Slang: Red Hot Hong Kong Slang's English Equivalent (Updated)

http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2009/07/slang-red-hot-hong-kong-slangs-english.html

(Updated on 10th July 2009)

Apart from all those "cool" benefits I mention in the class about the use of slang, I guess people just have a natural, inborn appetite for slang, all sorts of slang.

Anyway, here I would like to share the red-hot Hong Kong slang’s English equivalent and some direct translated words with you.

HK Slang	Direct Translation	parts of speech	English Equivalent
"Gag"		noun	gag / joke
"O" Zeoi2	O Mouth	adjective	agape
“Body check”		noun	medical checkup
Ceoi1 Seoi2	Blow water	verb	to chatter / to talk rubbish
Ceot1		verb / noun	to stamp (on a envelope)
Ceot1 Maau1	Out cat	verb	to cheat in an exam / a test
Cyun3	Stick	adjective	Cocky
Faat3 Mui4	Rich Mould	verb	to mould
Fik6		verb	to flick
Fu4 Luk1	Symbol work	noun	fluke
Gaau1 Soei2 Fai3	to pay water bill	verb	to pay the water bill / to urinate
Gau3 Daam2	to have gall bladder	verb	to have guts / to be daring
Gau3 Goeng1	to have ginger	verb	to have guts / to be daring
Gu1 Lei1		noun	Coolie
Hea5		verb	to hack (around) / to kill time / to slack
Hoeng1 Gong2 Goek3	Hong Kong Foot	noun	Athlete’s foot
Ja2		adjective	Lousy / Tacky
Jetso		noun	discount or special offer
Lip1		noun	Lift
Sau1 Dou3 Fung1	Got wind	clause	to get the wind of sth
Syu4 Mak1	Potato brand	noun	Schmuck
Tong1	to slice / to chop	verb	to vomit after gettinig drunk
Zoek3 Cou2	Wear grass	Verb	to exile / to be on the run

Here are some examples of Chinglish which are used by English speaking countries:

• Long time no see
• Look-see
• No can do -- Cannot be done
• Where to? -- Where do you want to go to?
• No go

Special thanks to Maggie for helping me in this entry.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching_in_Hong_Kong

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinglish

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Cantonese_Pinyin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Government_Cantonese_Romanisation

http://hkblog.xanga.com/667062380/28207243353352135486214753895734796/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_time_no_see_(phrase)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Pidgin_English#Influence_on_English

http://arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-can/

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=47059&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=47134&ph=on

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=11045&ph=on

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hack+around

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=70327&dict=CALD&ph=on

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=14660&dict=CALD&ph=on

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=80987&ph=on

Book: English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy

English Grammar in Use

Some of you who graduated from my earlier courses should have heard of this book from me, but if you haven't, here's my recommendation.

Not everybody likes grammar, especially when most people believe that grammar is dull, tedious and difficult. Well, I can't disagree more. I find grammar really interesting, because I see it as Mathematical formulas in the English world.

This book by Raymond Murphy, has got to be the best book around for grammar. It has a few version, but generally, I would recommend by students to take a look into the Intermediate ones to see if it is suitable for you before you purchase the advanced level.

What I really like about this book, is that it has all the grammar points clearer laid out, which is particularly useful when it comes to learning different ways of using tenses.

It comes with simple exercises for your practice, adequate for one to gain full understanding after each practice. Some versions of this book come with answers or CDs, so you will have to look into your budget before purchasing.

You can also take a look at 3 Units of this book through this link by Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/English-Grammar-Use-Answers-ROM/dp/0521537622

This book is actually one of many in the series, so if you are looking for more questions to work on, you may also want to take a look inside the Supplementary Exercises books.

I know that there are also Chinese-translated versions in the bookstores. I don't know how good they are after translation, but you may also want to compare the English and the Chinese before buying.

Whatever your decision is, this is definitely a best-buy for anyone who must improve their written or spoken grammar.

What are you waiting for? Get your Sunday book now!! Joint Publishing and Commercial Press are having great offers with HSBC credit card and coupons!

Resources:

http://www.amazon.com/English-Grammar-Use-Answers-ROM/dp/0521537622

Picture resources:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBRsIOvod9uzFmcSvfm_Eitoj0r3ZZxdX1_b2w_Sp_AXu0Sb0FjNM4bX3s5bfKCX4zRi-788ZWkS2nDT98-ZfLV4qYVPm2-SKKzGByVqzCMR5D5XJp3-ognWbxDItPx8i74awrrRC3uYr/s400/EnglishGrammarInUse.jpg

Education: Analysis of HKALE Use of English Results 2009

This year's HKALE results were released on the 30th June 2009. I guess apart from the parents, nobody really care much about this news, but for me, I am really interested in the performance of the students in their English papers. And so I hurried to the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority website, and read up on the official press release.


