Funny answers, funny explanations. Interesting stuff from one of those Facebook quizzes. Two examples, one for the male body part and the other for the female body part.
Nicole completed the quiz "What body part are you?" with the result You're a Dick!.
Otherwise known as a penis,schlong,dong,member,phallus,etc. You usually lay around doing nothing but it doesn't take much to get a rise out of you.That is,unless,of course, you have had too much to drink, you're really,really old, or someone has kicked you really hard.When you get over excited you tend to stiffen up and eventually throw up all over the place.Excelente' .
Katherine completed the quiz "What body part are you?" with the result Meow!.
Thats right.You're a pussy.Otherwise known as the vagina,snatch,gash,poon,love socket,fleshy taco. You may not be the prettiest of body parts,especially when you let your beard grow uncontrollably,but you make men feel warm and safe.Most of the time.There are a few days a month when,well,lets face it,you make us see red and you walk around surrounded by a bitch all the time..
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tioman After 15 Years
So I went to Tioman for the second time in my life after 15 long years. 4D3N. Many thanks to Kannan for organising everything. It's never easy to organise group trips, but he did it well, he got everything coordinated and ensured everyone had a whole lot of fun :)
Our stay at Sun Beach Resort never felt lonely, at least for the first two days. We had two corporate groups for company. One from Prabhu Bank, the other from Premium Group. The orange T-shirt guys from Prabhu Bank had their do on Friday night while the white-capped Premium groupies had a major blast on Saturday night.
Since the 100+ Premium groupies were mostly Indians, they had games where they made their managers dance in pairs to Tamil songs from the 1960s and 1970s on stage! I felt lucky to see something like a Tamil cultural festival with plenty of song and dance.
Nevertheless, our group of 19 souls (18 from Sunday onwards) still managed to party every night with a healthy mix of dance music and drinks thrown in. Bartenders Kannan and Michael Yap kept us happy with exotic concoctions of alcoholic beverages, duty-free to boot. DJ Xavier kept the music going, spinning salsa, bachata, club music and great stuff to keep us dancing on the sand. Literally.
No idea if other people have salsa-ed on Tioman before, if not, then we're the first. Our salsa and bachata sure caught some attention from some of the other guests - a few Malay guys on a fishing expedition, some Indian guys from the corporate group, and a Mat Salleh couple who looked somewhat Spanish to me.
We had outings for snorkeling and beaching at one island I forgot the name off the northwest point of Tioman, duty-free shopping at Kampung Tekek, and waterfall splashing at Asah on the remote southern point of Tioman. Snorkeling was nothing to shout about, beaching was great fun, and the waterfall was well worth the effort taken to get there.
Elaborating on the waterfall, please note that there are ZERO facilities there. No electricity and no piped water to the public toilets along the trail (quite an irony since there's so much water in the nearby river). Bring your own candles, torchlights (flashlights in American English), toilet roll or tissue paper, and be prepared to carry water from the nearby river. There should be an empty pail or two inside the toilet building.
The plunge pool is six feet deep, but the boulders have ledges where you can stand. There's a "children's section" with two to three feet deep water next to some long boulders. If you're adventurous, you can climb up the hillside trail to access more shallow pools uphill. At your own risk. No safety features whatsoever.
Getting to the sand beach on the island I forgot the name requires a boat ride. There are also no facilities there. Perhaps you could camp overnight if you have your own transport and enough water, I didn't see any obvious freshwater source on the island. If you wanna shit or pee there's the bushes. Sunbathe naked if you dare, which isn't a good idea since chances are you're not the only one around. But the sand and water there are so clear, it reminds me of one island off Phi Phi I visited in 2006.
Tekek has changed so much since 1994. I couldn't recognise the place. There's a giant waterfront construction thing like a promenade leading towards the Marine Park, which has an enclosed area with fish that come to you if you give them their daily bread. The fish will even eat your puke if you throw up due to seasickness.
An airstrip behind the main village has flights by Berjaya Air turboprops, and the one main street still has houses, shops, a clinic, two schools and whatnot. The moment you cross the bridge from the jetty to the main street you'll see plenty of black fruits hanging from trees. Wait a moment. They ain't fruits, they're fruit bats. Vauvaal in Tamil, pin fuk in Cantonese.
One thing Tioman has in common with Langkawi is duty-free shopping. In simple English that means alcoholic drinks come cheap. Three dollars (ringgits in local English parlance) for a can of beer. Tax-free mar, that's why lor. The duty-free shop in Tekek accepts credit cards for purchases above RM50/=. The Chinese uncle's shop in Kampung Genting also sells duty-free liquor but Tekek offers more variety.
I don't remember seeing any cars on Tioman way back then but there are a few MPV vans and a Kembara or two now. The old Mercedes minibus belonging to Berjaya Tioman Beach Resort still runs strong, covering the two-kilometre journey from the resort to the jetty as it did years ago.
There weren't any Chinese restaurants on Tioman during my first trip, but now there's a Chinese restaurant behind three Malay eateries near the Tekek jetty. It so happened that the lady from the Chinese restaurant was feeding the fish at the Marine Park enclosure, she saw me doing the same and chatted me up in Mandarin and English. That's how I found out about the place's existence.
I must say that the composition of our group made a lot of difference in the trip. Our diversity's our strength. Great companionship and great rapport made for a whole lot of enjoyment. I look forward to the next vacation trip, sometime, somewhere.
Word of warning: The ferry journey from Mersing and the intra-island boat trips can make you seasick. For the first time in my life I got seasick and felt like throwing up with numbness in my hands mixed with nausea. Didn't vomit 'cos I didn't eat, but it ain't pretty. Must take seasickness pills, and many thanks to Michael Soon for helping us out on this aspect.
Traveller's notes: Bring your own personal use items and electrical extension plug as the chalets may not have an extra electrical outlet available. Get an air-conditioned room if possible. You'll be thankful for the comfort it gives after a long tiring day. Bring enough cash as I didn't see any ATMs around.
