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Hong Kong Cantonese

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Hong Kong Cantonese
香港粵語; 港式廣東話
Native toHong Kong and some Overseas Communities
RegionPearl River Delta
EthnicityHongkongers
Traditional Chinese
Language codes
ISO 639-3
ISO 639-6xgng
yue-yue
 yue-can
Glottologxian1255
Linguasphere79-AAA-mac
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese香港粵語
Simplified Chinese香港粤语
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXiānggǎng yuèyǔ
Bopomofoㄒㄧㄤ ㄍㄤˇ ㄩㄝˋ ㄩˇ
Wade–GilesHsiang1-kang3 Yüeh4-yü3
Tongyong PinyinSianggǎng yuè-yǔ
IPA[ɕjáŋ.kàŋ ɥê ỳ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationHēung góng yuht yúh
Jyutpinghoeng1 gong2 jyut6 jyu5
IPA[hœŋ˥ kɔŋ˧˥ jyt̚˨ jy˩˧]
Hong Kong-style Cantonese
Traditional Chinese港式粵語
Transcriptions
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationGóng sīk yuht yúh
Jyutpinggong2 sik1 jyut6 jyu5
IPA[kɔŋ˧˥ sɪk̚˥ jyt̚˨ jy˩˧]
Hong Kong-Guangdong dialect
Traditional Chinese香港廣東話
Transcriptions
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationHēung góng gwóng dūng wá
Jyutpinghoeng1 gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2
IPA[hœŋ˥ kɔŋ˧˥ kʷɔŋ˧˥ tʊŋ˥ wa˧˥]
Hong Kong-Guangzhou dialect
Traditional Chinese香港廣州話
Transcriptions
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationHēung góng gwóng jāu wá
Jyutpinghoeng1 gong2 gwong2 zau1 waa2
IPA[hœŋ˥ kɔŋ˧˥ kʷɔŋ˧˥ tsɐw˥ wa˧˥]

Hong Kong Cantonese is a dialect of the Cantonese language of the Sino-Tibetan family.

Although Hongkongers refer to the language as "Cantonese" (廣東話), publications in mainland China describe the variant as Hong Kong dialect (香港廣東話), due to the differences between the pronunciation used in Hong Kong Cantonese and that of the Cantonese spoken in neighbouring Guangdong Province where Cantonese (based on the Guangzhou dialect) is a lingua franca.

Over the years, Hong Kong Cantonese has also absorbed foreign terminology and developed a large set of Hong Kong-specific terms. Code-switching with English is also common. These are the result of British rule between 1841 and 1997, as well as the closure of the Hong Kong–mainland China border immediately after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

History

[edit]

Before the arrival of British settlers in 1842, the inhabitants of Hong Kong mainly spoke the Dongguan-Bao'an (Tungkun–Po'on)[1] and Tanka dialects of Yue, as well as Hakka[2] and Teochew. These languages and dialects are all remarkably different from Guangzhou Cantonese, and not mutually intelligible.

After the British acquired Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories from the Qing in 1841 (officially 1842) and 1898, large numbers [quantify] of merchants and workers came to Hong Kong from the city of Canton, the main centre of Cantonese. Cantonese became the dominant spoken language in Hong Kong. The extensive migration from mainland Cantonese-speaking areas to Hong Kong continued up until 1949, when the Communists took over mainland China.

In 1949, the year that the People's Republic of China was established, Hong Kong saw a large influx of refugees from mainland China, prompting the Hong Kong Government to close its border.[citation needed] Illegal immigration from mainland China into Hong Kong nevertheless continued. During the 1950s, the Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong remained very similar to that in Canton, but the proportion of Cantonese speakers did not surpass 50% of the population in Hong Kong.[1]

Movement, communication and relations between Hong Kong and mainland China became very limited, and consequently the evolution of Cantonese in Hong Kong diverged from that of Guangzhou. In mainland China, the use of Mandarin as the official language and in education was enforced. In Hong Kong, Cantonese is the medium of instruction in schools, along with written English and written Chinese. As such, since the 1970s the percentage of Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong has risen to about 90%.[1]

Because of the long exposure to English during the colonial period, a large number of English words were loaned into Hong Kong Cantonese, e.g. "巴士" (IPA: /páːsǐː/, Cantonese Jyutping: baa1 si2), from the English "bus"; compare this with the equivalent from Standard Mandarin, 公共汽車 (Jyutping: gung1 gung6 hei3 ce1; pinyin: gōnggòng qìchē). Consequently, the vocabularies of Cantonese in mainland China and Hong Kong substantially differ.[1] Moreover, the pronunciation of Cantonese changed while the change either did not occur in mainland China or took place much more slowly. For example, merging of initial /n/ into /l/ and the deletion of /ŋ/ were observed.

