Hokkien in a dot

• BanguIzai

  4 May 14, 13:48

  Originally posted by SJS6638:

  Is kelang kallang?

   kelang = kallang

• BanguIzai

  4 May 14, 13:52

  Originally posted by Clivebenss:

  The Kallang Basin fire was in 1957. I remembered visiting a friend just before the fire.

  

  

  Kallang Basin in 1950s with the stlit houses and ship builders.

   

  Singapore - The Lion City, 1957

   

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6NjBDFX72g

• Clivebenss

  4 May 14, 13:55

  not many pics for those chwee choo in Lor 3 /Kallang Basin. I have a old sirectory showing the extend of Kallang Basin area.

• BanguIzai

  4 May 14, 13:58

  Originally posted by Clivebenss:

  Also there at Kallang Basin were many sawmills. What I remembered my friend told me the fire started in one kitchen on those pu kah lau. Fire engines unable to reach those houses on the water and all were burnt down. Most people living there were workers of the sawmills, shipbuilders and rubber factories nearby. One of the early factory area.

  I cant imagine the fire from Kallang (old kelang) to Geylang (old gelang), because that was really a big fire!   What I only know was the fire was at Geylang, because they were too distraught to remember where were the other areas affected, unless they kept newspapers, which they don't have any, because they were illiterate.  it was the first place they settled and the houses they built could be as far back to nineteen-twenties when greatgrandpa reached, and as greatgrandpa is a fishermen as per quemoy island mainstream livelihood, they had to live beside the sea.

• Clivebenss

  4 May 14, 14:04

  Originally posted by BanguIzai:

  I cant imagine the fire from Kallang (old kelang) to Geylang (old gelang), because that was really a big fire!   What I only know was the fire was at Geylang, because they were too distraught to remember where were the other areas affected, unless they kept newspapers, which they don't have any, because they were illiterate.  it was the first place they settled and the houses they built could be as far back to nineteen-twenties when greatgrandpa reached, and as greatgrandpa is a fishermen as per quemoy island mainstream livelihood, they had to live beside the sea.

  The fire burnt a huge area in fact bigger than Bukit Ho Swee fire. It encompassed the area bound by the present Lavender St, Bendemeer Road, Jln Kolam Ayer, Kallang Way, Aljunied Road, Sims Ave, Kallang Road.

• BanguIzai

  4 May 14, 14:08

  then now i wonder why only bukit ho swee fire is remembered everyone in sg but not the eastern great fire?

• Clivebenss

  4 May 14, 14:12

  Perhaps it was much further back but Bukit Ho Swee is only back in 1960s with higher casualties. Maybe also Bukit Ho Swee resettlement highlight the efficieny of HDB.

• BanguIzai

  4 May 14, 14:22

  Originally posted by Clivebenss:

  Perhaps it was much further back but Bukit Ho Swee is only back in 1960s with higher casualties. Maybe also Bukit Ho Swee resettlement highlight the efficieny of HDB.

  haha, ok dats true

• SJS6638

  4 May 14, 15:35

  Originally the original lying mapsguIzai:

   kelang = kallang

  Thanks for the maps.

• Clivebenss

  4 May 14, 16:46

  Originally posted by BanguIzai:

  haha, ok dats true

  have to be, cant think of any other reason.

  

• Clivebenss

  4 May 14, 17:09

  Originally posted by BanguIzai:

   

  Thank you Clivebenss for the information.  With regards to Old Kallang I am not sure liao cos that was not the area they stayed.   Also, if you have not informed me that it is an old swamp area,  it will be relatively difficult for me to realise that "KELANG" = (Kallang) was an old swamp on that map.

   

  However from the first british colonial map, anything below the "Line" itself (If you were to draw a Straight Line or put a Ruler on our Modern Maps) from "GELANG" (geylang) to "KATONG Pt." (katong) to "KURAU B." (telok kurau) to "SIGLAT" (siglap) to "BUDDOW" (bedok),  is the old sea.

  Also,

  i)    "KATONG Pt." = "Katong Point", the (point) is a giveaway that Katong was a "seapoint" in the past (place of ships meeting the land)

  and

  ii)    "KURAU B." = "Kurau Bay", the (bay) is a giveaway that Telok Kurau was a "bayshore" in the past.  Many Singaporean people also do not realise that the current estate "Telok Kurau" in Malay simply means "Kurau Bay"!!!      (like "Telok Ayer" = "Water Bay", "Telok Blangah" = "Pottery Bay",  all "Telok XX" areas were bayshores in the past)

  and

  iii)    both "SIGLAT" = "Siglap" and "BUDDOW" = "Bedok" were 2 kampong communities built on the old seashore.

   

  I think almost no one realises Geylang, Katong, Telok Kurau, Siglap, Bedok are all seashore community kampong unless one had some ancestor who stayed there before.

  Actually what grandma told me when she arrived in Sg 1851 disembarking at Telok Ayer, Thian Hock Keng was a sand beach about 50m from shore. 

  I suppose kelang means tidal mud flat so the Kallang area must be a mud flat. Also Klang in Malaysia is called Pasang (=tide) in Hokkien.