Our stay at Sun Beach Resort never felt lonely, at least for the first two days. We had two corporate groups for company. One from Prabhu Bank, the other from Premium Group. The orange T-shirt guys from Prabhu Bank had their do on Friday night while the white-capped Premium groupies had a major blast on Saturday night.
Since the 100+ Premium groupies were mostly Indians, they had games where they made their managers dance in pairs to Tamil songs from the 1960s and 1970s on stage! I felt lucky to see something like a Tamil cultural festival with plenty of song and dance.
Nevertheless, our group of 19 souls (18 from Sunday onwards) still managed to party every night with a healthy mix of dance music and drinks thrown in. Bartenders Kannan and Michael Yap kept us happy with exotic concoctions of alcoholic beverages, duty-free to boot. DJ Xavier kept the music going, spinning salsa, bachata, club music and great stuff to keep us dancing on the sand. Literally.
No idea if other people have salsa-ed on Tioman before, if not, then we're the first. Our salsa and bachata sure caught some attention from some of the other guests - a few Malay guys on a fishing expedition, some Indian guys from the corporate group, and a Mat Salleh couple who looked somewhat Spanish to me.
We had outings for snorkeling and beaching at one island I forgot the name off the northwest point of Tioman, duty-free shopping at Kampung Tekek, and waterfall splashing at Asah on the remote southern point of Tioman. Snorkeling was nothing to shout about, beaching was great fun, and the waterfall was well worth the effort taken to get there.
Elaborating on the waterfall, please note that there are ZERO facilities there. No electricity and no piped water to the public toilets along the trail (quite an irony since there's so much water in the nearby river). Bring your own candles, torchlights (flashlights in American English), toilet roll or tissue paper, and be prepared to carry water from the nearby river. There should be an empty pail or two inside the toilet building.
The plunge pool is six feet deep, but the boulders have ledges where you can stand. There's a "children's section" with two to three feet deep water next to some long boulders. If you're adventurous, you can climb up the hillside trail to access more shallow pools uphill. At your own risk. No safety features whatsoever.
Getting to the sand beach on the island I forgot the name requires a boat ride. There are also no facilities there. Perhaps you could camp overnight if you have your own transport and enough water, I didn't see any obvious freshwater source on the island. If you wanna shit or pee there's the bushes. Sunbathe naked if you dare, which isn't a good idea since chances are you're not the only one around. But the sand and water there are so clear, it reminds me of one island off Phi Phi I visited in 2006.
Tekek has changed so much since 1994. I couldn't recognise the place. There's a giant waterfront construction thing like a promenade leading towards the Marine Park, which has an enclosed area with fish that come to you if you give them their daily bread. The fish will even eat your puke if you throw up due to seasickness.
An airstrip behind the main village has flights by Berjaya Air turboprops, and the one main street still has houses, shops, a clinic, two schools and whatnot. The moment you cross the bridge from the jetty to the main street you'll see plenty of black fruits hanging from trees. Wait a moment. They ain't fruits, they're fruit bats. Vauvaal in Tamil, pin fuk in Cantonese.
One thing Tioman has in common with Langkawi is duty-free shopping. In simple English that means alcoholic drinks come cheap. Three dollars (ringgits in local English parlance) for a can of beer. Tax-free mar, that's why lor. The duty-free shop in Tekek accepts credit cards for purchases above RM50/=. The Chinese uncle's shop in Kampung Genting also sells duty-free liquor but Tekek offers more variety.
I don't remember seeing any cars on Tioman way back then but there are a few MPV vans and a Kembara or two now. The old Mercedes minibus belonging to Berjaya Tioman Beach Resort still runs strong, covering the two-kilometre journey from the resort to the jetty as it did years ago.
There weren't any Chinese restaurants on Tioman during my first trip, but now there's a Chinese restaurant behind three Malay eateries near the Tekek jetty. It so happened that the lady from the Chinese restaurant was feeding the fish at the Marine Park enclosure, she saw me doing the same and chatted me up in Mandarin and English. That's how I found out about the place's existence.
I must say that the composition of our group made a lot of difference in the trip. Our diversity's our strength. Great companionship and great rapport made for a whole lot of enjoyment. I look forward to the next vacation trip, sometime, somewhere.
Word of warning: The ferry journey from Mersing and the intra-island boat trips can make you seasick. For the first time in my life I got seasick and felt like throwing up with numbness in my hands mixed with nausea. Didn't vomit 'cos I didn't eat, but it ain't pretty. Must take seasickness pills, and many thanks to Michael Soon for helping us out on this aspect.