Phonology

[edit]

In modern-day Hong Kong, many native speakers no longer distinguish between certain phoneme pairs, leading to instances of sound change through mergers. Although considered non-standard and denounced as "lazy sound" (懶音) by purists, the phenomena are widespread and not restricted to Hong Kong.[3] Contrary to impressions, some of these changes are not recent. The loss of the velar nasal (/ŋ/) was documented by Williams (1856), and the substitution of the liquid nasal (/l/) for the nasal initial (/n/) was documented by Cowles (1914).

List of observed shifts:[4]

  • Merging of /n/ initial into /l/ initial.
  • Merging of /ŋ/ initial into null initial.
  • Merging of /kʷ/ and /kʷʰ/ initials into /k/ and /kʰ/ when followed by /ɔː/. Note that /ʷ/ is the only glide (介音) in Cantonese.
  • Merging of /ŋ/ and /k/ codas into /n/ and /t/ codas respectively, eliminating contrast between these pairs of finals (except after /e/ and /o/[clarification needed]): /aːn/-/aːŋ/, /aːt/-/aːk/, /ɐn/-/ɐŋ/, /ɐt/-/ɐk/, /ɔːn/-/ɔːŋ/ and /ɔːt/-/ɔːk/.
  • Merging of the two syllabic nasals, /ŋ̩/ into /m̩/, eliminating the contrast of sounds between (surname Ng) and (not).
  • Merging of the rising tones (陰上 2nd and 陽上 5th).[5]

In educated Hong Kong Cantonese speech, these sound mergers are avoided, and many older speakers still distinguish between those phoneme categories. With the sound changes, the name of Hong Kong's Hang Seng Bank (香港恆生銀行), Jyutping: Hoeng1 gong2 hang4 sang1 ngan4 hong4, /hœ́ːŋ kɔ̌ːŋ hɐ̏ŋ sɐ́ŋ ŋɐ̏n hɔ̏ːŋ/, literally Hong Kong Constant Growth Bank, becomes /hœ́ːn kɔ̌ːn hɐ̏n sɐ́n ɐ̏n hɔ̏ːn/, sounding like Hon' Kon' itchy body 'un cold ('香港'痕身un寒). The name of Cantonese itself (廣東話, "Guangdong speech") would be Jyutping: Gwong2 dung1 waa2, IPA: /kʷɔ̌ːŋ tʊ́ŋ wǎː/ without the merger, whereas /kɔ̌ːŋ tʊ́ŋ wǎː/ (sounding like "講東話": "say eastern speech") and /kɔ̌ːn tʊ́ŋ wǎː/ (sounding like "趕東話" : "chase away eastern speech") are overwhelmingly common in Hong Kong.[6]

The shift affects the way some Hong Kong people speak other languages as well. This is especially evident in the pronunciation of certain English names: "Nicole" pronounce [lekˈkou̯], "Nancy" pronounce [ˈlɛnsi] etc. A very common example of the mixing of /n/ and /l/ is that of the word , meaning "you". Even though the standard pronunciation should be /nei/, the word is often pronounced /lei/, which is the surname , or the word , meaning theory. The merger of /n/ and /l/ also affects the choice of characters when the Cantonese media transliterates foreign names. [citation needed]

Prescriptivists who try to correct these "lazy sounds" often end up introducing hypercorrections. For instance, while attempting to ensure that people pronounce the initial /ŋ/, they may introduce it into words which have historically had a null-initial.[3] One common example is that of the word , meaning "love", where even though the standard pronunciation is Jyutping: oi3, IPA: /ɔ̄ːi/, the word is often pronounced Jyutping: ngoi3, /ŋɔ̄ːi/. A similar phenomenon occurs in various Mandarin dialects (e.g. Southwestern Mandarin).[7]

Unique phrases and expressions

[edit]

Hong Kong Cantonese has developed a number of phrases and expressions that are unique to the context of Hong Kong. Examples are:

Table of Colloquial Cantonese Expressions
Colloquial Cantonese Expressions(pronunciation) Literally Colloquially Explanation
離譜 (lei4 pou2)

Example: 佢遲咗成粒鐘,真係離譜!

