Ah Beng & Ah Lians: THE TRUTH
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in spore...there exists a grp of ppl in the local discourse called Ah Bengs, Ah Sengs, Ah Huays and Ah Lians...the former and the latter 2, differentiated by gender of male and female respectively...
they seem to be ard for a very long time..and constitute observations tt are unique to thie island...
Ah Beng, Ah Huay, Ah Lian, Ah Seng -- all there are actually shortcut names in hokkien...
a chinese name usually has 3 characters...the first his/her surname and the other 2 constitute his/her personal name...
the chinese oso have dialect names...
sometimes..out if convenience...the individual weill be addressed by one his his/her dialect character, prefixed by "ah"....
therefore...Ah Lian and Ah Beng were also similar forms of addresses by either kin or close fren...
however..."ah beng"..in 2day's context...no longer refers to a form of personal address...it refers to a grp of ppl with a set of characteristics...
some ppl see the squat toilets as solution for dirty toilet seats...apart frm straining the old legs...crouching in a cubicle is juz so undignified...
but, of cos...we muz consider ppl who are predisposed to squatting, like the ah bengs..who squat anytime anywhere cos they somehow think tt it's a manly pose tt zaps the babes...mainlu the ah huays (thus the ah beng love talk: if u relli lerf me, squat wif me till the end of time)...it does not help tt many rock stars also adopt the squat on their album covers...
ah bengs can be classified according to charateristics:
style -- ah bengs are certainly not trendy...trendy itself is another mythologised concept...however.."to be trendy is to do wat everyone else isn't"...as such..ah bengs are assoc. wif the style tt belong to the masses...
bad breeding & manners -- ah bengs squat on toilets...they squat anywhere...they haf bad breeding..
can be rich -- they belong to the upper class...
not well-liked -- obviously...
born ugly in behaviour -- "predispositioni"..."breeding"...
a homogeneous group
ah beng thus become a multiple personality of all sorts...
however...in bringing 2gedder all these statements...we can see tt in reality, no such person actually exist to have all these qualities...
as such...ah beng here exists as a myth thru which discourse feed its matter...
ah beng is appropiated so tt a caricature and stereotype can be created...however...this stereotype needs a name...thus "ah beng" bcomes the convenient label tt can mean anything tt is socially distasteful...
thru the various discourses tt haf constructed the negative image tt is the ah bengs and ah lians...these labels themselves become reified to bcome labels to tok abt other things...
as such...u can have a taxi-driver criticising the ah beng wo disturbed his daughter n oso criticising his own daughter as dressing like an ah lian bcos she wore a pair of shoes wif a flower in front...it thus becomes a label tt a person can criticse on things tt he/she does notlike...
in this sense...ah beng and ah lian becomes "overdetermined"...it is filled wif infinite meanings tt is not its original but can distort the original...
the manifest content of ah beng bcomes a condensation of multiple constructions, which can oni be seen in its "latent content"...but it is oni thru work of deconstruction and relation tt its infinite meanings can be exposed....
the intentions to snub at ppl of a lower class is reflected thru his tone tt pts out the foreign invasion of the ah bengs and his relatives..of a place tt is actually trendy until the invasion took place..
ppl who do not conform to a certain standard of behaviour e.g. squat in public or dress in certain manner...are all criticised...
all these comments arise from an intolerance of either non-conformists behaviour and appearance or of a snobbery of ppl who r not of a certain social status...
this snobbery or intolerance is grounded in institutional phenomena...the larger relations at play are the existing social classes or statuses and the boundaries tt delimit wat is acceptable and wats not...
the power network tt underlies these relations lie unexposed as it is displaced from the text confronting a reader-consumer who is not aware of its mythical content...as such..the reality of things is also displaced...
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next time u walk by an ah beng and his xiong-di-jie-mei...remember to be frenly...wave and say "hi"...
they are not wat they SEEM they are nor wat u THINK they are...
hiaK~
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~~EviL AngeL~~
and her power -- [Frozen Flames] -
My question would be...
