i used to have a good fren who is oso pedigree teochew like
me
we speak teochew in sch, when we go out...
sometimes got ppl look at us.....wat are 2 young and pretty ladies
speaking teochew for....?
it is difficult to find someone who can speak fluently and
comfortably.....
at first we were jus having fun and trying to see if we can sustain
a conversation in pure teochew......as we play....it kind of become
the default language when we talk.....
the thing abt languages is.....
u can learn it, but in ur daily life, u gotta use it, tok to
ppl.....ask ppl to tok to u.....
if not it does not work and it would become a chore bcos u have to
learn it.....
the govt did relax a bit on the media to allow dramas and certain
programs to use dialect...
like the Chao Zhou Jia Zu....
but it's kinda bo liao....the only spoken teochew heard in the show
is jus to address the elders.....Ah Gu, Ah Gim....
during dunno which yr's national day rally, PM oso encourage the
young to speak dialect with their grandparents to foster the
bond....tok about family values....
somehow it was slowly forgotten and dialects tt you see on tv now
are "translated" to chinese....
like in the I Not Stupid drama......ni lao ba......ni lao
ba......
yes, it is something crude, but it's the essence of the
language.....translate to chinese liao u dun relli feel the
phrase's impact.....
why are we always want back something after we have lost
it.....
english and mother tongue are our core languages.....
if given a chance to pick a 3rd language, most ppl will pick the
popular ones like japanese, french, german, korean.....
who will bother to take up teochew, cantonese.....
it's not even recognised as an O level subj....
even if the govt bothers to push it....do students and our young
have the interest?