English: He's an hour late. So outrageous!

depart from the score absurd/outrageous/ridiculous/illogical music score
撞板 (zong6 baan2)

Example: 成日都咁衝動,抵佢今次撞板。

English: He is always so impulsive, no wonder he's got into trouble this time.

conflicting beat make mistakes/get into trouble beat in Cantonese Opera
(cyun3)

Example: 你洗唔洗咁串呀!

English: Do you have to be so harsh?

skewer/to string/vulgar harsh/extreme bluntness, lack of tact colloquial usage for police handcuffing, broadened to incorporate harsh expression generally; alternatively, by modification of the tone value for "vulgar"
是但 (si6 daan6)

Example: A: 你想去邊度食飯? B: 是但啦!

English: A: Where do you want to go to eat? B: Anything will do!

is/yes but whatever/anything will do/I'm easy

derived from 肆無忌憚 (si3 mo4 gei6 daan6, disregard of constraints)

冬瓜豆腐 (dung1 gwaa1 dau6 fu6)

Example: 你有乜冬瓜豆腐,我會好傷心㗎!

English: I would be miserable if you died.

winter melon tofu to die votive food offerings at funerals

Loanwords

[edit]

Life in Hong Kong is characterised by the blending of southern Chinese with other Asian and Western cultures, as well as the city's position as a major international business centre. In turn, Hong Kong influences have spread widely into other cultures. As a result, a large number of loanwords are created in Hong Kong and then exported to mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan. Some of the loanwords have become even more popular than their Chinese counterparts, in Hong Kong as well as in their destination cultures.[citation needed] Note that some of the loanwords are being used much more frequently in Cantonese-speaking areas in mainland China (e.g. Guangzhou), than in areas speaking other Chinese varieties.

Imported loanwords

[edit]

Selected loanwords[8] are shown below.