Traveller's notes: Bring your own personal use items and electrical extension plug as the chalets may not have an extra electrical outlet available. Get an air-conditioned room if possible. You'll be thankful for the comfort it gives after a long tiring day. Bring enough cash as I didn't see any ATMs around.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Korean & Tamil Corresponding Letters
Korean & Tamil Corresponding Letters
Unaspirated Consonants
k/g ㄱ க்
n ㄴ ந்
d/t ㄷ த்
r/l ㄹ ர்/ல்
m ㅁ ம்
b/p ㅂ ப்
s ㅅ ச்/ஸ்
no sound (front), ng (end) ㅇ ங் (end only)
j ㅈ ஜ் (approximate)
Aspirated Consonants
ch ㅊ ச்/ச்ச்
k ㅋ க்
t ㅌ த்
p ㅍ ப்
h ㅎ ஹ்
Doubled Consonants
kk ㄲ க்க்
tt ㄸ ட்ட்
pp ㅃ ப்ப்
ss ㅆ ஸ்ஸ்
jj ㅉ ஜ்ஜ்
Vowels
a ㅏ அ
i ㅣ இ
u ㅜ உ
e ㅔ எ
o ㅗ ஒ
Diphthongs
ya ㅑ ய
yu ㅠ யு
ye ㅖ யெ
yo ㅛ யொ
ui ㅢ உய்
The following Korean sounds have no Tamil equivalent
ae ㅐ
yae ㅒ
eo ㅓ
yeo ㅕ
oe ㅚ
wae ㅙ
wa ㅘ
wi ㅟ
eu ㅡ
wo ㅝ
we ㅞ
Unaspirated Consonants
k/g ㄱ க்
n ㄴ ந்
d/t ㄷ த்
r/l ㄹ ர்/ல்
m ㅁ ம்
b/p ㅂ ப்
s ㅅ ச்/ஸ்
no sound (front), ng (end) ㅇ ங் (end only)
j ㅈ ஜ் (approximate)
Aspirated Consonants
ch ㅊ ச்/ச்ச்
k ㅋ க்
t ㅌ த்
p ㅍ ப்
h ㅎ ஹ்
Doubled Consonants
kk ㄲ க்க்
tt ㄸ ட்ட்
pp ㅃ ப்ப்
ss ㅆ ஸ்ஸ்
jj ㅉ ஜ்ஜ்
Vowels
a ㅏ அ
i ㅣ இ
u ㅜ உ
e ㅔ எ
o ㅗ ஒ
Diphthongs
ya ㅑ ய
yu ㅠ யு
ye ㅖ யெ
yo ㅛ யொ
ui ㅢ உய்
The following Korean sounds have no Tamil equivalent
ae ㅐ
yae ㅒ
eo ㅓ
yeo ㅕ
oe ㅚ
wae ㅙ
wa ㅘ
wi ㅟ
eu ㅡ
wo ㅝ
we ㅞ
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Dou Hip Dou Mou Yung La 道歉都冇用啦
你头先走嚟搵我道歉。道乜嘢歉？你喺呢度咁多日都唔同我讲声。临走嗰阵时後都唔同我讲。而家先讲。乜嘢意思？你话你有事所以见唔到我。哎吔，你当我天真咩？想搵我笨？重色轻友就重色轻友啦！使乜讲。。
你仲有胆话我＂你爱懊恼就懊恼囖，我只要你了解我嘅事情。＂ 咁都俾你讲得出。你唔值得我嘅了解。你冇资格做我嘅朋友。我冇时间理你。好彩你仲未遇到问题，我系等着你跌到 so that 你会知道太迟啦。
你仲有胆话我＂你爱懊恼就懊恼囖，我只要你了解我嘅事情。＂ 咁都俾你讲得出。你唔值得我嘅了解。你冇资格做我嘅朋友。我冇时间理你。好彩你仲未遇到问题，我系等着你跌到 so that 你会知道太迟啦。
Friday, July 24, 2009
25 样嘢 (Cantonese version of 25 Things)
既然咁多朋友都已经写底佢哋嘅 《25 样嘢》， 咁我就跟着写囖。
01) 我系本地制造嘅鬼佬。思想完全都系用英文嘅。
02) 我中意食印度餐。
03) 我唔识写华语嘅。唔好叫我写任何中文信件。
04) 我都系唔识讲华语嘅。虽然识睇多少唐人字， 但都用广东话嚟读出嚟嘅。
05) 我觉得我国嘅政治越嚟越黐线。
06) 为咗想了解 [印度教权利行动队](HINDRAF)嘅目标，我开始学 [他咪尔] (Tamil)话。
07) 我认为宗教系攞嚟控制人民嘅思想同埋行动。
08) 我觉得猫猫同埋狗狗好可爱嘅。
09) 喺我屋企有八只猫。
10) 我最中意 Kitty 小姐因为佢最黐我。
11) 以前我唔信命运； 过咗一段好辛苦嘅时间，我先信有咁嘅嘢。
12) 有时我好唔想讲话因为觉得讲乜嘢都冇用。
13) 我十五岁先开始想要学睇唐人字。因为想知道人哋嘅唐人名点样翻译去罗马字。
14) 我踹脚车最远系蕉赖保敦到咁邦班丹。
15) 我住喺 [南费城] (South Philly) 嗰阵时，就成日同一位越南华侨阿婶倾偈。佢讲嘅广东话好得意嘅。例如：＂有去做？＝ 有冇返工＂， ＂冇嘢做 ＝ 冇工做＂， ＂影相 ＝ 照 X 光＂， ＂你去呀？ ＝ 你走呀？＂，＂邮店 ＝ 邮政局＂， ＂去做 ＝ 上班＂， ＂嗰个嘢 ＝ 嗰个人＂。
16) 我有被两个黑人打劫过一次。 好彩冇受伤。
17) 读紧大学嘅时候，我哋学生们中意提起嗰个[巫师俱乐部] (Club Wizzards)。嗰间俱乐部系脱舞吧嚟嘅， 就喺 [亚美丽咖辣椒] (American Chilli's) 餐厅楼下。 好多大学生去嗰度睇靓女跳脱舞同埋杆位舞。一定要戴多啲散纸嚟俾 tips 呀。
18) 对我讲，生活俾我好多美好嘅回忆同埋好多伤心嘅悲事。我只想记得嗰啲好事，7完全忘记嗮嗰啲悲事。
19) 我觉得讲话加难过写字。 写咗嘅字仲有机会改， 但系讲咗嘅话唔可以收返。
20) 我自己俾嘅沙沙舞蹈俱乐部嘅名系： 小哈哇哪 (Little Havana)，沙沙哈哇哪 (Salsa Havana)，嘺吧/猪扒 (Qba)， 巴沙努哇 (Bossa Nova)， 六九俱乐部 (Club 69)，啊哩亚 (Aliyaa)，边疆 (Frontera)
21) 有个人问我究竟乜嘢系[拉丁] (Latin)。 我同佢讲，＂拉丁系一个古代语文喺好耐以前嘅罗马帝国时候嗰啲人讲嘅。＂ 讲咗之後我先知佢问嗰个拉丁其实系个种舞蹈。 哎吔！
22) 我有经历过台北，台中同埋广州嘅沙沙舞蹈现场。嗰度嘅女人多过男人两三倍。
23) 我有去过： 文来，香港，美国，澳洲嘅圣诞岛，新加坡，菲律宾嘅马尼拉， 泰国嘅曼谷同埋普吉，柬埔寨嘅吴哥窟，印尼嘅边丹岛， 台湾嘅台北同埋台中， 中国嘅广州市同埋肇庆市。
