| Ah Beng | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 阿明 | ||||||||||||
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Ah Beng (Chinese:阿明) is apejorative term applied to describe anti-social lower-classyouths inSingapore andMalaysia who display common characteristics such as dyed hair, wearing loud fashion, and playing music in public. The female equivalent of anAh Beng is anAh Lian (simplified Chinese:阿莲;traditional Chinese:阿蓮;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:a-liân).[1]
A stereotypical Ah Beng would be someone who is not highly educated, is loud and unsophisticated, and operates within secret societies and street gangs. Ah Lians, on the other hand, are regarded asbimbos, and arestereotyped asanti-intellectual,superficial,materialistic, andshallow.[2]
The equivalent of an Ah Beng in other English-speaking countries is often said to be Australia'sbogans, the United States'rednecks and Britain'schavs.
Ah Beng comes from the romanisation of theHokkien pronunciation of阿明 (Pe̍h-ōe-jī:a-bêng). The character "明" (pinyin:míng;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:bêng) is commonly used in the names of ethnic Chinese males in the region; the term "Ah Beng" alludes to their commonness. (The term is therefore semantically somewhat equivalent to the American expression "Regular Joe", though the social connotations differ.)
Among Cantonese speakers, Ah Beng is also known aslala zai (啦啦仔). "Lala" has no actual meaning in itself, although it may have originated from theSinglish word "la"/"lah", while "zai" means "boy." "Lala zai" refers to individuals who speak in Malaysian English or "pure" Singlish and who possess a strong preference for gaudy fashions or hairstyles.
Ah Bengs have been featured in several Singaporean films, including:
The stereotypical Ah Beng was thetitular protagonist,CEO,white-collar worker andgeneral contractor named Phua Chu Kang (portrayed byGurmit Singh) in the popular Singaporean localsitcom known asPhua Chu Kang Pte Ltd. Inthe sitcom, Chu Kang's younger brother, Anthony Phua Chu Beng (portrayed by Edwin Chong in Season 1 andPierre Png from Seasons 2 to 8), is nicknamed Ah Beng, despite being an articulate andeducatedarchitect, which is the complete antithesis of an Ah Beng.[4]
