Jardinggu (or the Kristang Lexical Incubator) provided a space for the discussion and accelerated addition of new words through communal sunyeskah or dreamfishing into the Kristang lexicon from 2017 to 2020. Jardinggu itself is a word dreamfished from Kristang jarding + linggu, meaning ‘language garden’.
In 2017 when we first started the Jardinggu initiative, the team (consisting of heritage speakers, linguists, new learners of Kristang, and language aficionados) had the privilege of convening every two months in a restauant to dreamfish and discuss the proposed new words in person. Since August 2022, with the inclusion of dreamfishing into the mainline Kristang classes, the Jardinggu has generally been seen to have fulfilled its purpose of providing an initial scaffolding step for dreamfishing to once again begin in Singapore.
The Kodrah Kristang team continues to seek to encourage more young people to learn and speak Kristang, and to dreamfish new words and concepts. Many young people otherwise would not see the value in learning a language that is not ready for the modern age, and lacks words for concepts in English that are important today, like “website”, “democracy” and “wifi”. Many concepts in English such as “attention-deficit hyperactive disorder” also have rather negative associations that come along with their use (e.g. in the words “deficit” and “disorder”); dreamfishing allows us to find alternate and healthier ways of expressing these concepts in Kristang (and eventually possibly in English too!)
Suggested words from previous meetings
2017 Ingkontru 01 Palabra Nubu (Sabdu, 8 Abril 2017)
2017 Ingkontru 02 Palabra Nubu (Sabdu, 10 Junyu 2017)
2017 Ingkontru 03 Palabra Nubu (Sabdu, 19 Agostu 2017)