English Stuff

To Translate or Not to Translate?

2011-11-01T12:03:00.001+08:00

Modern Hong Kong offers up a number of confusing usages regarding Cantonese words that have largely been accepted/absorbed into daily English usage. Sometimes the use may be due to political sensibilities - Putonghua -, sometimes because no English word quite matches the meaning, but other times the reason for retaining the Cantonese word when a suitable word is available is more obscure.

Putonghua (/hua/ in the word means language) is the most obvious example of a word being widely accepted for political reasons. In standard English we would use /Mandarin/. However, for the last few years the Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority have written /Putonghua/ in their examination papers. Similarly, the 'New Oxford American Dictionary' which came with this computer only lists putonghua and not Mandarin. Strangely, both publications retain the use of Cantonese instead of Guangdonghua (note: there are different variations on the spelling).

Today, while marking essays I came across another conundrum - the use of chau/island. Shek Kwu Chau is in the news because of an environmental issue, but isn't there an argument for calling it /Shek Kwu Island/? One of my students pointed out that this would sound strange and to some extent he is right if we consider other islands in Hong Kong - Peng Chau, Cheng Chau, etc. If we were to say Cheng Island or Peng Island, then no one would know what or where we meant.

So, should we write Shek Kwu Island or Shek Kwu Chau - I think Shek Kwu Chau is acceptable as long as the reader understands that /chau/ means /island/.

Chinese Cobra vs Mini Bus (Fear in the Modern City)

2011-06-21T07:47:00.002+08:00

I am frightened of flying, riding in Hong Kong minibuses and, being bitten by cobras. The first two of these I have done a lot. The last one on the list is an unfulfilled fear ambition.

They say that flying is one of the safest forms of transport, but why then do my palms sweat so much just before take-off and I'm always so certain that a wing will fall off as we bank into the first turn after take-off? Take-offs and landings, by the way, are supposed to be equally the most dangerous times. By why do I feel a sense of impending doom as take-off approaches, but a sense of euphoria as the landing beckons? And yet, time and again I fly!

With minibuses, red-top or green-top, those in the know recommend sleeping, or at the very least closing your eyes and pretending you are on a beach, on a Polynesian island, next to the gently lapping sea. We need to ride in them, but wish they didn't exist. I don't have the same sense of doom boarding a minibus as I do a plane, but the feeling of euphoria at the end of the journey is almost on the same plane (pun intended, sorry).

Now we come to something that could really kill you. The COBRA. The other morning as I arrived back home from yum cha, I found a decent sized Chinese Cobra sunning itself outside my front door. I admit to a moment of horror, but once it decided it wanted some shade and started slithering away, I was sorry to see it go.

A NEW YEAR, A NEW START?

2010-02-22T10:44:00.002+08:00

It's always somewhat daunting to be sitting facing a blank page and not really being sure what to write or for that matter if I should write anything at all. This year I will try and work to change this site a little. Perhaps some more regular posts and/or even a more cohesive theme/s. Or then perhaps just some random musings. Difficult to know at this stage.

Anyway Happy New Year of the Tiger to all (all 5 or so of you) of my readers.

Matthew (see using the first name to personalize the blog)

Decorative English

2008-09-22T11:40:00.002+08:00

Like many of my friends I am often shocked when walking down the street or on the MTR I may see a T Shirt with such things as - @3^* off, I'm easy, or the classic Hong Kong brand name - Playboy. The other day I bought a cushion cover in Mong Kok that combines Winnie the Pooh with Wordsworth's classic poem - I wandered lonely as a cloud... And of course many, many notebooks have decorative English on them.

A lot of English which we see on products in Hong Kong is merely decorative. It is there to look good and the actual meaning has no importance to the wearer or user. But if the same T Shirts were worn overseas there is every chance that the wearer would either end up in a fight or in the worst case may be arrested. If you are a girl and you are wearing a playboy product overseas then the outcome might be even more embarrassing. Playboy is of course famous for pornography in the West and no respectable women would be seen dead wearing it.

Of course there is also decorative Chinese. Chinese characters which are placed on an item but without regard to their meaning.

