This is a literal translation of a conversation I had just the other night.
me: Do you have any cigarettes?
shopowner: Sure.
me: ...
Oh, no, I mean the cigarettes you can eat.
shopowner: ... you mean salt?
me: Yeah!
shopowner: Yeah, we have that too.
(Note: cigarettes [yan *high tone*] and salt [yan *rising tone*, though also *falling tone* in Kaifeng dialect] are near homonyms in Chinese.)
In the future please avoid posts that make me (identify perhaps unrevealed, it depends on what I have to do to make this blog let me post a comment, but you'll know who I am) nearly fall out of my chair asking, "What?!!!, Why the crap does he want cigarettes?"
ReplyDeleteI think you know this, but just in case you do not, when I was around seven years old, I too asked for cigarettes from the shopkeeper, and when the nice lady looked surprised, I too explained I meant the kind you can eat. She, however, did not ask me if I meant salt, as that would've made me wonder what was wrong with her. Instead she pointed me towards the candy counter where they sold pretty yucky tasting, chalk like candy, formed into cigarettes. My how things have changed.
By the way, I think I've told you before that you really need to watch your rising and falling tones...hmm, perhaps all I said was "You'd better watch your tone buster." I should've been more specific.
By the way #1: I meant to type "identity perhaps unrevealed" not "identiFy" but you knew that.
ReplyDeleteBy the way #2: It took me almost an hour to figure out how to get an account that would finally let me post something to your blog. As even putting a few words on here was nearly beyond my computer tolerance (notice I do not mention my computer competence), I will not try at this time to sign up as a follower.
Sorry dad. I did consider possible trauma to my parents when writing this post, but it lost out to dramatic effect. I'll try to give a disclaimer next time.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated -- see, I knew you'd know it was me. I do understand and appreciate the value of dramatic effect.
ReplyDelete