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were not antagonistic toward each other in China. Teochiu, if asked why they dislike Hoi Luk Fung, will reply that although there are many similarities, Hoi Luk Fung are very different in personality, and that it is their aggressive and rough nature that distinguishes them from Teochiu. Teochiu also resent Hoi Luk Fung for identifying themselves as Teochiu to outsiders who cannot distinguish between the two; for example, it is often stated by Teochiu that Hoi Luk Fung criminals identify themselves as Teochiu and thus the police have an unjustified opinion of Teochiu and crime statistics for Teochiu are inflated by Hoi Luk Fung wrong-doing. Teochiu consider Fukienese, however, to be distantly related and feel a special friendship as a result, although very few Teochiu within the estate know any Fukienese. This is interesting in that Teochiu and Fukienese are linguistically and historically related and are perceived in a positive manner, whereas Hoi Luk Fung are even more closely related and are so negatively perceived.
The nature of Teochiu perceptions of Hoi Luk Fung is exemplified in the following incident known to me. The son of a particular Teochiu was severely beaten by another boy; the father (A) wanted to revenge the act and attack the other boy's father. Another Teochiu (B) told me that the reason for (A)'s desire to assault the man was because he is very hot-tempered and that although (A) is from Hui Lai, his village is near the border with Hoi Luk Fung. Hence (A) has acquired a Hoi Luk Fung temperament! Other people from the same village might not be considered in a similar manner but because (A) is over-reacting in (B)'s eyes, (A) is behaving like a Hoi Luk Fung and is actually seen by (B) to be similar to Hoi Luk Fung in temperament. Cases of over-reaction in Teochiu from villages distant from Hoi Luk Fung would not, of course, be susceptible to (B)'s logic and assumptions.
Although there are no phenotypic differences between Teochiu and Hoi Luk Fung, they can easily distinguish each other's speech. A Teochiu can immediately determine whether a Southern Min speaker is Fukien, Teochiu, or Hoi Luk Fung, and it usually requires only several hours or days of conversation for Teochiu to completely understand a particular Hoi Luk Fung. They are readily identifiable to each other, and cognitive boundaries and conceptions are thus easily acted upon in interaction. Cantonese and other ethnic groups, with the exception of Hakka originally from north-
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DOUGLAS W. SPARKS
were not antagonistic toward each other in China. Teochiu, if asked why they dislike Hoi Luk Fung, will reply that although there are many similarities, Hoi Luk Fung are very different in personality, and that it is their aggressive and rough nature that distinguishes them from Teochiu. Teochiu also resent Hoi Luk Fung for identifying themselves as Teochiu to outsiders who cannot distinguish between the two; for example, it is often stated by Teochiu that Hoi Luk Fung criminals identify themselves as Teochiu and thus the police have an unjustified opinion of Teochiu and crime statistics for Teochiu are inflated by Hoi Luk Fung wrong-doing. Teochiu consider Fukienese, however, to be distantly related and feel a special friendship as a result, although very few Teochiu within the estate know any Fukienese. This is interesting in that Teochiu and Fukienese are linguistically and historically related and are perceived in a positive manner, whereas Hoi Luk Fung are even more closely related and are so negatively perceived.
The nature of Teochiu perceptions of Hoi Luk Fung is exem- plified in the following incident known to me. The son of a particular Teochiu was severely beaten by another boy; the father (A) wanted to revenge the act and attack the other boy's father. Another Teochiu (B) told me that the reason for (A)'s desire to assault the man was because he is very hot tempered and that although (A) is from Hui Lai, his village is near the border with Hoi Luk Fung. Hence (A) has acquired a Hoi Luk Fung temper- ment! Other people from the same village might not be considered in a similar manner but because (A) is over-reacting in (B)'s eyes, (A) is behaving like a Hoi Luk Fung and is actually seen by (B) to be similar to Hoi Luk Fung in temperament. Cases of over reaction in Teochiu from villages distant from Hoi Luk Fung would not of course be susceptible to (B)'s logic and assumptions.
Although there are no phenotypic differences between Teochiu and Hoi Luk Fung, they can easily distinguish each other's speech. A Teochiu can immediately determine whether a Southern Min speaker is Fukien, Teochiu or Hoi Luk Fung, and it usually requires only several hours or days of conversation for Teochiu to com- pletely understand a particular Hoi Luk Fung. They are readily identifiable to each other, and cognitive boundaries and conceptions are thus easily acted upon in interaction. Cantonese and other ethnic groups, with the exception of Hakka originally from north-
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