Who's the ah bengs, ah huay, ah seng, and ah lian here?!
btw, what do you call a gal that has no sense of fashion whatsoever?! And doesn't even have the decency to at maintain a groom image of themselves at age 20?!
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Float like a butterfly...Sting like a bee... -
Eeerrrr, so what is FireIce trying to put across? I find this article incoherent.
My English sucks big time! *SIGHZ*
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=================================
Do Pixies like a rainy day?
A-piping through the dell?
The Pixies must enjoy the rain;
Thats when they weave their spell.
Rain drops, rain drops
Play a Pixie-tune
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Basically,think she is trying to say that they are misunderstood and not all beng are those stare a bit,whack liaoz type,ehehe
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Drooling is not to be drooled to the extreme.
Burping is not to be done to the extreme.
If eating is done to the extreme.
Your tummy will bring you to the toilet.
~~~
Diablo 2 rockzzzzzz -
har? What?
ah beng?
ah lian?
i only know got one ah_toot here lah!!!!!
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Fate exists but it can only take us so far,
Because once you are there,
It's up to you to make it happen...
--From "Can't Hardly Wait"--
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my english very simple wat...
oni moose understand...
hee~
anyway...there is more to it...
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~~EviL AngeL~~
and her power -- [Frozen Flames] -
I had a friend so called Ah Beng~ who speaks English and play piano!! HaHa..Anyway Ah Beng is the name ppl giv to u mah. Who cares anyway?!
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And I have an AH BENG who carries a translucent wallet, and possess some 'ding-ding-dang-dang' on his bag.. haa haa... DUn mean to say that ur claim is worng.. just want to be funny that's all...
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Barely Bearing Berry Belly Bear -
Ahbo,moose is not tootz leh,ahahaOriginally posted by FireIce:my english very simple wat...
oni moose understand...
hee~
anyway...there is more to it...
------------------
Drooling is not to be drooled to the extreme.
Burping is not to be done to the extreme.
If eating is done to the extreme.
Your tummy will bring you to the toilet.~~~
Diablo 2 rockzzzzzz -
???
now still got ah beng ah lians meh?
i thought now all got taichi settle in counterstrike?
"lai! not happy 1 v 1 lar! qie wat? arctic ah?"
*laff out loud* -
FireIce, can you do us a small favour, or should I say a VERY BIG favour by not posting in Sgforums anymore? because your posts dont perceive any meaning and debatations at all. Its all crap, nothing but crap.
such an attention seeker like you should not even be here and your introduction into Sgforums may just mean the quickening of its downfall real soon.
cheerS!
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I hear funeral bells.. -
hiaK~
look who's talking...
>waltz away<
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~~EviL AngeL~~
and her power -- [Frozen Flames] -
I beg to differ,eheheOriginally posted by Funeral:because your posts dont perceive any meaning and debatations at all. Its all crap, nothing but crap.
cheerS!
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Drooling is not to be drooled to the extreme.
Burping is not to be done to the extreme.
If eating is done to the extreme.
Your tummy will bring you to the toilet.~~~
Diablo 2 rockzzzzzz -
from what i understand...
that means that all the ppl in this forum is an ah beng or ah lian? why? pls refer to the first post in the thread..... -
Becoz we all like to listen and dance to the "Little Butterfly" song yelling "YIO AH! YIO AH!"Originally posted by PeePee:from what i understand...
that means that all the ppl in this forum is an ah beng or ah lian? why? pls refer to the first post in the thread.....
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Lover of the opposite sex... -
ah beng ah beng lor .....
ah lian ah lian lor .....
without them life will be damn boring...
haha~~
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Just A Normal Guy. -
Hmm, are you saying that in order to be interesting, one has to be either an ah beng or an ah lian? *PONDERS* So, are you a boring guy? If you are NOT, are you an AH BENG?Originally posted by MuGenPower:ah beng ah beng lor .....
ah lian ah lian lor .....
without them life will be damn boring...
haha~~
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=================================
Do Pixies like a rainy day?
