Re: Useful Hokkien -- Class of '64 Message Board

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Subject: Re: Useful Hokkien

Author:
Ray

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Date Posted: 20:42:12 01/30/10 Sat
Author Host/IP: r220-101-162-163.cpe.unwired.net.au/220.101.162.163
In reply to: hss 's message, "Re: Useful Hokkien" on 15:44:44 01/30/10 Sat

>Ray wrote that Hokkien fairy tales begin with "Lim Peh
>ka lu kong..."
>
>Well Ray, actually, that expression would be better
>written as:
>
>�Nin peh ka lu kong ��.
>
>And as kids then the response to that, especially if
>came from another kid, was a sharp retort:
>
>�Lu si gua eh low peh ah?
>
>I picked up Hokkien as a very young child in a very
>Hokkien environment. Now I sometimes wonder if the
>fact that as child I could speak better Hokkien than
>Punjabi caused any dismay to my parents, but I think
>not. Our neighbours accepted me as one of their own
>without reservation and thus their cultural impact on
>me was very strong in my early life. Well, it made
>adjustment to my in-laws in the later years a breeze.
>
>Ray�s wants my testimony as to his proficiency in
>Hokkien. Well I could do no better than recall an
>occasion which might give a picture.
>
>Not long after we had left school we were having
>Hokkien mee near the Jalan Nanas area where Doc Lim
>now has his clinic.
>
>Ray was unhappy with the tea that had been served as
>it was too weak and so he very confidently told the
>hawker:
>
>�Lu eh teh boh kow lat!�
>
>The hawker looked very perplexed and so Ray went on to
>astound him further by saying:
>
>�Lu eh teh boh kow eiong!�
>
>So I had to help out by saying:
>
>�Eei kong lu eh teh seonh poh ah!�
>
>Hokkien is so tonal and writing it with an English
>alphabet is susah lah! Hope no translation is needed!
>
>Best regards.
>
>HSS

Hey, whose side are you on.....you are feeding ammo to the Inspector. And that Hokkien mee episode still sticks in my mind whenever I need to translate something literally.

OK, OK I admit my Hokkien may "not" be so hot - but you should have heard my Cantonese in Hong Kong when I gave a taxi driver directions where to take me.
He turned around and said (translated) "If you can't speak bloody Cantonese, don't bother". With that he retorted in fluent English: "now where do you want to go?"
After that I did not even dare to order 'Wantan Mee' in Cantonese.

That is the trouble when you are brought up in an English speaking environment and your native dialects suffer as a result of this. Nevertheless, I still stand by the fact that I can swear proficiently in both Chinese dialects - but now with an Aussie accent. Ha-ha-ha!

Ray

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Re: Useful Hokkien	NBH	00:13:48 01/31/10 Sun