Try to think sometimes about the importance or not of writing when you see it. Sometimes it is just used to make the wearer look good. In this respect it is not much different than those people who use long and complicated words when a shorter more simple word is available. It seems that appearance is everything.

Descriptive Words and Punctuation

2008-09-05T09:05:00.003+08:00

Look at the following and think about the different levels of complexity in writing.

1. The school canteen is very dirty. There are many bugs and other insects. The floor is sticky and is never washed. There is a bad smell.

Straigtforward simple sentences with topic sentence and three supporting sentences.

2. The school canteen is disgusting. It is infested with bugs and other insects. The floor is sticky and is never washed. There is a putrid smell in the canteen.

Same simple sentences, but with more interesting descriptive vocabulary.

3. The school canteen is disgusting: it is infested with bugs and other insects, the floor is sticky and is never washed, and there is a putrid smell.

Actually, on the face of it not much has changed from 2., but by using punctuation correctly we now have one sentence and probably higher marks in the exam.

In number 3 we are using a colon (:) to show that the following ideas relate to the sentence stem (the start of the sentence). Students often fall into the trap of just using a comma (,) where a colon is needed.

REVISION - WRITING AN ARTICLE

2007-12-26T21:20:00.000+08:00

Newspaper/Magazine Articles

Before we learn about this type of writing it is important to make a clear distinction between what we mean by an article and a story. A story can be thought of as something that is being reported on, whereas an article is something that is being commented on. This is an important distinction to make because a story and an article are organized in different ways.

This can best be seen by looking at a newspaper story and then a newspaper article.

Hundreds brave bad weather in final bid for Form Six places
Will Clem

Hundreds of students were braving the threat of rain and blustery weather last night as they bedded down outside schools across the city in a last-ditch attempt to secure one of the few remaining Form Six vacancies.
"I'm not worried about the weather. It's worth the risk," said Mick Tso, 17, who was second in a queue of about 30 lining up outside Concordia Lutheran School in North Point - which had 40 places available - just after 7pm.
"My friends and I are going to take turns waiting throughout the night. I scored 11 points, which is not particularly good, but I hope it is enough to get a place here."
More than 25,000 eligible students are today preparing to fight over roughly 3,400 vacancies in about 160 schools as the Form Six allocations process enters its final stage.
Over 22,000 places have been snapped up over the past two days, mostly by students who scored 14 or more points in the Certificate or Education Examinations, the results of which were released on Wednesday.
The remaining 27,000 students who met the Education Bureau's minimum requirement but fell below the 14-point threshold had been barred from seeking places until yesterday afternoon, when they could seek a spot in their own schools.
Today they have the chance to hunt in other schools. If any vacancies remain at the end of this stage, they will be allocated a place through central allocation tomorrow. Students score five points for a Level 5* in English or Chinese or an A in other subjects, down to one point for a Level 2 or an E. The bureau's minimum requirement is four points in four subjects or five points in three, not including English or Chinese.
Competition for places this year has been intense, but yesterday was considerably less hectic than the first day of the process. Three schools with vacancies in Chai Wan were virtually dead by mid-morning.
But while students in the afternoon session were limited to applying to the school they had attended for Form Five, many tried to circumvent the system.
"A lot of parents get very worried about finding a place for their children, and really want to jump the queue," said Lee Kim-wah, principal of Po Chiu Catholic Secondary School in Yau Tong. Mr Lee said he had to tell them to come back today.

The South China Morning Post, August 10, 2007

Comment on organization

This ‘story’ follows a fairly normal pattern. We start with a headline, followed by the writer’s name. The first paragraph gives a broad outline/overview of the story and then each subsequent paragraph gives more detail. The paragraphs themselves are on occasions very short – sometimes only 1 sentence.

