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24-06-2013, 04:00 AM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
It is my humble opinion that it originates from the Arabic "W'allah!", a meaning which has the equivalent of "Oh my God!" in English.
Now in the early days of Singapore history, with mainly Hokkien immigrants from China in their interaction with the local Arabs and Malay Muslims could not have helped noticing "W'allah!" as the common expression of indignation and exasperation among the Muslims. This developed into the bastardisation of "W'allah!" into the Hokkien "Wah Lau![My Father!].
The Teochews not to be outdone..{neh neh kor chi!}...came out with their own version....."Wah Peh Oi!" with the same meaning as in Hokkien.
The Cantonese being the smaller minority dialect group chose to stay out of the mainstream retaining their dignifying and perennial" Leh Loh Mo Kor Hai!" as yours truly is a fine example.
The fucking Hakkas were too busy scheming to take political control..........................
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?155354-The-origin-of-the-colloquial-quot-Wah-Lau!-quot&goto=newpost).
It is my humble opinion that it originates from the Arabic "W'allah!", a meaning which has the equivalent of "Oh my God!" in English.
Now in the early days of Singapore history, with mainly Hokkien immigrants from China in their interaction with the local Arabs and Malay Muslims could not have helped noticing "W'allah!" as the common expression of indignation and exasperation among the Muslims. This developed into the bastardisation of "W'allah!" into the Hokkien "Wah Lau![My Father!].
The Teochews not to be outdone..{neh neh kor chi!}...came out with their own version....."Wah Peh Oi!" with the same meaning as in Hokkien.
The Cantonese being the smaller minority dialect group chose to stay out of the mainstream retaining their dignifying and perennial" Leh Loh Mo Kor Hai!" as yours truly is a fine example.
The fucking Hakkas were too busy scheming to take political control..........................
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?155354-The-origin-of-the-colloquial-quot-Wah-Lau!-quot&goto=newpost).