Posted by
Bloomfield
15 yrs ago
hi guys,
so far my experience with taxi drivers has been exasperating! I say 'Central' and they ask me 'Kowloon?'; I say 'Belair, Cyberport' and they hand me the mic to speak to an operator-translator...How do you manage? Are there particularly difficult English names for the locals to handle? Are there some which are identical in both languages? Have you developed particular strategies (gestures, names, signs in the landscape...) which you regularly adopt to go from X to Y...? Grateful for any experiences of yours and advice, of course...
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HI Bloomfield,
I have this cheat sheet "english pinyin" I give all my incoming transferee's. Would you like a copy? pm me with your email address.
One thing that always keeps me in check is that the taxi drivers have it just as hard, they're wondering," I hope the customer just said central and not 'the Center'" They arent doing it for giggles :)
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As cara says, learn a minimum of Cantonese and you'll be ok. I find it a bit much to ask that the taxi drivers should understand English perfectly. It's a bit like going to London and expecting all the cabbies to speak excellent Cantonese.
The following are enough to get you around 95% of the time.
- Here
- Turn left/right
- Straight
- Your home address
- Central (if that's where you go).
Remember that you have to pronounce some things very precisely in Cantonese or the meaning changes. For example "chung wan" can mean "Central" or "Middle Bay" if the "wan" is pronounced differently.
Another thing is to skip all the embellishments that English speakers routinely use.
Wrong: "Hello, could you please take me to Wing-on in Sheung Wan."
Correct: "Sheung Wan. Wing-on."
If you think you're being rude, remember that the Chinese speak that way. Speaking "politely" in the Western sense is very confusing to most locals.
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my first chinese tutor was the lovely voice on the MTR announcing the next station...if you do ride it once in a while, listen for the Cantonese "Ha Yut Tsam ******* (cantonese station name), followed by the Putonghua (you may ignore this!), follwed by the English translation "Next Station ******"...after a while, you'll know them all by heart!
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Hey guys,
Cantonese is not an official language in London.
I had the experience of a nice driver las friday. His English was good enough. I showed him the destination using the reciept given by a shop. He then started to comment my choice, saying he would never go there to buy this kind of equipment, especially as a non-chinese. Then he commented the price on the reciept and finally advised me that the fastest way to reach the desired area was the mtr.
It seems that when taxi drivers are competent in English, they really like to make use of it, and share some "insiders" advices about Hong Kong.
Have you also noticed this?
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Yes, English is an official language here, but it is hardly used by most locals. Again, unfair to expect them to understand it.
Sure, there are plenty of drivers who speak good English, but in order to avoid frustration it is best to know enough Cantonese (and it isn't a lot) to make yourself understood.
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I think some people are getting confused with HK and Canada.
While English is an official language in HK, as in government communication etc having to be in English and Chinese, however, English is not a compulsory spoken and or written language for the general public.
Don't expect to work in HK whose native language is Cantonese and expect everyone to to be able to use English. You are the visitor - so you learn some Cantonese.
Have a read of the ordinances related to language use. You will note that the emphasis is that both languages can be used - not both must be used.
http://www.legislation.gov.hk/eng/home.htm?SearchTerm=language
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Thanks for your advice!
The past two days i made some efforts and tried some Cantonese on the taxi drivers. It worked fine with a few. Some of them, however, answered in English and used English names; they didn't seem to understand me (or accept me as one of theirs?). Maybe there's more to it than just learning 'a language'.
My experience with gestures is also quite interesting. When I pointed with my arm straight, or left, right, up, down, many of the drivers were very insecure, as if my gestures were ambiguous. Any similar experiences? If they can't understand universal language like gesturing, how are they supposed to cope with my faulty cantonese?
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Many drivers will get confused at first if you speak Canto since they are expecting you to go with English and it may take a second to "switch gears".
Also as mentioned, Cantonese requires much more precision with intonation than English. You have to hit the tones pretty well or you will not be understood. Indoeuropean languages use emphasis in sentences to convey meaning, which Cantonese does not, so we tend to inadvertently change the tones based on our own structures. If you listen to a news broadcast here the syllables come out as if they were "chopping vegetables". Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Very monotonous in rhythm. To make a long story short: practice pronunciation. The few words you need are rather easy to learn.
I have had the same problem with gestures. No idea about that one! :)
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Sympathies to the newbie. Gestures don't work if it is a one-way street, as there are many in HK. Learn the location in Cantonese.
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