A journey into the origins of words at ‘Character Types’ exhibition

GEORGE TOWN, Aug 9 — In Penang, the word laksa is synonymous with a bowl of rice noodles in a thick sourish, spicy and pungent fishy soup, but what is the origin of the word laksa?

One theory of its etymology is that it came from the Cantonese lat sa which means “spicy sand” due to the texture of the thick grainy soup from the fish.

In an exhibition featuring the interesting historical origins of commonly used local words titled Character Types, there are a few other theories about the origins of the word laksa.

Penang may be well known for its laksa but there are different theories to the origins of the word. — Picture by KE Ooi

According to research by writer and editor Gareth Richards, it could even be from Sanskrit! There is lakhshah which is a Persian word referring to a type of vermicelli and this word in turn is derived from the Sanskrit laksha to mean “one hundred thousand” in number and in sight.

“There is a line of thought which claims that it perhaps reflects the very rich flavour of laksa, since the dish is defined by multiple layers of taste and many ingredients and each version combines the core ingredients in unique ways,” he explained.

The exhibition is a collaboration between Richards and graphic artist Goh Hun Meng which resulted in a visually interesting exhibit of words, portrayed using various mediums, font styles and materials, while the historical background of each word is featured alongside the individual exhibit.

The Character Types exhibition with the words ‘Ong Lai’ seen at the end of the space, a Hokkien term used to welcome prosperity. — Picture by KE Ooi

“Character Types shows how modern typographic art, which tries to carry the idea of language in all its guises, draws from the past as it looks to the future,” said Richards.

As for Goh’s part, he used typography as a medium to explore cross cultural words.

“In daily life, we use a lot of loan words so I chose the words I am interested to feature while Gareth adds the research and historical facts to it,” Goh said.

There are a total 23 words chosen by Goh and each word is depicted in a way to reflect its meaning or its origins.

A play of words in Chinese with ‘teng’ meaning love or pain; it also sounds like ‘rattan’. — Picture by KE Ooi

An example is rattan or teng in Mandarin. To Goh, he picked the word because it reminded him of his school days when his teacher would use the rotan (cane) made of rattan to punish him if he failed to memorise English words his teacher had assigned. 

“So I use the actual rattan to construct the word teng which in Mandarin sounds like love and it is the same word for hate, so this reflects a love/hate relationship with the rattan,” he explained.

Also, the word teng in Mandarin, though written differently, also sounds like rattan and it is believed to be taken from the word rattan which is of Malay origin.

'Satay' (left) and 'Annan' (right) both written in Tamil to represent possible origins of the words. — Picture by KE Ooi

Goh depicted the word duit using old Dutch coins and Chinese paper notes called the lui piao.

He said their research showed that the word duit, which is Malay for money, may possibly have originated from the Dutch coin doit.

“With the Chinese mispronunciation, doit became lui in Hokkien and this is why it is also a common term for money in South-east Asian Hokkien,” he said.

Then there is another possibility that the lui was a form of the currency unit used during the early Republican China period after 1911 when the copper yuan was also known as tang lui in Hokkien.

The term ‘cincai’ is so common in Malaysia and is believed to have roots in both the Cantonese and Hokkien languages. — Picture by KE Ooi

Goh said there are many theories to the origins of each word and there is no right or wrong to any of these theories except to add to the richness of its historical significance.

“What I hope to do with this exhibition is to explore the cultural and historical meanings of these words and then showcase them in a way that tells of its history, its meaning and its origins through the materials and fonts I used,” he said.

Some of the words are fashioned similarly to Sanskrit writing, Chinese writing or in some cases, he also used Tamil writing.

The word 'puja' is associated with India's traditional religions and is believed to have Tamil roots. — Picture by KE Ooi

All the words are within the exhibit space except for a large one at the back of the building where someone needs to stand in the space to fill in the “y” for the word sayang.

Both Goh and Richards will be presenting a talk on their exhibition at The Space on August 19 at 3pm.

Character Types Exhibition

The Space, 216, Beach Street,

George Town.

Time: 11am-6pm

Tel: 012-424 5522

• The exhibition is part of the month-long George Town Festival. Find out more about GTF 2017 events at georgetownfestival.com.