Now read the article below:

Greater integration will benefit our city

A proposal to liberalise entry to Hong Kong for the 2 million permanent residents of Shenzhen may seem to many to be ahead of its time. But it tackles the question of how to secure the city's future under the "one country, two systems" concept.
The detail and timing of such a step calls for careful consideration to avoid a huge influx. It is, however, a sensible idea in principle, with more to be gained than just the immediate economic benefits to Hong Kong.
Our city has to integrate with the mainland sooner or later. The border with Shenzhen will disappear anyway in 2047. But integration should be incremental in order to safeguard Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. We cannot wait another 40 years and then hope for the best. Nor, for the same reason, can we tear down the border overnight. The barrier to unrestricted movement is there for legitimate reasons, such as wide disparities between the standards of living in Hong Kong and the mainland.
But Hong Kong should be open to increasing the pace of integration, while maintaining a step-by-step approach. It is time to consider a more open-minded approach to immigration issues.
Already, Hong Kong people can visit Shenzhen freely, while Shenzhen residents can visit Hong Kong under the mainland's individual travel scheme, which many do frequently. Thousands of children living in Shenzhen cross the border by bus to attend schools in the New Territories.

A case for a faster pace of integration is to be found in Hong Kong's aspirations to match the world's leading financial centres. In an interview to mark the 10th anniversary of the handover, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said the city should aim at a population of 10 million, compared with 7 million now, in order to match New York and London. He rightly emphasised that an adequate supply of talent from around the world, particularly from the mainland, is crucial to that aspiration.
But that does not mean we need to think about how to physically squeeze 10 million people into Hong Kong, already one of the most densely populated places in the world. By making the existing rules more flexible, we can effectively expand Hong Kong's working population without having to allow a lot of people to live here. After all, Central is only an hour by public transport from Shenzhen, and the north of the New Territories half that. People on both sides should be able to easily cross the border for leisure, shopping, business or work.
Shenzhen is a logical starting point for integration, with its relatively high standard of living and better educated population. Over the longer term, we should be thinking about widening integration into Guangdong. Again, timing and detail will be crucial to avoid a huge influx. The speed with which such a plan should be implemented depends on how fast the wealth gap between Hong Kong and the mainland narrows.
Many Hong Kong people may not agree that we are ready yet for greater cross-border integration. Concerns include an influx of Shenzhen criminals and chaos on our roads. Security issues must be resolved, but they are a two-way street. Shenzhen officials have every reason to be alert to penetration by Hong Kong triads.
If Hong Kong wants the advantages of greater integration, it must also accept the drawbacks. With foresight and planning they are not insurmountable. The potential benefits far outweigh them. (570 words)

The South China Morning Post, July 27, 2007

Comment on organization

This ‘article’ is more like that expected in the A.S. Level examination. The article has a headline, quite often expressing a particular opinion and the first paragraph introduces the topic and any issues relating to it. You can see in this article that there is good use of topic sentences at the start of each paragraph.

WARNING! In lesson 1 I said that a discuss style essay and a newspaper article can be thought of as quite similar. This is true, but there are important differences. When you are writing an essay you can expect your readership to be one, but when you are writing an article you must keep in mind that it is for a large audience (the newspaper or magazine’s readers). If you are writing an article and supporting one side you must still present opposition arguments and deal with them. This is because writers in newspapers/magazines are expected to present a balanced view of an issue.

The most common type of article question which comes up in the A.S. Level examinations asks candidates to look at both sides of an issue. In 2006: Question 2, ‘…Write an article for the school newspaper describing the viewpoints and arguments of the different parties. Give your article a title.’ and Question 2 from 2005, ‘…Give your view as to the benefits and drawbacks…’

In fact, newspaper articles have been one of the staples of the examination over the years, with at least one question and sometimes two appearing in most years. Other common requirements are to; give advice or to suggest three solutions to a particular problem.

PERSON and STYLE
So who are you? When you write a letter to the Editor (lesson 4) you are ‘I’, e.g. ‘I cannot agree with the Government’s idea…’, ‘I am disgusted by…’, etc. However, look at the article – Greater integration will benefit our city – and see how many times the writer uses ‘I’. Look at the article below, can you see any ‘I’ or can you see something else?

History must not hold back border twin cities

But for historical events that set Hong Kong apart from the rest of China, the city would long since have integrated with Shenzhen to form a greater metropolis. Now the "one country, two systems" concept stands in the way. However, a faster pace of economic integration with the mainland, in particular its pool of human resources, is seen as critical to Hong Kong's future competitiveness. In that respect the arrangement that insulates our way of life from the mainland system until 2047 is holding us back.

