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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