D i s a r r a y

Blog hopping, saw the link to wikipedia, funny stuff:

"Ah Lian is a pejorative term commonly given to a certain group of young Chinese girls in Southeast Asia, especially Singapore and Malaysia. These Chinese girls, whose age ranging from their adolescent years to late 20s, usually centralised in the busier and more developed cities in the region. They are regarded as bimbos, and are stereotyped as anti-intellectual, superficial, materialistic, and shallow. Ah Lians are commonly stereotyped as having hair dyed in gaudy and bright colours, and attired in fashion mimicking hip-hop culture, although how much of this is true is debatable. Since their male counterpart is the Ah Beng, Ah Lians are also thought of as being excessively flashy and show-offs.

The Ah Lian "culture" is especially prevalent in the secular Chinese educational system schools, typified by their frequent use of vulgarities and appearance in cliques (joined by their male counter parts Ah Bengs).

Ah Lians commonly speak in a kind of hybrid mix of Singlish or Manglish and Chinese, or Chinese-related dialects. It is also common for the grammar from these dialects to cross over English usage, creating English phrases with Chinese grammar."

AND

"

Ah Beng is a term commonly given to a member of a group of young Chinese men in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia. These Chinese men, whose age ranging from their early teens to late 20s, usually centralise in the busier and more developed cities in the region, but are usually seen as originating from smaller or more rural towns. Ah bengs typically speak local slang, which is Hokkien or Cantonese mixed with English and Malay, such as Manglish or Singlish. They are often stereotypically portrayed to be anti-intellectual, superficial and materialistic and shallow. These values often lead to a lack of culture or indulgence in criminal activity or being involved in brawling or arguing 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 being excessively flashy and show-offs. Ah Beng commonly are seen in gaudy patterned shirts, loafers without socks, gold jade rings and gold often counterfeit Rolexes .

The term 'Ah Beng' is also sometimes used to describe young Chinese men in Southeast Asia who cannot speak fluent English and/or have graduated from the secular Chinese education system of the region.

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."

Source: Wikipedia, 2007