From English

[edit]
Chinese Characters Jyutping English
& Other Definitions
Mainland Chinese
Mandarin
Taiwanese
Mandarin
戶口 wu6 hau2 account 户口 戶口
拗撬 aau3 giu6 argue
arguments (fights)
吵架 吵架
百家樂 baak3 gaa1 lok6 Baccarat (card game) 百家乐 百家樂
bo1 ball
(跳)芭蕾(舞) baa1 leoi4 ballet (跳)芭蕾(舞) (跳)芭蕾(舞)
繃帶 bang1 daai2 bandage 绷带 繃帶
(酒)吧 baa1 bar
barrister
(酒)吧
大律师
(酒)吧
大律師
啤酒 be1 zau2 beer 啤酒 啤酒
比堅尼 bei2 gin1 nei4 bikini 比基尼 比基尼
煲呔 bou1 taai1 bow tie 领结 領結
保齡球 bou2 ling4 bowling 保龄球 保齡球
杯葛 bui1 got3 boycott 抵制 抵制
百家利 baak3 gaa1 lei6 broccoli 西兰花 花椰菜
巴打 baa1 daa2 brother 兄弟 兄弟
蒲飛 pou6 fei1 buffet 自助餐 自助餐
笨豬跳 ban6 zyu1 tiu3 bungee jumping 蹦极 高空彈跳
巴士 baa1 si2 bus 公交/公交车/公共汽车 公車/公共汽車
拜拜 baai1 baai3 bye 再见 再見
卡路里 kaa1 lou6 lei5 calorie 卡路里 卡路里
咖啡因 gaa3 fe1 jan1 caffeine 咖啡因 咖啡因
kaat1 card
卡通 kaa1 tung1 cartoon 卡通 卡通
哥士的(梳打) go1 si2 dik1 caustic soda 氢氧化钠 氫氧化鈉/小蘇打
芝士 zi1 si2 cheese 奶酪 起司
車厘子 ce1 lei4 zi2 cherry 樱桃 櫻桃
朱古力 zyu1 gu1 lik1 chocolate 巧克力 巧克力
西打酒 sai1 daa2 cider 果酒 (蘋)果酒
雪茄 syut3 gaa1 cigar 雪茄 雪茄
打咭 daa2 kat1 clock in
literally: (to) punch card
打卡 打卡
俱樂部 keoi1 lok6 bou6 club 俱乐部 俱樂部
甘屎(架)/屎皮/論盡 gam1 si4 clumsy 笨拙/笨手笨脚 笨拙/笨手笨腳
可可 ho2 ho2 cocoa 可可 可可
可卡 ho2 kaa1 coca 古柯 古柯
可卡因 ho2 kaa1 jan1 cocaine 可卡因/古柯碱 古柯鹼
咖啡 gaa3 fe1 coffee 咖啡 咖啡
曲奇 kuk1 kei4 cookie 曲奇 餅乾
咕喱 gu1 lei1 coolie 苦力 苦力
酷哥 huk6 go1 cougar 美洲狮 美洲獅
忌廉 gei6 lim4 cream 奶油 鮮奶油
曲(既) kuk1 crooked (bent)
bend your knees
winding road ahead
zig-zag
弯曲 彎曲
咖喱 gaa3 lei1 curry 咖喱 咖喱
山埃 saan1 aai1 cyanide 氰化物 氰化物
打令 daa1 ling2 darling 亲爱的 親愛的
(一)碟(餸) dip6 dish 一道菜 一道菜
都甩/冬甩 dou1 lat1/dung1 lat1 doughnut 甜甜圈 甜甜圈
(揼垃圾) dam2 dump (garbage) (In the dump/dumpster)
database dump
pile dump
dumped by boy-/girl-friend
倒掉(垃圾) 倒掉(垃圾)
肥佬 fei4 lou2 fail (failure) 失败 失敗
菲林 fei1 lam2 film 㬵卷 膠卷
揮/爭取 fai1 fight
fight for
打架/争取 打架/爭取
Fan fen1 si2 fan (fanatic)
fan (machine)
粉丝 粉絲
爹地/花打 de1 di4 daddy (father) 爸爸 爸爸
發騰 faat3 tang4 frightened (被)吓到 (被)嚇到
高爾夫球 gou1 ji5 fu1 kau4 golf 高尔夫球 高爾夫球
結他 git3 taa1 guitar 吉他 吉他
吉士 gat1 si2 guts (courage)
encourage
felt like someone just punched you in the gut
胆子/勇气

鼓励

膽子/勇氣

鼓勵

哈佬/哈囉 haa1 lou3 Hello
Halloween
哈喽 哈囉
漢堡包 hon3 bou2 baau1 hamburger 汉堡(包) 漢堡
阿頭 [calque] aa3 tau2 the head of 领导 領導
亨里 hang1 lei5 honey 甜心 甜心
熱狗 [calque] jit6 gau2 hotdog 热狗 熱狗
呼啦圈 fu1 laa1 hyun1 hula hoop 呼啦圈 呼啦圈
雪糕 syut3 gou1 ice-cream 冰淇淋/雪糕 冰淇淋
燕梳 jin1 so1 insure (insurance) 保险 保險
奇異果 kei4 ji6 gwo2 kiwifruit 奇异果/猕猴桃 奇異果
𨋢 lip1 lift (elevator) 电梯 電梯
檸檬 ning4 mung1 lemon 柠檬 檸檬
芒果 mong1 gwo2 mango 芒果 芒果
mai1 microphone 麦克风/麦/话筒 麥克風
模特兒 mou4 dak6 ji4 model 模特 模特/模特兒
摩登 mo1 dang1 modern 摩登/现代 摩登/現代
摩打 mo1 daa2 motor 马达/电(动)机 馬達
慕絲 mou1 si2 mousse 慕丝 慕絲
媽咪/媽打 maa1 mi4 mummy (mother) 妈妈 媽媽
尼龍 nei4 lung4 nylon 尼龙 尼龍
鴉片 aa1 pin3 opium 鸦片 鴉片
班戟 baan1 gik1 pancake 薄煎饼 (美式)鬆餅
泊車 paak3 ce1 parking a vehicle 停车 停車
啤梨 be1 lei2 pear 梨子 梨子
pai1 pie 馅饼/派 餡餅/派
乒乓波 bing1 bam1 bo1 ping-pong 乒乓球 乒乓球/桌球
布冧 bou3 lam1 plum 李子 李子
爆谷 baau3 guk1 popcorn 爆米花 爆米花
布甸 bou3 din1 pudding 布丁 布丁
bam1 pump 泵/幫浦
沙律 saa1 leot2 salad 沙拉 沙拉
三文魚 saam1 man4 jyu2 salmon 鲑鱼/三文鱼 鮭魚
沙林 saa3 lam1 salute 敬礼 敬禮
三文治 saam1 man4 zi6 sandwich 三明治
三明治
沙甸魚 saa1 din1 jyu2 sardine 沙丁鱼 沙丁魚
沙士 saa1 si2 Sarsaparilla (soft drink)