Policy thinkers have wrestled with ways around it without coming up with an initiative that would give integration real momentum. Now there is talk of creating a special zone between Hong Kong and Shenzhen to facilitate it. This could present a way for Hong Kong to break out of the straitjacket imposed by "one country, two systems."
As we report today, a study by the Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre, a policy think-tank close to the government, envisages the industrial development of the Lok Ma Chau Loop on the border as a model for a Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis. A square kilometre of Shenzhen left on the Hong Kong side by the straightening of the Shenzhen River which forms the border, the site lends itself to such an idea. It would still be owned by Shenzhen and managed under Hong Kong laws and systems, but developed by an authority in which the two cities would be equally represented.
The Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis concept recognises that economic co-operation between the two is indispensable to their development. The study says it has the potential, with further economic co-operation, to develop into China's first world-class metropolis. The existing political and legal framework rules out a free two-way flow between Hong Kong and Shenzhen of key resources such as people, capital, goods, information and services. Instead, the study makes a case for relatively satisfactory conditions for a freer flow to complement the two cities' strengths.
The model Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis would set an example. The main development focus would be on the relatively free flow of people into the area from the two sides to work and conduct business, rather than goods. The area would be developed economically according to the principles of high value-added, low pollution and a high land utilisation rate, with the types of industries to be developed determined by the market.
The study argues that such co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen can radiate Hong Kong's influence to other parts of the mainland, and Shenzhen can "go international" via Hong Kong.
From Shenzhen's perspective there might be concerns that Hong Kong could derive the greater benefit. The study has tried to present its proposals as a win-win idea, citing analysis that shows a Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis would have similarly positive economic impacts on each city as well as the two as a whole. This also goes some way towards addressing concerns in Hong Kong's industrial and commercial sectors about whether the city's interests would be adversely affected, or whether Shenzhen would benefit more.
Further integration requires the participation and support of the central and Guangdong governments. It is to be hoped that leaders from both sides would weigh the long-term benefits against short-term concerns. Without the barrier between Hong Kong and the mainland, it would have happened long ago. Integration has to be carefully managed, but history should not be allowed to restrict the development of both cities. (572 words)

The South China Morning Post, August 10, 2007

Comment

We cannot see any use of first person "I'. Why?

Because when you are writing an article in a newspaper or magazine you are writing on behalf or for that publication and are expressing views on behalf of the publication (remember in a real-life setting your article needs to be approved by a sub-editor and an editor before it is published).
You might also notice the absence of other popular student phrases, In my opinion, I believe, etc. When writing an article you need to give the impression of being objective. As soon as you start using ‘I’ you lose the impression of objectivity and your article becomes highly subjective. This then is the second reason - an article that is clearly a rant or just your own personal opinions will not convince anyone that your ideas are the correct ones.

The structure/organization of your article is dependent on the question requirements. However, you must always have a headline/title and an introduction. Your paragraphs should always be clear, with a topic sentence followed by 2 to 3 sentences elaborating that point.

Country Noun and Adjective Vocabulary

2007-08-06T18:07:00.000+08:00

The following list of nouns and adjectives relate to countries which you may need to write about or talk about in one part of your examination. To listen to the words being spoken, click on the podcast link located at the bottom left hand side of the front page - Use of English.

The nouns (country name) are in blue and the adjectives (used to describe the people or other things related to the country) are in red.

Philippines Filipino
Nepal Nepalese
Macau Macanese
Korea Korean
Indonesia Indonesian
Malaysia Malaysian
Singapore Singaporean
Canada Canadian
Denmark Danish
Greece Greek
Holland Dutch
Brazil Brazilian
China Chinese
Japan Japanese
Switzerland Swiss
New Zealand New Zealander/Kiwi

Some countries have different adjectives to describe general characterstics and the people. e.g.

Spain is the country and we can talk of the Spanish economy and Spanish people in general, but a Spaniard in particular. Likewise we have Turkey as the country, the Turkish economy and a Turk.

You can print this list, or not, and move to the podcast site to listen to the words being pronounced and used.

Writing 1 - Lesson Notes

2007-08-03T15:35:00.000+08:00