Job Discussion Forums

gryffindor · Joined: 26 Nov 2006 Posts: 15

Could we all contribute and build a list of interesting constructions or usage of English that are unique to Hong Kong?

lambada · Joined: 24 Oct 2006 Posts: 50

How to spell? Very Happy

See you ten minutes later (or similar constructions) Laughing

I'm fine thank you Evil or Very Mad

(as the only possible response!)

Pieface · Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 42

-It is because it is INTERESTING and EXCITING (*yawn*)
-How to say...?
-GIVE MEEEEE!
-Do you feel boring?
-Am I look beautiful?

11:59 · Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:46 am Post subject:

'$100 up' (for 'From $100') and 'You need the school/employer's official chop' (for 'You need the school/employer's official stamp').

dandan · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 183 Location: Hong Kong

lambada · Joined: 24 Oct 2006 Posts: 50

I stand corrected Dandan Very Happy

While we are at it, why don't we teach them to say "Have a good day" As for moi, I am good, okay, tired, buggered, not to bad, drunk as a skunk, and fine thank you.
What about Bee Bee Q's. Yuk.

Pieface · Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 42

Yes! How did I forget 'Bee Bee Q chicken wings!' ? Laughing

once again · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 815

"Do you want tea or coffee?" to which the answer will be "yes/no".
Many Hong Kong people simply answer with regard to the final choice.

Staffs---that always seems to be plural here.

Can I on the fan etc.

Can I open the fan etc.

Can you help me? I wil help you Which to HK people means you do it all for them/ they do it all for you.

hkteach · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 202 Location: Hong Kong

"No need" meaning there's no need to do it/think about it
"Do you want to take a photo?" No it doesn't mean you should get your camera and take a photo.. In HK this means "do you want to have your photo taken?"

11:59 · Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 3:20 pm Post subject:

'No matter', which I think is a blend of 'It does not matter' and 'No problem', and 'It is opposite to the school' for 'It is opposite the school'.

Yes, 'Take a photo' is used to mean what native speakers of English mean when they say 'Have your picture taken' (the passive voice � especially in the imperative mood � seems to cause untold problems for speakers of Cantonese). And as someone else above said, staff is reliably countable and pluralised, though real-world entities such as cars and abstract concepts such as hours rarely if ever are. Everyday I see signs on the street which read 'Waiting vehicle will be prosecuted' ('Road work in progress' is another common one), and it is normal to see shops with a notice hanging on their door which states their 'Business Hour' (Pacific Coffee outlets being a case in point).

'Experience' (in the native speaker uncountable sense) is another example of a noun which is often put in a convoluted HK plural form; one EMB application form I filled in required me to list 'Work Experiences', which I at first took to mean experiences I had had in the workplace, but which I then realised simply meant 'Work Experience', that is, work history. And that's another: 'Work History' on most job application forms is rendered as 'Working History' which to my eye and ear is just downright odd.

ozman · Joined: 12 Jun 2004 Posts: 133 Location: HONG KONG

I find it annoying when, beside the work in progress, the sign says:
"we have apologized for any inconvenience caused."

I can honestly say, that no one has ever apologized to me before they commenced working.

gryffindor · Joined: 26 Nov 2006 Posts: 15

hkteach · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 202 Location: Hong Kong

Painted on the stairs leading from one of the ferries "Watch your steps"

hkteach · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 202 Location: Hong Kong

At site of street work (isn't it everywhere????) "WORKING IN PROGRESS"
I'm used to it being "WORK IN PROGRESS" (although for lengthy periods it may be difficult to observe any work actually being done).

11:59 · Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:25 pm Post subject:

Yes, I had forgotten the 'Watch your Steps' sign. I did 8 years here back in the 90s and that was up at some of the ferry terminals back then. It certainly casts some doubt on the effectiveness of corrective feedback as there were letters about it (of all things!) in the 'Have a whinge and a whine' page of the Saturday edition of the SCMP back then.

Also, what about using 'Yes' for 'No', and 'No' for 'Yes' when used in response to a question? This usually comes about if you use a tag question structure. So if you say to someone you know does not smoke, and who knows you know that they do not smoke, 'You don't smoke, do you?', they will invariably answer in the affirmative, with, I suppose, the meaning of something such as 'Yes, (you are right that I don't smoke)'.

This can often go on all day because to that, your average and unaware native speaker of English will think that they were mistaken (after all, they have just been contradicted) and that in fact the person does indeed smoke after all. So then, with this new knowledge, they will say something like 'Oh, you do?', to which again the non-native speaker non-smoker may well say 'Yes', again meaning something akin to 'Yes, you are right, I do (not smoke)'.

My wife is a native speaker of Cantonese and, apart from examples such as the above, is fluent in English. On points such as these however, I gave up giving corrections a long while ago.

Also, I'm yet to find a native speaker of Cantonese who can say /'b�k.еІk/ ('backache'), producing it as /'b�g.Іdz/ ('baggage') instead.

And let's not forget the 'paid areas' in MTR announcements such as 'Eating and drinking are prohibited in the paid areas'. What on earth is a 'paid area'? That to me is an ungrammatical as 'The asleep boy'. Do they mean an area you have to pay to go into? Do they then simply mean past the turnstiles? That is, areas which require a ticket? Also, why is one warned to 'Mind the gap between the train and the platform'? What other dirty great big gaps are there in the vicinity exactly?

Also, sometimes the English subtitles on Cantonese TV, even on so-called government service announcements, are nothing short of downright gibberish. The ones aimed at small restaurateurs advising them to 'be nice to tourists' (as it is suggested that this may lead to increased repeat business, though no other reasons are given), or the ones aimed at those in society currently contemplating suicide advising them to look on the bright side of life (the stellar advice given is to 'Love Hong Kong') are good examples of this. In one the subtitles read 'You must to ...'. Are there really no native speakers with editorial control in any of these departments, or does it all really come down to face?

Also, how about those petrifying signs outside and actually inside lifts? I'm yet to see such a sign that doesn't say 'When there is a fire do not use the lift' or 'Do not use the lift when there is a fire'. I always find myself thinking 'Christ! How often do they have these fires exactly?' Do they have a set timetable?