SARS

root beer: 根啤酒

SARS: 萨斯/非典

root beer: 沙士

SARS: (非典型肺炎)沙士

桑拿 song1 naa4 sauna 桑拿 桑拿/三溫暖
私家褲 si6 gaa1 fu4 scarf 围巾 圍巾
薯乜 syu4 mat1 schmuck 笨蛋 笨蛋
雪利酒 syut3 lei6 zau2 sherry 雪利酒 雪利酒
(表演)騷 sou1 show (performance) (表演)秀
(表演)秀
絲打 si1 daa2 sister 姐妹 姐妹
梳打水 so1 daa2 seoi2 soda 苏打水 蘇打水
梳化 so1 faa2 sofa 沙发 沙發
(幾)梳乎 so1 fu4 relaxing (chilling)
("soft", antonym of "firm")
舒适/舒服 舒適/舒服
士巴拿 si6 baa1 naa4 spanner (wrench) 扳手 扳手
士啤 si6 be1 spare 备用 備用
士的 si6 dik1 stick 拐杖 拐杖
士多(店鋪) si6 do1 store 店铺 店鋪
士多啤梨 si6 do1 be1 lei2 strawberry 草莓 草莓
新地 san1 dei2 sundae 圣代 聖代
十卜 sap6 buk1 support 支持 支持
T- ti1 seot1 T-shirt T-恤 T-恤
塔羅牌 taap3 lo4 paai2 tarot 塔罗牌 塔羅牌
的士 dik1 si2 taxi 出租车

("租车" = rental car)

計程車
taai1 tie 领带 領帶
(車)軚 taai1 tire (tyre) 轮胎 輪胎
多士 do1 si2 toast 吐司 吐司
拖肥糖 to1 fei2 tong2 toffee 太妃糖 太妃糖
吞拿魚 tan1 naa4 jyu2 tuna 金枪鱼 鮪魚
維他命 wai4 taa1 ming6 vitamin 维生素 維他命
威化(餅) wai1 faa3 (beng2) wafer biscuit

wafer (electronics)

wafer biscuit: 威化饼

wafer (electronics): 晶圆

wafer biscuit: 餅乾

wafer (electronics): 晶圓

威士忌 wai1 si6 gei2 whisky 威士忌 威士忌
遊艇 jau4 teng5 yachting (yacht) 游艇 遊艇
瑜伽 jyu4 gaa1 yoga 瑜伽 瑜迦
乳酪 jyu5 lok6 yogurt 酸奶
("乳酪" = cheese)
優格

From French

[edit]
Chinese Characters Jyutping French English Mainland Chinese
Mandarin
Taiwanese
Mandarin
梳乎厘 so1 fu4 lei2 soufflé soufflé 梳芙厘 舒芙蕾
古龍水 gu2 lung4 (seoi2) cologne perfume 香水 香水
冷(衫) laang1 (saam1) laine yarn 纱线 紗線

From Japanese

[edit]
Chinese Characters Jyutping Japanese Japanese Rōmaji English Mainland Chinese
Mandarin
Taiwanese
Mandarin
卡拉OK kaa1 laa1 ou1 kei1 カラオケ karaoke karaoke 卡拉OK 卡拉OK
老世 lou5 sai3 世帯主 setainushi chief (CEO)
the Head (of a company)
boss
老板 老闆
奸爸爹 gaan1 baa1 de1 頑張って/がんばって ganbatte Keep up! (studying)
Come on! (cheering)
加油 加油
放題 fong3 tai4 食べ放題 tabe hōdai buffet 布斐 自助餐
浪漫 long6 maan6 浪漫/ロマンチック rōman romantic 浪漫 浪漫