24) 我未上过吉隆坡高塔或者吉隆坡双子塔。但系 台北101，世界贸易中心， 帝国大厦， 自由女神像 我就上过囖。
25) 我喺卡啦屋企唱嗰啲歌完全都系背嗮咗嘅。因为我冇可能睇得嗮嗰啲中文歌词。 太快啦。
01) 我系本地制造嘅鬼佬。思想完全都系用英文嘅。
02) 我中意食印度餐。
03) 我唔识写华语嘅。唔好叫我写任何中文信件。
04) 我都系唔识讲华语嘅。虽然识睇多少唐人字， 但都用广东话嚟读出嚟嘅。
05) 我觉得我国嘅政治越嚟越黐线。
06) 为咗想了解 [印度教权利行动队](HINDRAF)嘅目标，我开始学 [他咪尔] (Tamil)话。
07) 我认为宗教系攞嚟控制人民嘅思想同埋行动。
08) 我觉得猫猫同埋狗狗好可爱嘅。
09) 喺我屋企有八只猫。
10) 我最中意 Kitty 小姐因为佢最黐我。
11) 以前我唔信命运； 过咗一段好辛苦嘅时间，我先信有咁嘅嘢。
12) 有时我好唔想讲话因为觉得讲乜嘢都冇用。
13) 我十五岁先开始想要学睇唐人字。因为想知道人哋嘅唐人名点样翻译去罗马字。
14) 我踹脚车最远系蕉赖保敦到咁邦班丹。
15) 我住喺 [南费城] (South Philly) 嗰阵时，就成日同一位越南华侨阿婶倾偈。佢讲嘅广东话好得意嘅。例如：＂有去做？＝ 有冇返工＂， ＂冇嘢做 ＝ 冇工做＂， ＂影相 ＝ 照 X 光＂， ＂你去呀？ ＝ 你走呀？＂，＂邮店 ＝ 邮政局＂， ＂去做 ＝ 上班＂， ＂嗰个嘢 ＝ 嗰个人＂。
16) 我有被两个黑人打劫过一次。 好彩冇受伤。
17) 读紧大学嘅时候，我哋学生们中意提起嗰个[巫师俱乐部] (Club Wizzards)。嗰间俱乐部系脱舞吧嚟嘅， 就喺 [亚美丽咖辣椒] (American Chilli's) 餐厅楼下。 好多大学生去嗰度睇靓女跳脱舞同埋杆位舞。一定要戴多啲散纸嚟俾 tips 呀。
18) 对我讲，生活俾我好多美好嘅回忆同埋好多伤心嘅悲事。我只想记得嗰啲好事，7完全忘记嗮嗰啲悲事。
19) 我觉得讲话加难过写字。 写咗嘅字仲有机会改， 但系讲咗嘅话唔可以收返。
20) 我自己俾嘅沙沙舞蹈俱乐部嘅名系： 小哈哇哪 (Little Havana)，沙沙哈哇哪 (Salsa Havana)，嘺吧/猪扒 (Qba)， 巴沙努哇 (Bossa Nova)， 六九俱乐部 (Club 69)，啊哩亚 (Aliyaa)，边疆 (Frontera)
21) 有个人问我究竟乜嘢系[拉丁] (Latin)。 我同佢讲，＂拉丁系一个古代语文喺好耐以前嘅罗马帝国时候嗰啲人讲嘅。＂ 讲咗之後我先知佢问嗰个拉丁其实系个种舞蹈。 哎吔！
22) 我有经历过台北，台中同埋广州嘅沙沙舞蹈现场。嗰度嘅女人多过男人两三倍。
23) 我有去过： 文来，香港，美国，澳洲嘅圣诞岛，新加坡，菲律宾嘅马尼拉， 泰国嘅曼谷同埋普吉，柬埔寨嘅吴哥窟，印尼嘅边丹岛， 台湾嘅台北同埋台中， 中国嘅广州市同埋肇庆市。
24) 我未上过吉隆坡高塔或者吉隆坡双子塔。但系 台北101，世界贸易中心， 帝国大厦， 自由女神像 我就上过囖。
25) 我喺卡啦屋企唱嗰啲歌完全都系背嗮咗嘅。因为我冇可能睇得嗮嗰啲中文歌词。 太快啦。
Nenek Tua's Cantonese and Indon Guy's Cantonese
Once upon a time in the USA I had the opportunity to stay in the same house with a Vietnam-born Chinese grandma (Nenek Tua) and a Chinese guy from Indonesia (Indonesian Cantonese) plus a few others.
It was interesting because all three of us are Cantonese by descent but born outside China, grew up in non-Chinese countries and speak different languages as our main language (me: English, Nenek Tua: Vietnamese, Indonesian Cantonese: Bahasa Indonesia). The only way we could chat with each other was through Cantonese, our only common language, also our ancestral language but spoken only as a second language.
It took me some time to get used to Nenek Tua's Cantonese. Her sentence structure shows heavy Vietnamese influence. e.g. "Yau hui jo? 有去做?" (got go do?) means "yau mo hui jo gung 有冇去做工" (got go work or not?). Bcos in Vietnamese it's "có đi làm"... "làm" means "do" or "work" in Vietnamese. Overlapping meanings... just like "hacer" means "to do" or "to make" in Spanish. Comparing all the languages that I know and am learning, each one has different ways of saying things and little interesting differences in structure and use of words plus overlapping meanings.
When I wanna go out, she'd ask "Nei yau mo hui... 你有冇去..." (you got go or not)... but go where? What she means is "you are going out or not?" which would be "nei yau mo hui kai a 你有冇去街呀?" Nenek Tua's sentences are often hanging... haha... Back to the "yau hui jo 有去做" thingy, the Vietnam Chinese usually say "hui jo 去做" instead of "jo gung 做工" for work, working or to work.
