IDENTIFYING THE RICHNESS VARIOUS DIALECT GROUPS
After “feelings” were expressed on the matter, the Migration & Checkpoints Authority will be reinstating the particular dialect field within electronic birth certificates from Sep 1 .
This particular shift in considering is a positive a single. The Government is identifying the fact that different language groups have their own inbuilt culture and mores that have supported and enriched people’s lives designed for millenniums.
All of us are aware that the different dialect groups originated from the different provinces associated with China. When the migrants travelled to our island, they brought with these their own dialect, traditions and culture. It is obvious that we do not need to adhere to customs which are outdated, irrelevant or divisive to our 21st century life. But we can certainly celebrate every dialect group’s uniqueness.
Besides exclusive customs and mores, even the foods are different ; each dialect group expressing their cooking expertise in various ways. Hokkien mee differs from Hakka noodles, and Teochew porridge is not the same as Cantonese porridge. They are all tasty in their own correct.
For many years in our lives, my Peranakan mother never failed to wake my siblings and I on our birthdays with a traditional Teochew custom – the steaming bowl of sweetened mee sua using a boiled egg. Mee sua is a slim vermicelli wheat noodle. In most Chinese dialect groups’ culture, long noodles represent durability and that it is the reason why it’s always served on birthdays.
Mee sua is often eaten as a spicy, soupy dish with slices of chicken or meatballs. But for the Teochew, sweetening the noodles will be symbolic of hoping a sweet existence of happiness plus success to the birthday celebration girl or child.
I have never ever had a sweet teeth, so I cringed on the disparity of flavor. I would make an encounter, and my mother would admonish me personally, saying, “Don’t you need your life to be sugary? ” It’s the no-brainer of course. Therefore , I would force the over-sweet noodle and over-sweet egg straight into my mouth.
I remember those childhood days with comfy fondness. This is the magical stuff of culture. It is something stitched into the fabric of the being. And the first dialect (or vocabulary ) offers that foundation.