And this is what I read,


"This year, a total of 38,647 candidates entered the examination, representing an increase of 1% on last year. Of the total candidature, 74.9% attempted the examination for the first time and 22.9% entered as private candidates."


"Same as last year 0.9% day school first attempters attained A for AS Use of English while the percentage of candidates receiving E or above was 76.4%, representing an increase of 2.1% over last year."


And take a look at the following table, I added the TOTAL column myself:


Analysis of Results of Day School First Attempters in Use of English

Year	A	B+	C+	D+	E+	F+	U	TOTAL
2008	0.9	4	15.4	41.6	74.3	91.5	8.5	100
2009	0.9	4.4	16.3	42.8	76.4	91.4	8.6	100

Okay, what can you see from the above data? Does that look pretty nice? From the first sight, I felt like, "that's not too bad!" They are almost all big number! So, like the press release, they are doing better! 2.1% more students passing is really a lot!!!


But then a careful look, hang on! This is acculumated percentage table!!! They just add up the percentages as it goes from left to right, so if you want to find the real percentage for each grade, you need to minus the big number from right to left, so it should loook like this:

Year	A	B	C	D	E	F	U	TOTAL
2008	0.9	3.1	11.4	26.2	32.7	17.2	8.5	100
2009	0.9	3.5	11.9	26.5	33.6	15	8.6	100

From here, you can see much better than, well, yeah, the percentage of students getting Grade F has lowered by 2.2%, and almost half of these have gone to Grade E, while the rest are distributed to the Grade B,C and D. But still, I am more demanding than just the B,C or Ds, so I pretty much only care about the Grade A students.


Why hasn't the percentage gone up? You see, less than 1 percent of the students are getting Grade A, that means 38647 x 74.9% x 0.9% = 2605.19427 --> 2605 first attempters got Grade A for Use of English.


Is that a big or a small number?


I don't know, we take total area of Hong Kong (6054.5 sq.km) and then see how often you will meet someone who got a Grade A for their Use of English (6054.5 sq.km / 2605 = 2.3 per sq.km), which is roughly 2.3 of them per 140 standard football fields (0.105 km*0.068 km = 0.00714 sq.km) in Hong Kong.


You will get to meet 2.3 of them in per 140 standard football fields??? The chance is that you won't be able to see them even if you are standing on flat ground of the same area.


Anyway, less than 1% is really low. I will only go for this percentage if you ask me choose this or the lottery.


But of course, I am being too picky, there are many others who can speak good English, so you shouldn't be upset about not being able to find someone to speak English to.


However, my point is, say, 3 years later, when these 2605 students have graduated from universities, what is their contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) going to be?


FYI, they are 0.0372% of the estimated 7 millions Hong Kong population.


Cruely speaking, if only the top English speakers would have a hopeful future (which is definitely unlikely), the future looked pretty grim. Luckily, Mandarin is playing a more and more crucial part of the money world. So my advice is, if these Secondary School students really cannot handle English, they must go and master their Mandarin.


Either way, they both take hard work and lots of practices, that's for sure!


Resources:
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=84194&sid=24393797&con_type=1&d_str=20090630&fc=2


http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/hkcee//


http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/MainNews/2009_06_29_HKALE_release_of_results_ENG_full.pdf

Vocabulary: News Article "Jackson friends mourn passing of flawed genius"

I spent almost 4 hours watching Michael Jackson's MTV marathon on TVB Pearl at Saturday night, all the way till 3am till I really couldn't keep my eyes open.

I really liked the concert part when MJ sang a series of his greatest hits such as "Jam", "Thriller", "Billie Jean" , "Smooth Criminal" and "Black or White".

These songs brought me back the fond memories of becoming a manager of a primary 5 classmate, whose a fan of MJ and could dance pretty well himself. I had him go around the school ground and showing off his ability to others. That lasted for about a week before we got bored and went on to play another game, but becoming a manager of a mini MJ got me into listening to MJ's songs for the first time. I still remember my first album was Dangerous, and I copied that from my neighbour's tape, and then I traced the album cover myself.

I remember that so clearly that it just feels like just yesterday.

Today, I read an article which I think it is really worth sharing as it contains many good words.

Many have asked me what do we often need to say at someone's departure, maybe I will write an entry on that some day later.

Rest in Peace, Michael, you'll live forever on the internet, and our hearts.