A-piping through the dell?
The Pixies must enjoy the rain;
Thats when they weave their spell.
Rain drops, rain drops
Play a Pixie-tune
================================= -
pixie_galOriginally posted by pixie_gal:Hmm, are you saying that in order to be interesting, one has to be either an ah beng or an ah lian? *PONDERS* So, are you a boring guy? If you are NOT, are you an AH BENG?
i'm in between both
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Just A Normal Guy. -
Well, so I gather that you are HALF an AH BENG! *LUFFZ* Hmm, so tell me, how do I spot such a UNIQUE personnel? A HALF BENG!Originally posted by MuGenPower:pixie_gal
i'm in between both Btw, how do you classify an AH BENG and an AH LIAN? How different are they from the general mass?
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=================================
Do Pixies like a rainy day?
A-piping through the dell?
The Pixies must enjoy the rain;
Thats when they weave their spell.
Rain drops, rain drops
Play a Pixie-tune
================================= -
okai..
mebe i need to explain a bit...
(gee~...i tot my english oredi simple enuff?)
when u see a so-called 'ah beng' or 'ah lian'...on wat basis u call them 'ah-beng'?
isit due to their attitude? (ya-ya-papaya)
isit due to their sense of dressing? (wear shoes wif flower...yellow shirt wif purple pants)
isit due to the way they talk? (*&^#$...)
isit due to the wat they behave? (squat virtually everywhere...)
the term 'ah beng' is an empty shell...ppl put their own definitions to it based on wat they deem they are...(of particular characteristics)
those DDR-ing their lives away at arcades are called ah bengs/lians...
those tt smoke the hell out of themselves oso called ah beng/lians...
those who engage in gang fights and shout vulgarities every 3 sentences they speak are oso labelled ah beng/lians...
it is the society...hd shd i say a certain calibre of ppl who want to differ themselves from these so-called bengs and decide to give them a name...these ppl dun conform/accept to this behaviour...
rite...some "bengs/lians" are intelligent...they study in top schs and achieve A grades...
some non-bengs/lians DO have some of the above mentioned qualities in them...a shenton way executive can oso wear shoes wif a flower in front...but she not necessarily shout vulgarities every 3 sentences she speaks...
where to draw the line?...
actually there is no line to draw in the first place...
ppl behave differently...
it's juz that this certain group tends to attract more attention and tickles other groups' nerves...and thus being "labelled"...
i hope the english is simple enuff now...
gee~
i know a bit incoherent...
paiseh...i tok incoherently all the time...
hiaK~
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~~EviL AngeL~~
and her power -- [Frozen Flames] -
------------------Originally posted by pixie_gal:Well, so I gather that you are HALF an AH BENG! *LUFFZ* Hmm, so tell me, how do I spot such a UNIQUE personnel? A HALF BENG! Btw, how do you classify an AH BENG and an AH LIAN? How different are they from the general mass?
whaha~~~
how i classify ah beng and ah lian
actually i also dunno ... maybe is the same as FireIce.
nowdays you can see a lot of half ah beng out there mah.... not too nerd and not too beng... hehe~~~
Just A Normal Guy. -
whaha~~~Originally posted by pixie_gal:Well, so I gather that you are HALF an AH BENG! *LUFFZ* Hmm, so tell me, how do I spot such a UNIQUE personnel? A HALF BENG! Btw, how do you classify an AH BENG and an AH LIAN? How different are they from the general mass?
how i classify ah beng and ah lian
actually i also dunno ... maybe is the same as FireIce.
nowdays you can see a lot of half ah beng out there mah.... not too nerd and not too beng... hehe~~~
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Just A Normal Guy. -
opps ...double post ....
sorri
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Just A Normal Guy. -
I know that you enjoy DDR very much...so are you a ah lian?!Originally posted by FireIce:those DDR-ing their lives away at arcades are called ah bengs/lians...
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Float like a butterfly...Sting like a bee... -
I beg to differ too. > funeral
People tend to sterotype too much and too fast.
Don't judge too quickly.....