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 materialistic. 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.

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 of 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.

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.

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.

See also

• Ah Lian
• NEET - Not in Education，Employment or Training
• Chinaman (中国佬)

International:

• Arsim (Israel)
• Bogan and Westie (Australia and NZ)
• Chav, (England)
• Dres (Poland)
• Essex Girl (Essex, England)
• Flaite (South America)
• Gangsta (United States)
• Gopnik (Russia)
• Guido (East Coast, United States)
• Naco (Mexico)
• Ned (Scotland)
• scanger (Republic of Ireland)
• Scallie (Liverpool, Manchester)
• Spide (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
• White Trash (United States)
• Wigger (United States)
• Tapori (India)
• Yankī and DQN (Japan)
• Alay (Indonesia)

Notes

References

• Wong Kim Hoh, "Who Says Ah Bengs Cannot Make It?", The Straits Times (2 April 2006).
• Samuel Lee, "Hitting the Right Notes", The Straits Times (21 April 2006).
• from the Coxford Singlish Dictionary
• from A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English

External links

• AhBeng and AhLian