Exported loanwords

[edit]

Into English

[edit]
English Chinese Characters Jyutping
add oil 加油 gaa1 jau2
chop chop (hurry up) 速速 cuk1 cuk1
kowtow 叩頭 kau3 tau4
typhoon 颱風 toi4 fung1
ketchup 茄汁 ke2 zap1

Into Mainland Chinese Mandarin

[edit]
Mandarin Cantonese Jyutping English Mandarin synonyms
买单 埋單 maai4 daan1 (Can we please have the) bill? 结账
搭档 拍檔 paak3 dong3 partner 伙伴 (in ownership and business)
舞伴 (in dancing)
打的 搭的士 daap3 dik1 si2 to ride a taxi 乘出租车
无厘头 無釐頭, corruption of 無來頭 mou4 lei4 tau4 nonsensical humour (see mo lei tau)
newbie who knows nothing
莫名其妙
亮仔/靓仔 靚仔 leng3 zai2 handsome boy 帅哥儿
俊男
哥们 (in China only)
拍拖 拍拖 paak3 to1 dating 追求
求爱
很正 好正 hou2 zeng3 (colloquial) awesome; perfect; just right 很棒
搞掂/搞定 搞掂 gaau2 dim6 Is it done yet? (It's) Done!
It has been taken care of!
办妥
做完
做好
弄完

Into Taiwanese Mandarin

[edit]
Taiwanese Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Cantonese Jyutping English
(猴)塞雷 (hóu) sāiléi (好)犀利 hou2 sai1 lei6 (very) impressive
Hold住[9] hòu zhù Hold住 hou1 zyu6 hold on
hang tight (hang in there)

Into Japanese

[edit]
Japanese Kana (Kanji) Japanese Rōmaji Chinese Characters Jyutping English
ヤムチャ (飲茶) yamucha 飲茶 jam2 caa4 yum cha
チャーシュー (叉焼) chāshū 叉燒 caa1 siu1 char siu
チャーハン (炒飯) chāhan 炒飯 caau2 faan6 fried rice

Code-switching and loanword adaptation

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Hong Kong Cantonese has a high number of foreign loanwords. Sometimes, the parts of speech of the incorporated words are changed. In some examples, some new meanings of English words are even created. For example, "yeah", literally "the most yeah", means "the trendiest". Originally, "yeah" means "yes/okay" in English, but it means "trendy" when being incorporated into Hong Kong Cantonese (Cf. "yeah baby" and French "yé-yé").

Semantic change is common in loanwords; when foreign words are borrowed into Cantonese, polysyllabic words and monosyllabic words tend to become disyllabic, and the second syllable is in the Upper Rising tone (the second tone). For example, "kon1 si2" (coins), "sek6 kiu1" (security) and "ka1 si2" (cast). A few polysyllabic words become monosyllabic though, like "mon1" (monitor), literally means computer monitor. And some new Cantonese lexical items are created according to the morphology of Cantonese. For example, "laai1 " from the word "library". Most of the disyllabic words and some of the monosyllabic words are incorporated as their original pronunciation, with some minor changes according to the Cantonese phonotactics.

Incorporating words from foreign languages into Cantonese is acceptable to most Cantonese speakers. Hong Kong Cantonese speakers frequently code-mix although they can distinguish foreign words from Cantonese ones. For instance, "噉都唔 make sense", literally means "that doesn't make sense". After a Cantonese speaker decides to code-mix a foreign word in a Cantonese sentence, syntactical rules of Cantonese will be followed. For instance, "sure" (肯定) can be used like " su1 su1 aa3?" (are you sure?) as if it were its Cantonese counterpart "你肯唔肯定?", using the A-not-A question construction.

In some circumstances, code-mixing is preferable because it can simplify sentences. An excellent example (though dated) of the convenience and efficiency of such mixing is " collect call" replacing "打一個由對方付款嘅長途電話", i.e. 13 syllables reduced to four.[10]

Short-text adaptations

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Abbreviation

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Abbreviations are commonly used in Hong Kong and have flourished with the use of short messaging over the Internet. Some examples:

Table of Abbreviation
Original term Abbreviated term Explanation
Cantonese: 唔知(m4 zi1) English: do not know 5G (ng5 G)

Example: 甲: 你知唔知邊個係比德? 乙: 我5G

English: A: Do you know who is Peter? B: I don't know (5G).

