"Miss Huang, ni shuo a ch'uan che chien mi ni ch'un ch'ü Mr. Chang te p'a t'i hao ma?" (Miss Huang, do you think I should wear this mini skirt to Mr. Chang's party?) This is Chinese.
Italicized words in the foregoing paragraph are examples of the countless cases in which words and expressions from other languages have become a part of the modern Chinese vernacular. Western and other Asian influences have been invading China for hundreds of years. They have been assimilated into Chinese culture, language and the day-to-day business of living. Some may be considered abominations by scholars. Others are useful borrowings to meet the needs of technology and industrialization. In either case, Chinese is growing and embracing new concepts, then often modifying them according to environmental conditions and the Chinese language.
Phoneticized foreign expressions in Chinese are to be found in different parts of speech. There are proper nouns for the names of people, places and products. Common nouns include the industrial generics of the West. There are adjectives, too, and salutations and farewells. Those without a Chinese word in their vocabulary will be able to detect these foreign elements in a conversation, although they may have to listen closely, because the pronunciation commonly takes on a Chinese tonal flavor.
A delegate to a conference held in the United States visits Hua sun tun (Washington) and meets President Ni k'e-sen (Nixon). He may go on to Europe and see Po lin (Berlin) and Po ang (Bonn). He says pai pai (bye-bye) to his friends at the airport and returns home. He is welcomed by his girl friend, chats in a k'a fei (coffee) house and rides a pa ssu (bus) to a restaurant at the Ya Ssu Tu (Astar) Hotel. The waitress wearing a mi ni (mini) skirt brings the couple a menu and two cups of k'a fei. He orders a steak and a sa la (salad). The girl orders a san min chih (sandwich) and a pu ting (pudding). They both have a piece of apple p'ai (pie) afterwards. Then they go to a dance hall and dance to the warbling of songstresses wearing mi ti (midi) or mi hsi (maxi) dresses and singing Chinese ch'a ch'a (cha cha) and man po (mambo) tunes. The seats in the dance hall are comfortable sa fa (sofas). They visit one of the big theater restaurants where modern pa lei (ballet) is performed. The poi (boy, waiter) brings a ma t'i ni (Martini). On the wall hangs a piece of tapestry looking like a k'a ten (curtain in Japanese). The design on the tapestry is a ch'i wa wa (chihuahua) dog and a po ssu (Persian) cat. The fashion show begins and mo t'e erh (models) in exotic dresses walk slowly down the ramp. The show gives an ample view of modern textiles made in free China: ni lung (nylon), au lung (orlan), ta k'e lung (dacron), t'e to lung (tetoron) and ai ssu lung (exlon). The show is interesting but exhausting. The night on the town ends with the waving of hands and wishes of pai pai. The girl goes home and sprays her room with ti ti t'i (DDT). The next day is Sunday. She goes to a Catholic church to attend mi sa (Mass) in the morning. Then she goes home and cooks herself a piece of hamu (ham in Japanese) and pours a cup of k'a fei. The door bell rings. She opens the door. Her boy friend greets her with: "Hai (Hi)." The two spend the rest of the morning at the pao ling (bowling) alley. The afternoon is spent at the kao erh fu (golf) course. The following day they go to see Little Leaguers compete at the stadium. The 13-year-old p'i ch'a (pitcher in Japanese) and the k'eh ch'a (catcher in Japanese) are trying to control the po (ball in Cantonese). Sports personalities who participated in the Ao lin pi k'e (Olympic) games are also watching the Little League play.
After the game, the couple go shopping at one of the department stores in Taipei. They are delighted to find Taiwan-made k'a shih (cassette) tape recorders, which are inexpensive. Taiwan made p'ai k'e (Parker) pens are also available. The boy wants some records of the p'i t'ou (Beatles). The girl wants classical music by Pei To-fen (Beethoven) and Mo Cha-t'e (Mozart). At the refreshment bar, they are given a choice of k'e k'e (cocoa), hsiang ping (champagne), pai lan ti (brandy) or wei ssu chi (whisky) on the rocks, piru (beer in Japanese), and chiu ssu (juice). The girl takes a ling meng (lemon) juice. Being intellectually inclined, they visit a bookstore. There are textbooks on mathematical lo chi (logic), the psychology of yu mo (humor) and medical texts on hsiu k'e (shock) treatment. In the self-taught book section are the chi t'a (guitar) in ten days, the sa k'e ssu feng (saxophone) in ten days and the ballroom dancing guide to the hua erh tzu (waltz), t'an ke (tango), p'o erh k'a (polka), sen pa (samba), man po (manbo) and k'ang k'ang (can can). In the philosophy section are books on K'ang Te (Kant), Lo Su (Russell, Bertrand), the Wu t'o pang (Utopia) of Po La-t'u (Plato), fa hsi ssu chu i (Fascism), na ts'ui chu i (Nazism), la ma chiao (Lamaism) and books on Shih Chia Mou Ni (Sakyamuni). The dictionary of Chinese scientific terms gives many instances of units phoneticized directly from their Western counterparts. The oumu (ohm) and the wa t'e (watt) are electrical units. The t'e la mu (dram), pang (pound), tun (ton) and k'e la (carat) are units of weight. The chi erh (gill), p'ing t'o (pint) and chia lun (gallon) are units of volume. The mi (meter) is a measure of length. Books on lei she (lasar) are available.
Walking out of the bookstore, the couple look in the window of a travel agency. An hour's flight from Taipei on one of China Airlines' po yin (Boeing) 707s puts the traveler in Hongkong. Or a Northwest po yin 747 can be flown to the United States.
