1958-09-20 — Page 5

I

Page

Let's Take Hongkong's Word

By R. W. Thompson

THE CHINA" MAIL, SATURDAY; SEPTEMBER | 20;'* 1958..

Fascists Behind The

Race

TITEST Indian ministers in Britain to investigato race-sloting at first hand have been seeing "fasciats" behind the troubles. Some of them have; detected "'organisation" in the flare-up between coloured West Indians and whites, parti- cularly around Notting Hill, London.

a complaint, real or imagined, ngainst coloured immigrants. Now, there is no fascist! I do not bellove that they can party na Auch in Britain. over attract sumcient support rash to constitute a real menses. But, forlified by being taken seriously, PIECEE: This word was used to replace all classiflors by Pidgin-There is, however, i

fronotic speakers. Earlier plugin used for inanimate things and re

extremists they can make the tricky task stved-fells for animals (including humans) as happens to whose propaganda smacks of integrating coloured migrants day in Melanesian Pidgin, Pieces has still great vigour in

the extreme "white" even longer and more dificult, Hongkong, especially, among maha, Giles quotes: You catchee of

nationalism of the carlier one piece wife? Are you married? (Have you a wife?)

fascists.

PIK NIK: 1 give you one guess.

POMMELO: The shaddock or decumans, largest of the

MMEL fruits. It is also spelt pummeld. The nume poems to have come from India and although many related forms occur its etymology is still held to be doubtful. Some of these names are pompone and pampel-monsse in French India; pumple- nose, pumplemuse, pummel-nose and even pimple-noses in it was spelt earlier British records. As carly, as 1601 Pumpelmoos the Dutchman Schulzen. Hongkong Portugu

ese call this fruit jambos.

PUNKA: An air-cooling device brought to China by the Euro- des- perts. It was once Hongkong's word too. The word cends ultimately from Sanskrit pankha. Giles quotes the

from statement

The Pioneer following oddly-expressed "Punkah says that in its own country It is pulled by a string and is used to ventilate a room,"

These have suddenly

On The Shelf?

Riots?

in

But for the recommendation brisk unofficial trudo

If the about homosexuals it is a safo hard-to-get tickets. bet that the repart would al- show is a amask“ hit like, ready have boen debated and its let's say, "My Fair Lady," recommendations, to a stealer or the prices demanded by the teks degree, embodied in the law. "colpers” bear little-rolation Few, if any, dispute the need to to the prices at the clean up flagrant prostitution, office. particularly in London,

box-

In recent weeks the entre- the box-office At the same Ume there is preneurs of

offering to every indication that the govern- queues have been méni realises that, so far as the trade their holdings of "My Fair recommendation

homo Lady" tickets for tickets to the "Auntie sexuality is concerned, parila- Intest American show

come into a certain amount Rd Report it was the mutary fouling

EMEMBER the Wolfen-

of prominence because of

on

may be badly Mamo." by cut of touch with popular sent!- There would have to be a free vote on this recommends-

racial troubles both in Lon- result of investigations

government sponsored ment. don and Nottingham. They " have been swift to attempt Committee into prostitution tion, and it is more than possible to exploit the high feelings and homosexuality in Bri- that the recommendation would

of low intellects.

But as, I hope, an objec tive 'observer I believe they are being grossly flattered by having blame for the racial tension laid at their door.

FUNT: A Chinese inch: teuen. Punt (punto from the Portug

ese ponto) originated in Canton. It was the tenth part of u covid (itselt of Portuguese origin).on

Their "Keep Britain White

And PUNTI: "Indigenous Cantonese-speaking shore-dwellers, particu-campaign has been suppurating

Hakkas larly in contrast

from whose language the quietly for several years, to

is taken from the it has been accorded the same expression is taken." This definition

the

credit as the "Yanks Go Home" Hongkong Government Annual Departmental Report by

and "No Popery" wall-duubinga District Commissioner, New Territories, 1955-56, which also

elsewhere. contains a map which indientes in colour the distribution of Punti and Hakka villages in the New Territories. In the same report it is stated that the Punti dialect belongs to western section of the Yuen group of Chinese dialects.

5

FAILAU: A triumphal archway. The Commissioner of Police, Hongkong, recently issued a circular to registered societies, trade unions and other organisations forbidding the hanging -Deross-any_street, road or footpath of any decoration, banner,

sign or palla” and the erection of paiiaus or similar structures. .without the approval of the Director of Public Works." The name, of Chineses origin, 1s composed of eternents meaning tablet and stage or ercetion. Yule and Burnell noted that the construction was derived from India with Buddhism

Indian and BUC

Eastern

The Architecture, pp. 200-702). Japanese Torii are said to have the same origin,

RATTAN: The common cane, often used in the manufacture of light furiture, etc. The word is of Malayan origin: rotang or rotan. The form rota has long been in use in the Portuguese of the East and still survives in the dialect of Hongkong. RICKSHA! This well-known word is a shortened version of the Japanese Jin-riki-bha 'manpower-vehicle. Tho rieksha has given way to pedalar powered vehicles in most parts of the East. The New English Dictionary quotes the Pall Mall Magazine of 5th August, 1007: "There can be no impropriety In ladies,

.riding in our easy and delightful fleckshaa" and again the issue of 3rd. February, 1890 which speaks of "Chumming with Chinamen, itarickshaing with Japanese.... palovering with Peruvians." It is claimed that the ricksha was first used in Japan around 1876 and that is inventor was an American missionary by the name of W. Goble,

BAAM MAN CHI: This is the form in which English "sandwich"

is borrowed by the Cantonese dialect of Hongkong. BAAM PIN TBAU: Champagne, The first two elements represent

the borrowed foreign word.

