On
somewhat of a side track from my previous post, while I have been getting more connected to Cantopop and Mandopop, I have been searching for a Toisanese
equivalent for the past year. I have found Hakka Pop, Hokkien Pop, and
pop songs in other Chinese languages easily. The Toisanese are not a
minority group. Most of the overseas Chinese are actually of Toisanese
descent. However, the Toisanese language is very different from
Mandarin.
Growing
up, I always heard my mother and maternal grandparents and their
friends speaking Toisanese. I understood most of it, but never spoke it.
Even though this was their language of communication, my mother has
told me multiple times how Toisanese is so foul sounding compared to
Cantonese and Mandarin, with its strange tones and use of the back of
the throat.
Not until these past two years did I finally come to
disagree with her on the perception of this language. Yes, I grew up
thinking Toisanese was funny and ugly sounding. This thinking shifted
when I started to crave to connect deeper with my roots 2 years ago.
Through some personal research and personal experience, Toisanese in
terms of phonetic structure is very similar to that of some Southeast
Asian languages such as Vietnamese and Thai. Yes, there is V-pop and T-pop. I have heard some very beautiful songs in these music groups. So
why no Toisanese-pop? It is totally possible. I have found several
Toisanese traditional folk songs online. As much as I love them, I am
still a child of this current generation and prefer listening to
contemporary music. The creation of even one Toisanese Pop song or a couple could
totally make a difference in the Toisanese mainland and diaspora youth's
perception of the Toisanese language...
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