Some words same with Malaysian Cantonese are: lui 铝 (money), jung goo 仲估 (thought/guessed), bai yat 拜一, bai yee 拜二... laai bai 礼拜 (days of the week), hui liu 去辽 (holidaying/traveling), tong yan 唐人 (ethnic Chinese). In Hong Kong, those words would be chin 钱, yee wai 以为, sing kei yat 星期一, sing kei yee 星期二... sing kei yat 星期日, hui fong ga 去放假 / hui lui yau 去旅游, wah yan 华人 /jung gwok yan 中国人. I'm not sure whether Vietnam Cantonese uses "yat bai 一摆, leong bai 两摆" or "yat chi 一次, leong chi 两次". (one time, two times).
Nenek Tua's Cantonese (and what she means):
hui jo 去做 = go work
hui 去 = go out
ji 纸 = paper (any kind of paper... newspaper, toilet paper, normal paper also is referred to by the same word)
At first, when she asked me bout things, I thought.. do what? go where? what paper? Once, I said "sak che 塞车" (traffic jam), she asked whether my car was blocked... hahahaha... Onn Nam Yan 安南人 means ethnic Vietnamese as opposed to Tong Yan 唐人 (ethnic Chinese). gor gor ye 嗰个嘢 (that thing/person) is how she refers to both things and people. I remember saying gor tiu yau 嗰条友 back in Malaysia, but a better way to refer to people is gor gor yan 嗰个人 while gor gor ye 嗰个嘢 is more used for things.
Nenek Tua's English vocabulary:
microwave, computer, heat (this is how she calls both the heater and the kitchen ventilation fan... hehe), car, work, eat, sick, thank you, husband, nephew, my, no, speak, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, hi, bye... Unlike most Chinese who don't speak English, she pronounces R as R and not L because southern Vietnamese has the R sound.
As for Indonesian Cantonese guy, his pronunciation is more like those heong ha wa 乡下话 spoken in some of the Cantonese villages that differ significantly from Standard Cantonese. I can understand him though, it's not as different as my late grandma's (from father's side: marmar 嫲嫲) Sun Wooi Wa 新会话. Indon Cantonese guy uses "wooi 会" instead of "sik 识" or "hiu 晓" if he's referring to knowing how to do something. He also says "hook 哭" instead of "haam 喊" for crying.
It was interesting because all three of us are Cantonese by descent but born outside China, grew up in non-Chinese countries and speak different languages as our main language (me: English, Nenek Tua: Vietnamese, Indonesian Cantonese: Bahasa Indonesia). The only way we could chat with each other was through Cantonese, our only common language, also our ancestral language but spoken only as a second language.
It took me some time to get used to Nenek Tua's Cantonese. Her sentence structure shows heavy Vietnamese influence. e.g. "Yau hui jo? 有去做?" (got go do?) means "yau mo hui jo gung 有冇去做工" (got go work or not?). Bcos in Vietnamese it's "có đi làm"... "làm" means "do" or "work" in Vietnamese. Overlapping meanings... just like "hacer" means "to do" or "to make" in Spanish. Comparing all the languages that I know and am learning, each one has different ways of saying things and little interesting differences in structure and use of words plus overlapping meanings.
When I wanna go out, she'd ask "Nei yau mo hui... 你有冇去..." (you got go or not)... but go where? What she means is "you are going out or not?" which would be "nei yau mo hui kai a 你有冇去街呀?" Nenek Tua's sentences are often hanging... haha... Back to the "yau hui jo 有去做" thingy, the Vietnam Chinese usually say "hui jo 去做" instead of "jo gung 做工" for work, working or to work.
Some words same with Malaysian Cantonese are: lui 铝 (money), jung goo 仲估 (thought/guessed), bai yat 拜一, bai yee 拜二... laai bai 礼拜 (days of the week), hui liu 去辽 (holidaying/traveling), tong yan 唐人 (ethnic Chinese). In Hong Kong, those words would be chin 钱, yee wai 以为, sing kei yat 星期一, sing kei yee 星期二... sing kei yat 星期日, hui fong ga 去放假 / hui lui yau 去旅游, wah yan 华人 /jung gwok yan 中国人. I'm not sure whether Vietnam Cantonese uses "yat bai 一摆, leong bai 两摆" or "yat chi 一次, leong chi 两次". (one time, two times).
Nenek Tua's Cantonese (and what she means):
hui jo 去做 = go work
hui 去 = go out
ji 纸 = paper (any kind of paper... newspaper, toilet paper, normal paper also is referred to by the same word)
At first, when she asked me bout things, I thought.. do what? go where? what paper? Once, I said "sak che 塞车" (traffic jam), she asked whether my car was blocked... hahahaha... Onn Nam Yan 安南人 means ethnic Vietnamese as opposed to Tong Yan 唐人 (ethnic Chinese). gor gor ye 嗰个嘢 (that thing/person) is how she refers to both things and people. I remember saying gor tiu yau 嗰条友 back in Malaysia, but a better way to refer to people is gor gor yan 嗰个人 while gor gor ye 嗰个嘢 is more used for things.
Nenek Tua's English vocabulary:
microwave, computer, heat (this is how she calls both the heater and the kitchen ventilation fan... hehe), car, work, eat, sick, thank you, husband, nephew, my, no, speak, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, hi, bye... Unlike most Chinese who don't speak English, she pronounces R as R and not L because southern Vietnamese has the R sound.
As for Indonesian Cantonese guy, his pronunciation is more like those heong ha wa 乡下话 spoken in some of the Cantonese villages that differ significantly from Standard Cantonese. I can understand him though, it's not as different as my late grandma's (from father's side: marmar 嫲嫲) Sun Wooi Wa 新会话. Indon Cantonese guy uses "wooi 会" instead of "sik 识" or "hiu 晓" if he's referring to knowing how to do something. He also says "hook 哭" instead of "haam 喊" for crying.
How to Say "Please Give Me His Book" in Chinese
There are at least three ways to say "Please give me his book" in Chinese. Depends whether you're talking Mandarin, Cantonese or Classical Chinese.