WIIITE SALMON: A fish, eleutheronema tetradactylus, also known as thread-fin. Local fisherman call it Ma Yau which Herkiots and Lin translate as "Horac's friend."*

BAMPAN: This word is applied by Europeans in the China seas to Chinese any small boat of Chinese pattern. It is written in with the characters for "three" and "board." In Annamite it is tam-ban which is obviously related. The name was known to Europeans in the sixteenth century—oempan is documented for Spanish and champans for Portuguese. There is some doubt as to the origin of this name which may be in Malaya rather than in China. The modern form goes back only ns for as the early seventeenth century.

A British Crossword Puzzle

So long as no one look it seriously it was harmless.

Now, under the generic head of "fascists," its authors have been elevated by visiting minis- ters to the status of influencers or public opinion. The danger here is that, invested with this stature, they might become the rallying point for everyone with

tain.

be endorsed,

Peter Burgoyne's.

NEWS FROM BRITAIN

It is more than a year since

nothing has been done about it, the Report was published and Not even a debate in Parlia~ nicht..

Essentially, what the. Report proposed was that the low cover- ing prosecutions for prostitution should be given teeth and that homosexuality between consent- ing adults in private should no longer be a crime.

Now there are signe of aglia- tion-touched off by the com- millec-leader, Sir John Wol- government fenden for some action on the report,

ZANIES

Тахрим

The political, repercussions would strike, not at the Members of Parliament who voted for the recommendation, but at the government holding office at the time.

On the strength of pre-opening bally-hoo their enterprise seemed justified.

They must be kicking them- selves now, For "Aunile Mame" opened in the West End last week, and ovan. the presence in the name part of Beatrice Lille could not save it from a very cool reception by the erilles.

The The theatre crilic of Times" commented on the string of sketches which convulsed New York that they "may be very American but are not often very funny."

It

seems that what makes America laugh

leave may Britain cold.

With a general election likely therefore, that you will see any parliamentary action on the con tentious Wolfenden Report,

next year, It is improbable, By Any Other

Auntie-Climax

Name.

IT'S

T'S a curious psychological THENEVER ₫ hit-show phenomenon, this fattor comes to London's day refusal to call-a-spado West End, there's always a a spade. Nowadays it's got to be something like "a —manual excovator."

INDIAN INK

In Britain we no longer have dustmen, plumbers and rat- catchers, for instance. These nocessary.

'and honourable workers have been replaced by street orderlies, sanitary engineers.and rodent operatives,

Now, from the annual conTM ference of the Institute of Hous- ing, we learn that in describing the elderly as "old people" we ate, at best, guilty of a solecisin; at worst, offensive.

They should now be known as "zenior citizens,"

I

trust that the elderly, scrimping along on an old age- forgive me, I mean "retirement" -pension, appreciate the irony of being referred to as "senior citizens."

COMFORT COMES FIRST

ROLEX

Page

2

3

12

14

16

ACROSS

3 Feeble old man, (8),

8 Inacel on the border in Ire-

land (0).

It's usually at the bottom (0).

11 Large sums paid for music?

(8);

12 Sure, it may be a trick (4).

13 For measuring gas? (5).',

18. Chaiténged (6),

19 Flying castle (4),

22 Olde name for a drink! (8),

24 Ha makes things up (8).

25 How one likes to receive

parcels? Agree?: (0);

DOWN

i Scottish county town (5).

2 Get going (5).

3 Shelved? (7).

4 Siga (4).

5 Said to make a platform (4).-

What Miss Otis was? (0)

7 Row in Hyde Park (8).

10 Subralt to delay (8).

14 Floid plants, (5),

15 Compunction about a code

(7).

10 Finda pleces of harness (1).

17 Starchy? (6).

20 Regal beer (5).

21 May be wide for the 'un.

20 To live in it is the choice of popular. voyager ((5));

the reclung (8)/

za Swag (4); ** -28 Rustic drink? (4).

FRIDAY'S CROSSWORD-Across: 3 Roshness, 7 In-n-NE.. B Flaming-0,10 Cool-io, 12 Beater, 15 Tear, 17 Recites, 18. One-lep, 20 Ogie, 21 Defrain, 20 Lessee, 27 Localise, 29 Mola!, 20 Suspects. Downs 1 Disc 2 Carioc, 3 Reft, 4 Hump, Ernest 8 Scours 9 Leered, 11 Owing 12 Impe, 14 Repel 15 Tiers, 16 Aerie, '18 Oodles, 19 Elecia, 22 Avems; 23 Amplő, 24 Neste 20 Floe,

Devis

"We can't go on meeting like this--my husband's getting auspicious."

00 00.00

Mathias

BEWARE

OF ESCAPED

LION

HUDSON

USE VASSO

HAR RESTORER

Leary

Jockey

*BRAND

UNDERWEAR

made only by

Cooforma

IOLE

BIRTH

Page 5Page 6