A BABA Nyonya TV series that is currently being streamed on Netflix has received enormous attention around the world. Called The Ghost Bride and set in 1890s Melaka, it is deemed to be an innovative improvement from the previous Baba Nyonya films or drama series in Singapore and Malaysia.

Many Malaysians think this series is worth celebrating because it is a “Malaysian” product (co-directed by Malaysian directors Quek Shio-chuan and Ho Yu-hang) that enables our country to show its extraordinary creativity on the global stage.

However, it is disappointing that Baba Nyonya movies or drama series in Malaysia and Singapore use Mandarin as the spoken language. Only the old Baba Nyonya comedy series on Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) were performed in Baba Malay, particularly the Baba dan Nyonya sitcom where Kenny Chan acted as Bibik Kim Neo and Chee Hood Siong played Ah Chim.

Baba Nyonya dramas or movies should use Baba Malay or Hokkien or one of the non-Mandarin Chinese languages. The fact is Baba Nyonya is a community that does not use Mandarin as their mother tongue.

The Chinese Peranakan community in Penang has been using Hokkien as their mother tongue for generations while the Chinese Peranakan community in Melaka and Singapore use Baba Malay and Hokkien. Some Chinese Peranakan whose ancestors are Cantonese, Hainanese, Teochew or Hakka also have different mother tongues.

The ancestors of the Chinese Peranakan community in Malaysia and Singapore are mainly Hokkien, hence the mother tongue of the Chinese Peranakan community should not be Mandarin. Mandarin is a Chinese language that was developed in northern China. It is native to northern China, especially in the region stretching from Yunnan in the southwest to Heilongjiang in the northeast.

Southern Chinese languages like Hokkien, Cantonese, Hainanese, Teochew and Hakka are not sisters of or dialects of Mandarin.

Some critics might say the use of the original language is not an important determinant of the quality or success of a movie or series. But wouldn’t it be weird to perform a Cantonese opera in Mandarin? This bizarre incident happened in 2016 in Guangzhou. In a Chinese New Year countdown festival named Guangzhou/Canton Will Become Better, a performing arts association presented a Cantonese opera called The Story Of A Boat in Mandarin. Many citizens in Canton criticised this Mandarin version, saying it wiped out the identity of Cantonese culture and language.

In Korean dramas, Manchurian invaders speak Manchurian instead of Korean. This truly reflects the historical fact.

Some people are vocal against the use of the mother tongue, suggesting that not standardising Mandarin as the only language for the Chinese people is a threat to unity. If we follow this logic, then we as Malaysians should only use Bahasa Malaysia.

When audiences expect the actors in films or dramas to speak only one language, for example English or Mandarin, can you imagine what this would do to the other languages and cultures in this vibrant world?

Some believe the audience would not feel a connection with the films or dramas if the characters speak in an alien language. On the contrary, K-Pop and K-Drama, despite being in the Korean language, have gained huge fans all around the world.

We can also watch a foreign movie or drama with subtitles. The Taiwanese Hokkien Opera and Mandarin Opera in Taiwan’s theatres are performed with Mandarin and English subtitles, for example.

When the video of a high school student from Nova Scotia, Canada performing a Mi’kmaq (an aboriginal language in Canada) rendition of the Beatles classic Blackbird appeared on YouTube last year, she got almost 380,000 views in just four weeks.

The clip has garnered around 1.56 million views since April last year and the singer, Emma Stevens, even got to meet Paul McCartney, who expressed his appreciation for how the Mi’kmaq version of the song helps to celebrate other cultures.

Meanwhile, Haida, another indigenous language in Canada, has become extremely endangered that in order to preserve it, a Haida film director, Gwaai Edenshaw, filmed a movie called SGaawaay K’uuna (Edge of the Knife). Why can’t we see them as our role models?

To all the Chinese people whose ancestors spoke languages such as Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese and Hokchew, please stop treating Mandarin as your language’s family member. Mandarin is a northern Chinese language whereas the Chinese community in Malaysia and Singapore speak Southern Chinese languages. Please revitalise your non-Mandarin Chinese languages!

And dear Baba Nyonyas, please revitalise your Baba Malay and Hokkien. Your children will pick up Mandarin in school, therefore you need not worry that they would not be able to speak it later.

Speak to them in your mother tongue instead, because only from you can they learn the language. In a nutshell, we have to fully use our mother tongue in every possible way, including in our artistic works and literature.

SEAN YEOW BOON SOONG

Petaling Jaya