Mandarin: 请给我他的书 qǐng gěi wǒ tā de shū
It's the same in both spoken and written Mandarin. The Cantonese pronunciation of these words would be "chíng kāp ngó tā dīk syū".
Cantonese: 唔该畀佢本书我 m ̀ gōi béi kéui bún syū ngó
That's how it's said in spoken Cantonese. The formal written version of Cantonese follows exactly the Mandarin grammar and Mandarin vocabulary, but pronounced in Cantonese. However, nobody says "chíng kāp ngó tā dīk syū" in real life. Everyone says "m ̀ gōi béi kéui bún syū ngó in real-life situations.
Classical Chinese: 求尔予我其书
Mandarin pronunciation: qiú ěr yǔ wǒ qí shū
Cantonese pronunciation: kàu yí yú ngó kèi syū
Nobody talks to each other in Classical Chinese anymore. It's only used in ancient literature and quotations from the classics. Since nobody remembers exactly how people pronounced those words 2000 years ago, everyone today uses their own dialect pronunciation when reading Classical Chinese. Ever thought of ordering a pizza in Classical Chinese?
Mandarin: 请给我他的书 qǐng gěi wǒ tā de shū
It's the same in both spoken and written Mandarin. The Cantonese pronunciation of these words would be "chíng kāp ngó tā dīk syū".
Cantonese: 唔该畀佢本书我 m ̀ gōi béi kéui bún syū ngó
That's how it's said in spoken Cantonese. The formal written version of Cantonese follows exactly the Mandarin grammar and Mandarin vocabulary, but pronounced in Cantonese. However, nobody says "chíng kāp ngó tā dīk syū" in real life. Everyone says "m ̀ gōi béi kéui bún syū ngó in real-life situations.
Classical Chinese: 求尔予我其书
Mandarin pronunciation: qiú ěr yǔ wǒ qí shū
Cantonese pronunciation: kàu yí yú ngó kèi syū
Nobody talks to each other in Classical Chinese anymore. It's only used in ancient literature and quotations from the classics. Since nobody remembers exactly how people pronounced those words 2000 years ago, everyone today uses their own dialect pronunciation when reading Classical Chinese. Ever thought of ordering a pizza in Classical Chinese?
Tamil Revision: Grantha Letters ஜ ஸ்ரீ ஸ ஹ ஷ க்ஷ
In addition to the vowels, consonants and aytam of the Tamil alphabet, there are several additional letters used mainly in writing loanwords from Sanskrit and other languages. These letters are called Grantha letters and aren't considered part of the original Tamil alphabet. Some writers try to avoid using them whenever possible. Even my Tamil dictionary published by Fajar Bakti doesn't have a listing of these letters.
To recap, these letters are ja, Srii, Sa, ha, sha and ksha. ஜ ஸ்ரீ ஸ ஹ ஷ க்ஷ. If a Tamil word has any one of these letters it's most likely a loanword, mainly from Sanskrit but some are from English and Arabic.
Quite a number of common words use Grantha letters, such as janangal ஜனங்கள் (people), juram ஜுரம் (fever), juulai ஜூலை (July), kashtam கஷ்டம் (trouble), varusham வருஷம் (year), rishi ரிஷி (no exact English translation, an approximation would be divine scribe or poet-sage through which the Vedas flowed), kshatriya க்ஷத்ரிய (warrior), nimisham நிமிஷம் (minute as a measure of time), puujai பூஜை (prayer), roojaa ரோஜா (rose), raajaa ராஜா (king), hatiiS ஹதீஸ் (hadith), hindi ஹிந்தி (Hindi), hoottal ஹோட்டல் (hotel), puStakam புஸ்தகம் (book), Staanam ஸ்தான (place, position), jananaayagam ஜனநாயகம் (democracy).
To recap, these letters are ja, Srii, Sa, ha, sha and ksha. ஜ ஸ்ரீ ஸ ஹ ஷ க்ஷ. If a Tamil word has any one of these letters it's most likely a loanword, mainly from Sanskrit but some are from English and Arabic.
Quite a number of common words use Grantha letters, such as janangal ஜனங்கள் (people), juram ஜுரம் (fever), juulai ஜூலை (July), kashtam கஷ்டம் (trouble), varusham வருஷம் (year), rishi ரிஷி (no exact English translation, an approximation would be divine scribe or poet-sage through which the Vedas flowed), kshatriya க்ஷத்ரிய (warrior), nimisham நிமிஷம் (minute as a measure of time), puujai பூஜை (prayer), roojaa ரோஜா (rose), raajaa ராஜா (king), hatiiS ஹதீஸ் (hadith), hindi ஹிந்தி (Hindi), hoottal ஹோட்டல் (hotel), puStakam புஸ்தகம் (book), Staanam ஸ்தான (place, position), jananaayagam ஜனநாயகம் (democracy).
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
How Centamil Differs From Koduntamil
Page 172 of Colloquial Tamil by R. E. Asher and E. Annamalai has a dialogue that shows how a speech is in Tamil with English translation. I have compiled the information here in the following order: English, Tamil writing, centamil and koduntamil.
English translation:
A doctor's profession is one of serving people. It's now becoming commercialised. I don't say doctors shouldn't make money. One shouldn't say, I'll give the treatment only if I've been paid.
Now all sorts of new diseases are coming. So much research is being done on them. If we study them, we can get a full understanding of the new diseases; we can make use of the new methods of treatment. For that a doctor must set aside time, must make an effort.
Whatever new treatment there is in any medical system to cure diseases, one must take it up.
Tamil writing in formal centamil:
டாக்டர் தொழில் மக்களுக்கு சேவை செய்கிற தொழில். அது இப்போது வியாபாரமாக ஆகிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறது. டாக்டர் பணம் பண்ண(க்) கூடாது என்று சொல்லவில்லை. பணத்தை எடுத்துவைத்தால்தான் வைத்தியம் பார்ப்பேன் என்று சோல்ல(க்) கூடாது.
