We're now on the 27th week of Untranslatable Words and once again we're going to Asia, especifically to Singapore, a very young but modern nation whose context explains the part of their culture that is reflected on this week's word.
This week's word is the hokkien: kiasu.
Gif by Wordstuck
kiasu
It never stops amazing me how a place's culture can be expressed in their language and according to what I've seen so far this happens more properly in Asia's nations, maybe it's something in their languages structure? lol
Kiasu is a Hokkien word that denotes a "grasping, selfish attitude" that arises from fear of missing out. It literally translates "afraid of losing out", from kia (afraid) and su (lose). *
Hokkien is a Chinese dialect originated in southeastern China and spoken wodely in Taiwan (as official language) and by the Chinese diaspora is several parts of Southeast Asia. One of these parts is Singapore, where a survey in 2015 ranked being kiasu as one of the top 10 Singaporean cultural values, a small and young country that has four official languages, one of them being English, which led to the word being introduced into it by speakers of the colloquial Singaporean English (Singlish); In 2007, the word was included in the Oxford English Dictionary, where it’s described as ‘…a grasping, selfish attitude’. *
Despite being so small and young as a nation (it was 56 years ago that it became an independent country) and also taking into account its lack of natural resources, Singapore became a highly developed country and one of the Four Asian Tigers based on external trade, very rapidly. And something that some people belive explains this is kiasu a.k.a kiasuism. Kiasu is what makes Singapore "the most ambitious country in the world". Kiasu is similar in etymology to kiasi (literally, fear of death); both terms are used to describe similar attitudes. Kiasu or kiasuism means taking extreme measures to achieve success, whereas kiasi or kiasiism means taking extreme, risk-avoidant measures. *
Now, it is this nation's geographical contexts that possibly originated this aspect of its people: this nation "is vulnerably situated in the middle of South East Asia, surrounded by neighbours who are culturally different from Singapore" says Dr Leong Chan-Hoong, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies at the National University of Singapore; he explains kiasu as a survival instinct. *
In practical terms, this means Singaporeans hate missing out and love a bargain. They will queue endlessly for the latest model of a phone or even a limited edition Hello Kitty toy in a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Singaporeans themselves joke about their ‘elbows out’ mentality at buffet meals, piling their plates as high as possible. Even, artist Johnny Lau found a way to get Singaporeans to examine themselves through comedy. He created the hugely popular comic character Mr Kiasu, who became an iconic part of the cultural landscape in Singapore during the early ‘90s. *
The idea came to him while he was doing his mandatory National Service with the army. “I met a lot of people who were using certain words that cut across different races. Not because you are Chinese, Indian or Malay,” he said. “The word ‘kiasu’ was popping up inside the army camps. It wasn’t commonly used outside the camp.” In this context, according to A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, the word ‘kia su’ (as it was written in its original form), was used to mean over-cautious soldiers who were afraid to fail. But for Lau, it also described “the trait of Singaporeans always wanting to be number one, always want to be ahead, keeping up with the Joneses,” as he put it. *
Though, in recent years, kiasuism has come under fire from politicians and others. Kuik Shiao-Yin, a nominated Member of Parliament criticised it for stifling creativity in business, saying that the kiasu entrepreneur is driven by anxiety to make short wins rather than winning at the long game. But other Singaporeans are determined to keep the kiasu spirit alive, like Cecilia Leong, a mother of four-year-old twins and a kiasu parent: “I realised that I have to give them the best that I can. Being in a competitive country, I do not wish to let my children lag behind other children,” she said, admitting that would cause her more stress. Her husband Lim Soon Jinn believes that because his country has no natural resources, being kiasu is key to its success. “Our forefathers survived through being competitive, and therefore as a parent we need to instil this spirit in our children from an early age.” Thus, kiasu is a deep-rooted sense that means that only by being ambitious and wanting to be the best will you (and your country) be able to thrive. *
What do you think? Does Singapore's context explain kiasu? Does kiasu really represent this instinct? Please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!
Thank you very much for passing by! And if you have an Untranslatable Word you'd like to suggest, please don't hesitate to do so! :)
Previous Untranslatable Words:
#1: Torschlusspanik
#2: Mono no aware
#3: Rasāsvāda
#4: Cavoli riscaldati
#5: Nefelibata
#6: Sturmfrei
#7: Jootha
#8: bilita mpash
#9: resfeber
#10: Vāde mēcum
#11: sankofa
#12: annus mirabilis
#13: voorpret
#14: pikit mata
#15: ranorànilac
#16: gagung
#17: gumusservi
#18: yaourter
#19: nunchi
#20: flâneur - the aesthetic experience of wandering through the city
#21: xibipíío - how the Pirahã deconverted a Christian man
#22: aduantas - rambling between two nuances
#23: Eh - Canada's proud politeness
#24: Janteloven - the egalitarian nature of Nordic countries
#25: Dadirri - finding the answers by contemplating ourselves
#26: catalepsy - doubting my senses
