Yang-jing-pang and Chinook

Colin Bruce cbruce at SMARTLINE.COM.AU
Wed Apr 2 07:14:30 UTC 2003


I stumbled into Old Shanghai (http://www.talesofoldchina.com/shanghai/t-pidgin.htm) and found
several Yang-jing-pang English words mutually intelligable with Chinook Jargon.  Specifically:

   Bym-bye = Baymbay = Later
   coolie = Kuli = I think this may not be nice
   S'pose = pus = if
   Joss-house man = ~haws man = Just reminds me of the Jargon words.

There's a substitution of L for R so that Rice would become Lays or Laysee just like in CJ.  The use
of B'long reminds me of English based south sea island pidgins.

Couldn't find anything in the archives so I thought I might ask if anyone has talked about possible
cross pollination or inspiration between these pidgins seeing as they were about the same time and
would likely have been spoken on both ends of the sea otter fur trade shipping routes.  Did the
English and Americans just try to transfer their the skills learned from Shanghai Business English
to the NWC using word lists provided by Cook or Lewis and Clark?  (I'm assuming that Shanghai Pidgin
came first)

Just for interest I've included a short combined phrase list from the Old Shanghai website
referenced above.

   All-plopa - quite right
   Amah - Chinese nurse or maid
   blong - is, are, belong to, etc.
   B'long my pidgin - That's my business
   B'long Shanghai side - To live in Shanghai
   Bottomside - downstairs
   Bottom-side -- downstairs
   Bym-bye - later
   Bym-bye makee pay - I'll pay later
   Can do - That will do
   Can do Can you do, or Yes, I can do it.
   Can puttee book? - Is the bargain settled?
   Catchee - Have, get, bring, e.g. "My look-see one piecee man.catchee chow-chow' - I saw a man
   eating.
   Catchee baby - To have a baby
   Catchee chop chop - Fetch quickly
   Catchee one piece rickshaw - get a rickshaw
   Chit - A note or letter
   Chit - note, letter, sometimes IOU, e.g."bar chit"
   Chop - chop-chop, quickly
   Chop - stamp, inscription, carved seal
   Chop chop - Quickly
   Chow-chow - food, to eat
   Cumshaw - A tip
   Cumshaw - gratuity, sometimes a present
   Dlinkee, to drink
   Finishee - completed, done, finished
   Girley - girl
   Godown - warehouse
   Hab got - is, there is, has
   Hab, have
   How fashion? - what for? why? What is the meaning?
   How-fashion? - What for?
   Inkeli - English
   Joss House - Temple
   Joss-house - temple, church
   Joss-house man - clergyman
   Joss-pidgin - religion
   Largee, largey, largo - much, great Likee - to like
   Learn piecee - Apprentice
   Look-see - look, appear like, see
   Makee - make, do, cause, become
   Maskee - never mind
   Maskee - never mind
   Melican - American
   Missy have got? - Is Mrs. at home?
   More betta - better
   Muchee - very, sometimes muchee-muchee
   My - my, me, I, sometimes we, our, ours
   My catchee chow - I'm going to eat
   My no savvy - I don't understand
   My no wantchee - I don't want
   My wantchee - I want
   My wantchee walkee - I want to go for a walk
   Naifoo - knife
   Nightey - night
   No b'long plopper - This is not right
   No can - not good, I cannot, impossible
   No can do - That will not do
   No can do? - Can you not?
   No squeeze - No overcharging
   No wantchee - I don't want that
   Number one - very good
   Olo - old
   One piecee, a, an, one
   Pay - to give, bring, deliver, transfer
   Pay chow - serve food
   Pay Master chit - Give Master the letter
   Pay my - Give it to me
   Pay my look see - Let me look at it
   Pay two piece - Give me two
   Plenty - much, very, very much
   Plopa - proper, good, right, correct, nice
   Savvy - know, understand
   Savvy box - Brain
   Shroff - dealer in money
   Side - place, country
   Smellum-water - perfume, cologne
   Solly - Sorry
   Solly - sorry
   S'pose catchee two piece can more cheap? - Will it be cheaper to take two?
   Talkee - tell, say, inform, ask
   Talkee come morning time - Tell him to come in the morning
   Talkee he - Tell him
   Talkee my - Let me know
   Talpan - boss, important foreign businessman
   This b'long my - This is mine
   This b'long number one - This is very good
   This Me - Here
   This price b'long true? - Is this price genuine?
   This side - here
   Three piece man come dinner - There will be three guests for dinner
   Tiffin - lunch
   Tinkee - think
   Too muchee - very, excessive
   Topside - upstairs
   Topside - upstairs, on top
   waifo - wife
   Walkee - to go
   Walkee-walkee fish - live fish
   Wantchee - to want
   What fashion no can? - Why not?
   What fashion no can? Why not?
   What for? - why?
   What side my room? - Where is my room?
   What thing? - What is that?
   What-side - where?



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