The "5" here is not pronounced as "five" but in Cantonese "ng5", which corresponds to the Chinese word "" (ng5). Since "五"(ng5) and "" (m4), "" (zi1) and "G" have similar pronunciations, "5G" is used to replace the Cantonese term 唔知, which carries the meaning of "don't know".
Cantonese:鍾意(zung1 ji3) English: Like 中2 (zung3 ji6)

Example: 我好中2佢呀!

English: I like (中2 zung3 ji6) him so much!

Due to similar pronunciation, the "2" here is pronounced as the Chinese "" (ji6) rather than "two". Combining this number with the Chinese character "" (zung3), it carries similar pronunciation as "鍾意"(zung1 ji3) but the structure is much simpler.
Cantonese:師奶 (si1 naai1) English: Housewife C9

Example: 你著到成個C9咁

English: You dress like a housewife(C9).

The word C9 should be pronounced in English "C nine", which is very similar to Cantonese si1 naai1. It is an easier form of typing the word "師奶" without changing the meaning in Cantonese. The two characters are already on the keyboard so it is much simpler to type.
7-Eleven (7-11) Se-fun(音:些粉)/ Chat1 Jai2(七仔

Example: 去些粉/七仔買野飲先

English : Let's go 7-Eleven (Se-fun 些粉) to buy some drinks.

"Chat1" is the Chinese word of seven and "Jai2" is son or boy
Take Away(外賣) Haang4 Gai1(行街) (literal: walk on the street)

Example: 魚蛋粉行街!

English: Fish Ball Noodles for take-away! (Haang4 Gai1 行街)

This abbreviation is often used in Hong Kong-style cafés for take-away.
Uh-huh 55

Example: 甲: 你今日要番學? 乙:55

English: A: Do you need to attend school today? B:Yea.(55)

Homophonic for "ng ng" (嗯嗯) which indicates agreement or understanding.
Post (發表/張貼) po

Example: 我po咗相

English: I posted (po) a photo.

example of common omission of final consonant (not naturally occurring in Cantonese)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d de Sousa, Hilário (2022). "The Expansion of Cantonese over the Last Two Centuries". The Palgrave Handbook of Chinese Language Studies. p. 487. doi:10.1007/978-981-13-6844-8_35-2. ISBN 978-981-13-6844-8. S2CID 244518738. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  2. ^ 張雙慶, Chang Song Hing; 萬波, Wan Bo; 莊初昇, Zhuang Chusheng (1 January 1999). "香港新界方言調查報告". 中國文化研究所學報 (新8): 361–396. doi:10.29708/JCS.CUHK.199901_(8).0015. ISSN 1016-4464. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b Zee, Eric (1999). "CHANGE AND VARIATION IN THE SYLLABLE-INITIAL AND SYLLABLE-FINAL CONSONANTS IN HONG KONG CANTONESE / 香港粤语中声母及韵尾辅音之变化与变异". Journal of Chinese Linguistics. 27 (1): 120–167. ISSN 0091-3723. JSTOR 23756746. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. ^ To, Carol K. S.; Mcleod, Sharynne; Cheung, Pamela S. P. (2015). "Phonetic variations and sound changes in Hong Kong Cantonese: diachronic review, synchronic study and implications for speech sound assessment". Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics. 29 (5): 333–353. doi:10.3109/02699206.2014.1003329. hdl:10722/214685. PMID 25651195. S2CID 207449781.
  5. ^ Bauer, Robert S.; Cheung, Kwan-hin; Cheung, Pak-man (2003). "Variation and merger of the rising tones in Hong Kong Cantonese". Language Variation and Change. 15 (2): 211–225. doi:10.1017/S0954394503152039. hdl:10397/7632. S2CID 145563867.
  6. ^ Together Learn Cantonese, see middle section.
  7. ^ 王文虎; 张一舟; 周家筠 (1987). 四川方言词典.
  8. ^ "A list compiled by lbsun". Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2006.
  9. ^ "你"Hold住"没"Hold住"?". 学生导报 中职周刊. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Info" (PDF). www.patrickchu.net.

Further reading

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