இப்போது புது(ப்) புது வியாதி எல்லாம் வருகிறது. அதை(ப்) பற்றி எவ்வளவோ ஆராய்ச்சி நடக்கிறது. அதை(ப்) படித்து தெரிந்துகொண்டால் புது வியாதிகளை முழுதாக புரிந்துகொள்ள முடியும்; புது சிகிச்சை முறைகளை(ப்) பயன்படுத்த முடியும் என்று நினைக்கிறேன். அதற்கு டாக்டர் நேரம் ஒதுக்க வேண்டும்; முயற்சி எடுக்க வேண்டும்.
வியாதியை(க்) குணப்படுத்த எந்த மருத்துவ முறையில் நல்ல வழி இருந்தாலும் அதை எடுத்துக்கொள்ள வேண்டும்...
Centamil pronunciation:
daaktar toḻil makkaLukku seevai seykiRa toḻil. adu ippoodu viyaabaaramaaka aagikkoNdirukkiRadu. daaktar paNam paNNa(k) kuudaadu enRu sollavillai. paNattai eduttuvaittaaldaan vaittiyam paarppeen enRu soolla(k) kuudaadu.
ippoodu pudu(p) pudu viyaadi ellaam varukiRadu. adai(p) paRRi evvaLavoo aaraaycci nadakkiRadu. adai(p) padittu terintukoNdaal pudu viyaadigaLai muḻutaaga purindukoLLa mudiyum; pudu sigiccai muRaigaLai(p) payanpadutta mudiyum enRu ninaikkiReen. adaRku daaktar neeram otukka veeNdum; muyaRci edukka veeNdum.
viyaadiyai(k) kuNappadutta enda maruttuva muRaiyil nalla vaḻi irundaalum adai eduttukkoLLa veeNdum...
Koduntamil pronunciation:
daaktar toḻil makkaLukku seeve seyra toḻil. adu ippa viyaabaaramaa aagikitturukku. daaktar paNam paNNa kuudaadu-nnu sollale. paNatte eduttuvaccaadaan vayttiyam paappeen-nu solla kuudaadu.
ippa pudu pudu viyaadi ellaam varudu. ade patti evLavoo aaraaycci nadakkudu. ade padiccu terinjikittaa pudu viyaadigaLe muḻusaa purinjikida mudiyum; pudu sigicce moregaLe payanapadutta mudiyum-nu nenekkireen. adukku daaktar neeram odukkaNum; muyarci edukkaNum.
viyaadiye koNapadutta enda maruttuva morele nalla vaḻi irundaalum ade eduttukidaNum...
English translation:
A doctor's profession is one of serving people. It's now becoming commercialised. I don't say doctors shouldn't make money. One shouldn't say, I'll give the treatment only if I've been paid.
Now all sorts of new diseases are coming. So much research is being done on them. If we study them, we can get a full understanding of the new diseases; we can make use of the new methods of treatment. For that a doctor must set aside time, must make an effort.
Whatever new treatment there is in any medical system to cure diseases, one must take it up.
Tamil writing in formal centamil:
டாக்டர் தொழில் மக்களுக்கு சேவை செய்கிற தொழில். அது இப்போது வியாபாரமாக ஆகிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறது. டாக்டர் பணம் பண்ண(க்) கூடாது என்று சொல்லவில்லை. பணத்தை எடுத்துவைத்தால்தான் வைத்தியம் பார்ப்பேன் என்று சோல்ல(க்) கூடாது.
இப்போது புது(ப்) புது வியாதி எல்லாம் வருகிறது. அதை(ப்) பற்றி எவ்வளவோ ஆராய்ச்சி நடக்கிறது. அதை(ப்) படித்து தெரிந்துகொண்டால் புது வியாதிகளை முழுதாக புரிந்துகொள்ள முடியும்; புது சிகிச்சை முறைகளை(ப்) பயன்படுத்த முடியும் என்று நினைக்கிறேன். அதற்கு டாக்டர் நேரம் ஒதுக்க வேண்டும்; முயற்சி எடுக்க வேண்டும்.
வியாதியை(க்) குணப்படுத்த எந்த மருத்துவ முறையில் நல்ல வழி இருந்தாலும் அதை எடுத்துக்கொள்ள வேண்டும்...
Centamil pronunciation:
daaktar toḻil makkaLukku seevai seykiRa toḻil. adu ippoodu viyaabaaramaaka aagikkoNdirukkiRadu. daaktar paNam paNNa(k) kuudaadu enRu sollavillai. paNattai eduttuvaittaaldaan vaittiyam paarppeen enRu soolla(k) kuudaadu.
ippoodu pudu(p) pudu viyaadi ellaam varukiRadu. adai(p) paRRi evvaLavoo aaraaycci nadakkiRadu. adai(p) padittu terintukoNdaal pudu viyaadigaLai muḻutaaga purindukoLLa mudiyum; pudu sigiccai muRaigaLai(p) payanpadutta mudiyum enRu ninaikkiReen. adaRku daaktar neeram otukka veeNdum; muyaRci edukka veeNdum.
viyaadiyai(k) kuNappadutta enda maruttuva muRaiyil nalla vaḻi irundaalum adai eduttukkoLLa veeNdum...
Koduntamil pronunciation:
daaktar toḻil makkaLukku seeve seyra toḻil. adu ippa viyaabaaramaa aagikitturukku. daaktar paNam paNNa kuudaadu-nnu sollale. paNatte eduttuvaccaadaan vayttiyam paappeen-nu solla kuudaadu.
ippa pudu pudu viyaadi ellaam varudu. ade patti evLavoo aaraaycci nadakkudu. ade padiccu terinjikittaa pudu viyaadigaLe muḻusaa purinjikida mudiyum; pudu sigicce moregaLe payanapadutta mudiyum-nu nenekkireen. adukku daaktar neeram odukkaNum; muyarci edukkaNum.
viyaadiye koNapadutta enda maruttuva morele nalla vaḻi irundaalum ade eduttukidaNum...