British influence has contaminated the Cantonese dialect. A tour of a Hongkong shito (Cantonese phoneticization of store) is interesting. British and Italian made shitsam (shirts) and tai (ties) are on sale. A postcard telling of the wonderful shopping must have a shitam (stamp). To pak (park) a car on Hongkong's crowded streets is not easy. The pasi (bus) is convenient and the fei (fare) is inexpensive. Each pasi has a numpa (number). Tik si (taxis) are plentiful. Many wait in front of the Hiuton (Hilton Hotel). The couple stop at a food store and ask for cheese. The clerk seems not to understand. The girl says: "Shee-se!" The clerk says: "You mean chi si (cheese)?"
It's fun to see the sights of Hongkong and indulge in shopping but pickpockets and the population explosion provide problems. For those who want to settle down, Taipei or some other city in Taiwan is a better choice. A car is not a necessity in Taipei. But for those who want one, the European Fu T'e (Ford) is well suited to Taipei's streets. Taiwan-made mo t'o ch'e (motorcycles), serans and chi p'u (jeeps) are popular. Locally made yin ch'ing (engines) are exported. Household equipment must include a pang p'u (pump) for the water tower. Cooking is usually done on the wa ssu (gas) stove.
These are traces of English which have found their niches in Chinese. There are other words from Japanese, German, French, Latin and other languages.
Chinese equivalents of family names and the names of places, cities, countries and states are transliterated or phoneticized directly from the original languages. Pa li is Paris. Mo ssu k'e is Moscow. Te i chih is Deutsch. Fa lang is the franc. Ma k'e is the mark and the British pound sterling is the pang. The Ruble is lu pu and the Philippine peso is the pi so. Phoneticization of languages other than English occurs more often in provincial dialects than in Mandarin. The Amoy dialect spoken in the province of Taiwan has phonetic equivalents for many Japanese terms. A night snack at a foodstall will include biru (beer in Japanese), pan (bread in Japanese), sashimi (raw fish in Japanese), chiu ssu (juice in Japanese and English), k'u ri mu (cream in Japanese) and k'e cho p'u (catsup in Japanese). In many cases, the Japanese words are phoneticizations from English, as in the case of juice, catsup and cream. Beer comes from German and bread from French.
Spoken examples convey the same meaning in both Chinese and the original language. In writing, the choice of the Chinese characters is not standardized and may represent the writer's preference. However, some phoneticizations of foreign names and expressions are created purposely to imitate the sound and at the same time convey a meaning which mayor may not be the same as that of the original. Coca Cola is phoneticized as k'e k'o k'e lo, which means good to taste and good for pleasure. Many such instances occur in brand names and the popular names of medicines. A cleaning fluid named Deseenium is transliterated into Chinese as ti shih ming, meaning a drop clears the view. Manhattan shirts have the Chinese name mei hao t'ing, meaning beautiful, good and prominently erect. The Triumph brand of women's garments is phoneticized as tai an fen, a girl's name.
Chinese terms for modern gadgets arc literal and meaningful. A telephone is an electric speech machine. A typewriter is a machine which beats out words. A radio is a sound receiving machine. A computer is an electric brain. A tire is a wheel embryo. A bicycle is a vehicle pedaled with the feet. An airplane is a flying machine. An automobile is a gas vehicle. Radar is a storm which informs and lasar a storm which projects. A washing machine is a clothes washing machine. A television set is an electrical viewing machine. A helicopter is a vertically rising machine. A nuclear reactor is a nucleus reaction furnace. X-ray is X-light and a rocket is a fire arrow. Cables arc electric letters.
The Chinese words for the use of machines are also literal but with a dash of the poetic. To telephone is to beat the telephone. To type is to beat out words. To smoke a cigarette is to draw smoke and taking drugs is sucking poison. When a Cantonese wants a cigarette, he asks for a mouthful of smoke. When he says he wants to drink tea, he refers to brunch at a Cantonese restaurant. If he bluffs, he blows a cow.
Abstract expressions reveal how the Chinese mind works. Since ancient times, great men have been described as ting t'ien li ti, standing on earth and reaching up to the skies. The universe it t'ien ti, or sky and earth. The mundane world is full of tung hsi (things), literally meaning east west. The world is crowded with people who must work for a living. A driver is a machine commander and a stewardess is a young lady in the sky. A magician practices the devil's art (mo shu) and hypnosis is the art of inducing sleep (ts'ui mien shu). The people constitute the hundred names (pai hsing). When they want something done in a hurry, they say it is to be done on a horse (ma shang) or in a standing moment (li k'e). When they quarrel, the vernacular is close to that of other people. They want i yen huan yen (an eye for an eye) and i ya huan ya (a tooth for a tooth). There are adjectives with visual effects. Jen san jen hai is people mountain people sea, meaning crowded. When a Chinese wants to be imprecise or couldn't care less about something, be it horse or tiger, he says ma ma hu hu (horse horse tiger tiger). When anything will do, the Chinese will take what is most convenient, or sui pien (following convenience). Precision comes into play in combination of mien and pai. Mien pai means the face is pale but pai mien, literally meaning white flour, is opium. A tip for a waiter is a small expense but to p'o fei, or to break an expense, is to spend a sum of money.
The West has often maintained that the Chinese people, their language and their culture are inscrutable. This myth may deceive those who are locked in ivory towers full of outdated books. However, an observant and attentive tourist may be the bridge between what is really going on and what the scholars only think is happening.