkien Podcast as a special guest, we call it “tet pet keh pin”, you will surely have a different appreciation of our witty and rich dialect of Penang Hokkien. Not just any other Hokkien, but one that is uniquely formed here in Penang and the northern region of Malaysia.
Below is the article that the Star published today, and I chimed in my two cents when the Star reporter, Christina Chin asked me about my opinion regarding Penang Hokkien dialect and its possibly dwindling popularity.
Read the article from the Stare here.
(Thanks to Bekembak for the link)
Thanks to listener Loo K.C. for the scan.
got Milo beside, Milo need sponsor Penang Hokkien for our Miku John came back during Next Year… 🙂
And i want say : Penang Hokkien are the BEST !!! i love u Penang Hokkien
i support it!
yeah! PGHK is the best!
must support and preserve our hokkien dialect.
i also realise that nowadays, parents rather use Mandarin to communicate with kids. well, Mandarin is also important but also dont forget our hokkien.
i am from Penang too and i am “Teow Chew Lang” but i toally cannot speak “Teow Chew” dialect…..my grandmom can speaks and my dad can.. when come to my generation, none of my cousin can speak a word of “Teow Chew” . and i remember when i was a kid, my grandmom keep worrying none of her grandchildren can speak “Teow Chew”…..well, she guess right! now none of my relatives (ginna kong) can speak a word of “Teow Chew”.
so, Penang Hokkien is really unique dialect that only own by Penang.
I improved my Hokkien by listening to PGHK podcast, as I am currently out of Malaysia. Thanks to PGHK, I feel closer to home..
What is Penang without Hokkien..
ya! i totally agree those above me.
look at our beloved Motoleng, although he is not original from Penang but he totally support our Penang Hokkien and speaks really Penang Hokkien…
and also thank a millions to John and PenangHokkien where i can listen to purely Penang hokkien and sembang with PGHK members just to maintain my Hokkien 🙂
here again, i really appreciate PGHK and thank..
John, please keep PGHK alive forever !
Thousand thanks to Miku John for making Penanghokkien…what will we be…penangites..if without penang hokkien..
Even we people who are in overseas..feel so much close to home..when we listen to penang hokkien…
May penanghokkien last forever…and also our MUKU JOHN….(^.^)
i also support hokkien…… i believe no only penang hokkien… but all kind of hokkien in world must be preserve lor…….. even some i didnt understand but i still can catch the mean of tat word lor 😛
Look like we can plan to start TeoChew podcast too… or Hakka podcast also boleh…. anyone interested to contribute? I’m planning a new podcast called Penang Tai (槟城台) which planning to have as many as it can for local dialect likes, teochew, hakka, hainan, HokChew & etc…. but only I alone is unable to suggest on this.
Anyway, it been stopped for some time on the planning due to my busy schedule. I will try to speed it up. Check out the initial site at, https://penangtai.mycybernaut.com.
i saw the news on star online as well…i was like…so excited when i saw it…PGHK appeared on STAR newspaper again!!!!
kam sia ko kam sia to miku john for all your priceless effort and contribution towards penang hokkien..you deserve an award, lolz 🙂
by listening to pghk, make us esp those penang lang who are now away from penang felt so much closer back home…the same old dialect that we used to hear everyday..
once again, WELL DONE MIKU JOHN!!!!!!!
my sister learn hokkien from my father & grandmother…
just imagine if my father dont speak hokkien with her…
and she never visit & stay with her grandmother during school holidays…
do you think she know how to speak hokkien?
so i think PGHK is a website that help those who do not have chance to use their own language in their life…to learn (by listen to weekly podcast) to speak (join in to be one of the guest during monthly recording) and to get connected (join PGHK group local gathering) and many many more…
so ShuaHuan here want to share another word that some penang hokien new generation who may not know eh animal name…
Question: how to call Bear in Hokkien…?
Answer: Kau Kim (Kau = Dog , Kim = Kim Siew eh Kim)
Thanks for joining ShuaHuan in Weekly Hokkien Word Calss…see you next time…
Love PGHK!!!Love Miku John!!!(^0^)/
Hello John,
I’m a “4rd generation” 37 years old Singapore citizen. I have been a faithful “behind computer screen” listener of your interest podcast about Penang hokkien, the language and the colorful Penang culture. I got to know your podcast when Mr Brown did a brief mentioning of your show on his blog. My reason of writing this comment is to encourage you to keep the show on and you had done a wonderful thing to preserve this wonderful heritage…
I do have a “thingy” for Penang Hokkien as my great grand parents’s had their roots in Penang and Medan before the entire family migrated to Singapore in the 50’s. I was (when I was little) and still is intrigued by the “strange” Penang hokkien accent and surprisingly pleasant “tune” as if this language is nasalized much like spoken french… My interest of this facinating language probably began with my attachment to my loving great grand parents who doted on me as I am the eldest “kana sun/great grand child”. A bed time story of their early life in Penang was artfully told in Penang Hokkien fashion on a regular basis. Therefore, I’m “quite” familiar or am able to relate to the places, “kor char/nineteen tor yu tin” events of your show. Listening to your show did brings back fond memories of my great grand parents who unfortunately passed on when I was still young chap hence signals the ending of “Penang bed time stories”.
I sincerely wished that this show will carry on with the notion to preserve the rich heritage and culture of our fore father’s which in your case, Penang Hokkien. I honestly do not understand why we would spend so much time and effort of our lifetime to learn about how to speak or pronoun english like the british or american do when we had utterly ignored and forgotten of who we really are in this maddening rat race pace of our society. Let’s not do this for ourselves but for our children…
Your Sincerely
Chng Joseph
Chng Joseph, how very generous and kind and poignant. I will do all be best to continue the effort. But the effort is nothing if there’s not support from the listeners, people like you Joseph and all the listeners here. It is very clear that people DO care about preserving Penang Hokkien from the supporters I get on the site.
Thank you all for your support and for the greater good of preserving and passing on our heritage.
cannot wait for new episode tonight!
Wah ! Lu day day naik newspaper. This time fehmes liao ! Ho Seh liao ! HAHAH!
i found this from WIKIPEDIA..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang_Hokkien
haha, guess you won’t have to search for guest anymore now that PH is famous.
LOO K C…??? my brother is that you? if you are really my dear brother… welcome to PGHK… when you want to choose a nick name and join us and be a guest in future recording?
i read the article in the star that day..
and if im not mistaken theres a malay guy who wanted the hokkien’s dialect
to be spoken widely and originally..
he himself can speak vry fluence hokkien/mandarin..
i
viva Hokkien Uah!
si kong tai keh boh kah wa lang eh kia Hokkien uah, wa khua Hokkien uah boh chun liao lor!