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The first dictionary of Hokkien, The Chinese-English Dictionary of the Vernacular or Spoken Language of Amoy, by Carstairs Douglas was published in 1873 with a supplement by Thomas Barclay added in 1923. There have been reprints of these dated works in Taiwan where Hokkien is widely spoken, but there was no dictionary of Penang Hokkien until this publication.

• This is the first dictionary of Penang Hokkien, a unique language which uses loan words from Malay and English.
• The dictionary has over 12 000 entries and is designed to be user-friendly for both native speakers as well as learners of the language.
• Definitions of Hokkien words and phrases are in English. There is a separate glossary of English-Penang Hokkien to help the user to find Hokkien words.
• The dictionary has explanations on each entry and how it is used. Examples on how the word is used are included as far as is possible. Each entry is separate and is not listed as a sub-entry. This means that the user need not be a fluent speaker to find the Hokkien words and their definitions.
• The introduction has a key on the notable features of the dictionary and explanations on how the dictionary can be used.

The dictionary will help maintain Penang Hokkien in the face of the growing influence and use of Mandarin among the various ethnic Chinese groups in Malaysia. This unique contribution to language maintenance is the result of research and dictionary development by Penangite, Tan Siew Imm of the Centre for English Language Studies, Sunway University. It is published by Sunway University Press.