As a linguist, I
am fascinated with the recent debate on the origin of popia as reported
in local dailies. We read that the Indonesians claimed that popia or lumpia as it
called in Indonesia originated from Indonesia.
As we all know, popiah
is a popular food enjoyed by all Malaysians. Popia is not only popular in
Malaysia and Indonesia, but also in other Asian nations like Singapore Korea,
Taiwan, and Vietnam.
This spring-roll actually
originated from China and it was introduced by the Chinese when they settled in
South-east Asia as early as 15th century. As they settled in many
parts of Asia, this delicacy was introduced as a food item in all these
countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia.
According to the
renowned linguist, Russell Jones, etymologically the word originated from China.
In his book Chinese Loan-Words in Malay and Indonesian (2009), Jones
states that the word popia comes from the Chinese word pop-pia, and
lumpia from lun-pia. Over the years popia has undergone much improvisation
according to the culture and location. For example, popia is a fresh spring
roll where else lumpia is fried version of the delicacy.
The word popiah was
first was recorded in Malay Language by Teuku Iskander in his compilation, Kamus
Dewan published in 1970 by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the custodian of the
Malay Language. Tthe word popiah has
also entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1986, as a Malay Chinese word
originated from the Hokkien dialect, meaning a thin pancake.
I feel it is futile
to debate on such petty issues as commented by Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Nik
Safiah Karim recently. Chef Wan has also correctly pointed out that it is fruitless
to argue whether popia or lumpia belongs to Indonesia or otherwise. Both are
delicacies in each country.
Ironically, the
Chinese are not even claiming that popia comes from China. The very fact remains
that popia is a delicacy in Malaysia and as well in many Asian countries like Indonesia.
In each country, it is called in different names.
So let us forge
on without any enmity between the neighbouring nations of Malaysia and Indonesia
focusing on much urgent issues of mutual cooperation and understanding among
the peoples of the two nations. After all, language is just a tool to name
items found in the world, including food items.
