The Plight and Place of the Ah Beng in SG Society [2012 edition]

[RealEstateGuy]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ah_Beng


Ah Beng, from Chinese: 阿明; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: a-bêng or a-bîng, is a stereotype applied to a certain group of young Chinese men in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia. The stereotypical view of an Ah Beng is a young Chinese man or teenager who lacks cultural refinement or indulges in criminal activity or is involved in brawls or arguments out of disagreements with other people. Ah Bengs are also sometimes associated with extensively-modified or zhng-ed cars,[1] and are stereotypically seen as excessively flashy and show-offish. Ah Bengs are often stereotyped as trying to emulate Japanese street fashion.

In Malaysia, the term 'Ah Beng' usually refers to males who have unusual styles and tastes. And the term 'lala-zai' refers to males involved in stereotypical gangster activity or fashion such as the dyeing of hair.

In Singapore, the term 'Ah Beng' is normally used describe gangster wannabes who cannot speak fluent English and have very low education. They commonly speak in Mandarin or Hokkien.

The female equivalent of an 'Ah Beng' is an Ah Lian.





Contents
[hide] 1 Characteristics
2 Etymology
3 References in popular culture
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links


[edit] Characteristics

Ah Bengs are stereotypically Chinese men in their early teens to late 20s, seen hanging out in groups and typically speaking in local slang, which is Hokkien or Cantonese mixed with English and Malay, such as Manglish or Singlish. Their English level is limited to simple English words with incorrect grammar. When having a conversation, Ah Bengs like to curse in their daily speech.

Ah Bengs' fashion has several stereotypes. One stereotype perceives Ah Bengs wearing flamboyant shirts, for example, with colorful decorations - especially dragons, tight jeans and always carrying plastic combs. Another stereotype perceives Ah Bengs trying to follow Japanese fashion in a wrong way, with spiked and dyed hair, metallic ornaments, leather jackets, belts and pants. They are usually very stingy in buying clothes too. Ah Bengs' almost always wear skinny jeans, ranging in color from black to purple to fluorescent pink, with the thinner ones sometimes wearing women's jeans. They also often dye their hair yellow, or sometimes orange, and use gel to make it stand up.

Ah Bengs are normally found gathering in the busier areas of towns, such as shopping malls, and especially on weekends and holidays. Ah Bengs are typically stereotyped as coming from lower class to families, even though they are sometimes rich, as the rich ones usually come from loan shark or otherwise gangster families.

Recently, Ah Bengs in Singapore found a new type of fashion. They often go around in tight tops (usually black, otherwise striped), shorts, colorful flip-flops with several piercings all over their head.

[edit] Etymology

Ah Beng comes from the romanization of the Hokkien pronunciation of 阿明 (Pe̍h-ōe-jī: a-bêng). 明 is a word commonly used in the names of Chinese males in the region; it means 'bright' in the sense of intelligence. In Malaysia, Ah Beng is also known as lala zai. 'Lala' has no actual meaning in itself, while 'zai' (pronounced 'chai') means 'boy'. 'Lala zai' refers to individuals who speak Manglish and possess a strong preference for gaudy fashions or hairstyles.

[edit] References in popular culture

Ah Bengs have been featured in several Singaporean films, including:
Army Daze (1996) — A play, later made into a film, depicting the melting pot of National Service in Singapore. One of the characters is named after the term.
Money No Enough (1998) —[2] a film exploring the trials and tribulations of the Chinese-speaking people of Singapore (who make up the majority of the island's population).
15: The Movie (2003) — "The adventure of five fifteen-year-old boys in Singapore: estranged to every social reference, except for that of appearance and close friendships, they live their lives distant from their families and school, passing their days in a complete state of indolence in the search of experiences, at times even physically painful (tattoos, piercing, wounds)." Official website at Zhao Wei Films
S11 (2006) —[3] another film.

The stereotypical Ah Beng was the title character in the television series Phua Chu Kang, played by Gurmit Singh. The fact that Gurmit Singh has a mixed ancestry including Indian, Japanese, and Chinese blood makes his convincing portrayal of an uneducated Chinese man even more notable. In the show, Chu Kang's brother, Phua Chu Beng, is humorously nicknamed Ah Beng, despite being an articulate, educated architect, the complete antithesis of an Ah Beng.[4]

The term is persistently used as an ad lib by UK-based rap artist Johnny Gunz.

Ah Bengs are also a source of humor for educated Singaporeans and Malaysians. Many published works poke fun at the stereotype.

Braddahs, including Ah Beng Braddahs, what is your opinion? Accurate? Viscious Stereotype?

[ComplainKing]

Mate suggest that you don't open new threads. Wait all your lovers will fall in.

[ranma_79]

Lol nice. i find thats quite interesting xD barddah

[recherche]

What has this got to do with sex?

[sex crusader]

KNN, what de fxxk this got to do with sex?

[popi824]

Nabeh... i still spend some time going thru it... wtf.. hahah..

[autoroam]

Which is worst.....

To be labelled as "Ah Beng" or RealEstateGuy

the former drives Merc, stay in Semi D and fuck model/actress
the latter take bus, stay in 1 bedroom hdb and fuck maids

[hokkien]

Reg you really need attention are you waitting for ppl to post so u can zap them ? Dont be a loser.i have been zap by your so call ah qua friends so what.Get a life reg.
be a man not a dog.

[miniboy]

i begin to like this guy more
always make me laugh reading his post
once again u have my salute

[MP5F]

Originally Posted by recherche

What has this got to do with sex?

I 2nd that bro.

[LovePotion]

wrong thread lar...

braaaa dah 感 REG ah beng

[xiaoquan]

I don't like ah beng but, minority of ah beng at later age are probably more hard working or successful than realestateguy. Probably not as bo Liao as realestateguy too.

[Kalv]

Originally Posted by sex crusader

KNN, what de fxxk this got to do with sex?

Originally Posted by recherche

What has this got to do with sex?

Clearly an "Off Topic" thread. REG apparently immune to threads being [tagged] by Sammyboyfor/Moderators!!! Wishing all a great weekend. Cheers.

[Kalv]

Originally Posted by xiaoquan

... minority of ah beng at later age are probably more hard working or successful than realestateguy. Probably not as bo Liao as realestateguy too.

Sure it is minority and not majority??

With mandatory weekly day off next year for maids ( high class??) - employers will be very worried of Samsters like REG (than Ah Beng who pay WLs and do not create maid problems). Cheers.

[Stageboy]

err.. is posting a wrong post or Simply don't understand English??

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