|
 |
Polite words and their implications | ||
Tags: Polite/Informal Forms | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Philological Room |  | |
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6583 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 9 of 10 04 February 2011 at 5:42pm | IP Logged |
|
In Cantonese, you put an "唔該" in the beginning, meaning literally "shouldn't". Funnily enough, you're saying "You shouldn't give me the pen" (唔該畀隻筆我). This seems confusing, but it makes more sense if you think of the normal use of the phrase, which as as "thank you". That is, when someone does something nice, you say, much like in English, "You shouldn't have". I think the meaning has sort of spilled over from there into a more general politeness phrase. "唔該" can be used just about anytime, with meanings like "Pardon me" (calling for attention) or "excuse me" (trying to get past someone), but not as an apology.
Mandarin lacks the useful "唔該" and as this may be part of why Hong Kongers often claim mainlanders are so impolite (the other part being that … well, they're impolite). In Mandarin, you'd choose between the more informal particle "吧" added at the end, which just serves to make the sentence into a suggestion rather than a command (actually, Cantonese has this, too, in the form of "啦"), or starting the sentence with "請" or "請你", literally "I invite you". So "I invite you to give me the pen". 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kartof Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5067 days ago 391 posts - 550 votes Speaks: English*, Bulgarian*, Spanish Studies: Danish | Message 10 of 10 04 February 2011 at 10:39pm | IP Logged |
|
In Bulgarian to say you would say
дай ми химикала (give me the pen) or моля ти се, дай ми химикала ( (I) am begging thee, give me the pen) or моля ви се, дайте ми химикала ( (I) am begging thee, give me the pen) In the middle one, you are referring to the other person in the familiar form while in the last one they are referred to in the formal form and the conjugation changes as a result. 1 person has voted this message useful |
If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