• BanguIzai

  5 May 14, 17:52

  Originally posted by Clivebenss:

  Actually what grandma told me when she arrived in Sg 1851 disembarking at Telok Ayer, Thian Hock Keng was a sand beach about 50m from shore. 

  I suppose kelang means tidal mud flat so the Kallang area must be a mud flat. Also Klang in Malaysia is called Pasang (=tide) in Hokkien.

  1851 !  So early man !  So she was the 2nd wave of immigrants during the Ch'ing Era (see article in "Forbidden City" on the 3 waves of Hokkien immigrants).  Mine was clearly the 3rd wave which started after the Ch'ing Dynasty fell apart

• BanguIzai

  5 May 14, 17:53

  Yes, Kelang (Kallang) is a cognate of Klang in Malaysia

• Clivebenss

  6 May 14, 10:43

  Originally posted by BanguIzai:

  1851 !  So early man !  So she was the 2nd wave of immigrants during the Ch'ing Era (see article in "Forbidden City" on the 3 waves of Hokkien immigrants).  Mine was clearly the 3rd wave which started after the Ch'ing Dynasty fell apart

  wrong lah she came from Sumatra not China.

• SJS6638

  6 May 14, 14:04

  Chin zwa.  Chin ai koon, koon bo kow.

• BanguIzai

  6 May 14, 21:49

  Originally posted by Clivebenss:

  wrong lah she came from Sumatra not China.

  oh, hehe, sumatra la sorri not china lah

• BanguIzai

  6 May 14, 21:52

  Originally posted by SJS6638:

  Chin zwa.  Chin ai koon, koon bo kow.

  SJS6638：真热。真爱�，�无够。

  Bangulzai：�去泅水，阿是�去泡水嘛会使。袂热了。

• SJS6638

  6 May 14, 23:21

  Originally posted by BanguIzai:

  SJS6638：真热。真爱�，�无够。

  Bangulzai：�去泅水，阿是�去泡水嘛会使。袂热了。

  O o , I cannot figure out your text in chinese.   O o.....

• SJS6638

  6 May 14, 23:24

  Zwa bang chin zway.   

• BanguIzai

  7 May 14, 01:30

  Originally posted by SJS6638:

  O o , I cannot figure out your text in chinese.   O o.....

   

  I put Romanization with added Tones Guide for you, now can catch some ball liao ??  If still catch no ball, then I think I must surrender liao.  

   

  SJS6638：真热。真爱�，�无够。
  Chin-- Zwa\ .  Chin-- Ai\ Khoon_ .  Khoon\ Bo_ Kow_ .

  Bangulzai：�去泅水，阿是�去泡水嘛会使。袂热了。
  Lai_ Khee\ Siu_ Chwee\ ,  A_ See_ Lai_ Khee\ Phau\ Chwee\ Ma_ Ey_ Sai\ .  Bue_ Zwah''' Liau\ .

   

  With tones:
  To be placed after the word

  \   = for falling tone (a backslash)
  /   = for rising tone (a slash)
  _  = for a low level tone (an underscore)
  --  = for a mid level tone (two dashes)
  '''  = for a high level tone (three apostrophes)

• BanguIzai

  7 May 14, 01:37

  Originally posted by SJS6638:

  Zwa bang chin zway.   

  I heard there was Hokkien courses at Hokkien Huaykuan, but now maybe no more?  I heard they ever organized before.   If you ever catch the chance to attend its course you will be exposed to learn the official Hokkien spelling, and that helps us all to communicate in Hokkien in writing (in Hokkien Chinese Characters as well as Hokkien official spelling).

  Therefore now my turn to ask you (cos I also half-past-six trying to catch your spelling):
  What is zwa bang chin zway ?     (  a lot of "zwa bang" ?? )

  Without any tones, I can only guess:  

  zwa :  Hot ( Zwah''' ) ?  Paper ( Zwa\ ) ?  Snake ( Zwa/ ) ?
  bang :  Mosquito ( Bang\ ) ?  Dream ( Bang_ ) ?

  Thanks

• SJS6638

  7 May 14, 14:34

  Originally posted by BanguIzai:

  I heard there was Hokkien courses at Hokkien Huaykuan, but now maybe no more?  I heard they ever organized before.   If you ever catch the chance to attend its course you will be exposed to learn the official Hokkien spelling, and that helps us all to communicate in Hokkien in writing (in Hokkien Chinese Characters as well as Hokkien official spelling).

  Therefore now my turn to ask you (cos I also half-past-six trying to catch your spelling):
  What is zwa bang chin zway ?     (  a lot of "zwa bang" ?? )

  Without any tones, I can only guess:  

  zwa :  Hot ( Zwah''' ) ?  Paper ( Zwa\ ) ?  Snake ( Zwa/ ) ?
  bang :  Mosquito ( Bang\ ) ?  Dream ( Bang_ ) ?

  Thanks

  Many mosquitoes during hot weather.

• BanguIzai

  9 May 14, 01:28

  Originally posted by SJS6638:

  Many mosquitoes during hot weather.

  Ahh, thanks for the explanation, now I see:   zwah''',   bang\ chin-- zway_    liao !

• charlize

  13 May 14, 21:14

  

• Mr Milo

  13 May 14, 21:21

  kick charlize in hokkien?