Jackson friends mourn passing of flawed genius(06-27 00:16) Fans around the world grieved for Michael Jackson, while many friends hailed his ''genius'' but raised questions about the King of Pop's entourage and drug consumption. Many tributes put Jackson into the pantheon of tragic stars alongside Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. Fans from Paris to Sydney planned candlelit vigils for the 50-year-old superstar who died on Thursday from cardiac arrest. At the Glastonbury pop festival in Britain, thousands danced to Jackson's iconic songs such as ''Thriller'' and ''Billie Jean.'' But recriminations also started over the treatment of the singer who made the world's biggest selling album ''Thriller'' and was planning comeback shows in London next month after being dragged through the courts on pedophilia charges. Some of the biggest names in entertainment paid tributes. Pop diva Madonna called Jackson ''one of the greats'' of music. Beatle Paul McCartney hailed Jackson as a ''massively talented boy man with a gentle soul.'' Singer Liza Minnelli called Jackson ''a genius talent, who revolutionised show business.'' Actress Elizabeth Taylor, another of Jackson's longstanding friends, was ''too devastated'' to issue a statement. Jackson's influence was also highlighted by the new generation of pop stars.Justin Timberlake – who like Jackson is known for both his singing and dancing – said the world has ''lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only pop music, but of all music.'' Singer Beyonce said: ''The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music.'' Film director Steven Spielberg said: ''Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. ''His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him a legend.'' AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Vocabulary:

mourn -- verb [I or T] to feel or express great sadness, especially because of someone's death

flawed -- adj. not perfect, or containing mistakes

grieve -- verb 1 [I] to feel or express great sadness, especially when someone dies; (for meaning 2, click on the word)

hail sb/sth as sth -- phrasal verb [often passive] to praise a person or an achievement by saying that they are similar to someone or something very good

entourage /ˈɒn.tʊ.rɑ:ʒ/--(French) group noun [C usually singular], the group of people who travel with and work for an important or famous person

tribute --noun [C] something that you say, write or give which shows your respect and admiration for someone, especially on a formal occasion

pantheon --noun [C usually singular] FORMAL a small group of people who are the most famous, important and admired in their particular area of activity

vigil --noun [C or U] (an act of) staying awake, especially at night, in order to be with an ill person, or to express especially political disagreement, or to pray

cardiac arrest --noun [U] a condition in which the heart stops beating

recriminations --noun [U] argument between people who are blaming each other

revolutionised --verb [T] to completely change something so that it is much better

longstanding --adj. having existed for a long time

devastated --adj. 1. very shocked and upset (for meaning 2, click on the word)

wonderment --noun [U] LITERARY great and pleasant surprise

legend -- noun [C], someone or something very famous and admired, usually because of their ability in a particular area .

Picture resources:

http://sleevage.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/michael_jackson_dangerous-f.jpg

Resources:

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=15346&icid=4&d_str=20090629

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=52178&ph=on

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=34458&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=29542&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=35224&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=25896&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=84785&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=57342&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=88293&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=11429&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=66145&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=47067&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=21302&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=91108&dict=CALD

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=45441&dict=CALD

News: Locky's English Playground gets International

Good news for me (maybe for you too)!

The articles that you are reading from my blog, Locky's English Playground, are becoming the sources of various international companies' researches on the internet!!!

I was searching for the address of my blog from Google as usual, and realised that websites of various companies are quoting from my blog!!!

Hurray!!!

Even companies from overseas are reading my blog, why not you?

Resources:
http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:BsNkSAzwaFMJ:www.parallel-shop.co.cc/parallel-imported.htm+locky%27s+english+playground&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk

http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:F0Q_UvToaD8J:electrolysisassist.com/links/h2o_electrolysis_research_page_1.php+locky%27s+english+playground&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk

Grammar: Subjunctive Mood

Subjunctive Mood

After writing the article Sports: Are "Ronaldos" always good at football? I was surprised that only one of you left comment to try, so I thought I should write a separate entry to answer my own question in case some of you miss out the comment Jan made.


"The subjunctive is a special kind of present tense which has no "s" in the 3rd person singular form . It is sometimes used in that-clauses in a formal style, especially in US English, after words which express the idea that something is important or desirable (eg. suggest, recommend, ask, insist, vital, essential, important, advice). The same forms are used in both present and past sentences."

• The kid demanded his mother do as he said.
• The saleslady recommended Amy check out the prices before buying.
  

Do is not used in negative subjunctives. Note the word order.

• Pete insisted his girlfriend not attend her ex-boyfriend's birthday party.
• The students suggested their teacher go and die.
  

Be has special subjuntive forms: I be, you be, etc.

• It is important that Locky be paid before his money runs low.
• It is vital that his students be pushed hard when it comes to doing homework.
  

Subjuntives are also use in certain fixed phrases.

• God save the King/Queen!
• God bless you.
• If we have to pay $2000 for the tax, then so be it. (= we can't do anything to change it)

"Most subjunctives structures are formal and unusual in British English. In that-clauses, British people usually prefer should+infinitive, or ordinary present and past tenses."

• It is advised that employees should stay at home and not go to work if they wake up late in the morning. (or employee stay)
• But Paul felt that it was also advised that he should receive extra pay for his 8-hour-per-day, painstaking researches on adult websites. (or he received)

Resources:
p.566 Practical English Usage by Michael Swan -- international student's Edition --Oxford.