Monday, July 13, 2009
Lyrics & Romanization: Hung Yat (Hacken Lee) 紅日 (李克勤)
Translation from
http://hacken-lyrics.blogspot.com/2007/02/red-day.html
Music video with Chinese lyrics at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtVIbcPTy_M
Romanization by me
紅日 - hung yat - red day
曲:立川俊之
kuk: laap chyun jeun ji
music: tachikawa toshiyuki
詞:李克勤
chi: lei hak kan
lyrics: hacken lee
編:方樹樑
pin: fong syu leung
arranged: kenneth fong
碟: 紅日
dip: hung yat
album: red day
命運就算顛沛流離
mingwan jausyun din pui lau lei
even if life is crazy
命運就算曲折離奇
mingwan jausyun kuk jit leikei
and the road is twisted and winding
命運就算恐嚇著你做人沒趣味
mingwan jausyun hunghaak jeuk nei jouyan mut cheuimei
if life terrifies you and you no longer feel like living
別流淚 心酸 更不應捨棄
bit lau leui sam syun gang batying sehei
please don't cry, or feel disheartened, don't give up
我願能 一生永遠陪伴你
ngo yun nang yatsaang wingyun puipun nei
I will be by your side forever
一生之中兜兜轉轉 那會看清楚
yatsaang jijung daudau jyunjyun na wui hon chingcho
with the twists and turns of life, how can one see clearly?
徬徨時我也試過獨坐一角像是沒協助
pongwong si ngo ya si gwo duk jo yat gok jeung si mut hipjo
I have tried to make it on my own without help
在某年 那幼小的我
joi mau nin na yau siu dik ngo
in those years, when I was young
跌倒過幾多幾多落淚在雨夜滂沱
ditdou gwo geido geido lok leui joi yu ye pong to
I fell so many times, with the tears keeping me company through the rainy nights
一生之中彎彎曲曲我也要走過
yatsaang jijung waanwaan kukkuk ngo ya yiu jau gwo
the path of life so twisted and winding, I have walked it
從何時有你有你伴我給我熱烈地拍和
chung hosi yau nei yau nei pun ngo kap ngo yitlit dei paak wo
when did you start to accompany me on this path, giving me encouragement?
像紅日之火 燃點真的我
jeung hung yat ji fo yin dim jan dik ngo
like the red sun, this fire lights up the real me
結伴行 千山也定能踏過
git pun hang chin saan ya ding nang daap gwo
walking together, we can climb a thousand mountains
讓晚風 輕輕吹過
yeung maan fung hinghing cheui gwo
watching the night wind lightly blowing past
伴送著清幽花香像是在祝福你我
pun sung lok ching yau fa heung jeung si joi jukfuk nei ngo
bringing with it the fragrant scent of flowers, as if bestowing its wishes on us
讓晚星 輕輕閃過
yeung maan sing hinghing sim gwo
watching the night stars shooting by
閃出你每個希冀如浪花 快要沾濕我
sim cheut nei mui go heikei yu longfa faai yiu jim sap ngo
revealing your every wish like waves about to fall on me
http://hacken-lyrics.blogspot.com/2007/02/red-day.html
Music video with Chinese lyrics at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtVIbcPTy_M
Romanization by me
紅日 - hung yat - red day
曲:立川俊之
kuk: laap chyun jeun ji
music: tachikawa toshiyuki
詞:李克勤
chi: lei hak kan
lyrics: hacken lee
編:方樹樑
pin: fong syu leung
arranged: kenneth fong
碟: 紅日
dip: hung yat
album: red day
命運就算顛沛流離
mingwan jausyun din pui lau lei
even if life is crazy
命運就算曲折離奇
mingwan jausyun kuk jit leikei
and the road is twisted and winding
命運就算恐嚇著你做人沒趣味
mingwan jausyun hunghaak jeuk nei jouyan mut cheuimei
if life terrifies you and you no longer feel like living
別流淚 心酸 更不應捨棄
bit lau leui sam syun gang batying sehei
please don't cry, or feel disheartened, don't give up
我願能 一生永遠陪伴你
ngo yun nang yatsaang wingyun puipun nei
I will be by your side forever
一生之中兜兜轉轉 那會看清楚
yatsaang jijung daudau jyunjyun na wui hon chingcho
with the twists and turns of life, how can one see clearly?
徬徨時我也試過獨坐一角像是沒協助
pongwong si ngo ya si gwo duk jo yat gok jeung si mut hipjo
I have tried to make it on my own without help
在某年 那幼小的我
joi mau nin na yau siu dik ngo
in those years, when I was young
跌倒過幾多幾多落淚在雨夜滂沱
ditdou gwo geido geido lok leui joi yu ye pong to
I fell so many times, with the tears keeping me company through the rainy nights
一生之中彎彎曲曲我也要走過
yatsaang jijung waanwaan kukkuk ngo ya yiu jau gwo
the path of life so twisted and winding, I have walked it
從何時有你有你伴我給我熱烈地拍和
chung hosi yau nei yau nei pun ngo kap ngo yitlit dei paak wo
when did you start to accompany me on this path, giving me encouragement?
像紅日之火 燃點真的我
jeung hung yat ji fo yin dim jan dik ngo
like the red sun, this fire lights up the real me
結伴行 千山也定能踏過
git pun hang chin saan ya ding nang daap gwo
walking together, we can climb a thousand mountains
讓晚風 輕輕吹過
yeung maan fung hinghing cheui gwo
watching the night wind lightly blowing past
伴送著清幽花香像是在祝福你我
pun sung lok ching yau fa heung jeung si joi jukfuk nei ngo
bringing with it the fragrant scent of flowers, as if bestowing its wishes on us
讓晚星 輕輕閃過
yeung maan sing hinghing sim gwo
watching the night stars shooting by
閃出你每個希冀如浪花 快要沾濕我
sim cheut nei mui go heikei yu longfa faai yiu jim sap ngo
revealing your every wish like waves about to fall on me
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