The number 78 is mentioned at the beginning, but its meaning or context is not provided in the given text. The text discusses the representation and romanization of Chinese words in various publications, including novels, newspapers, and magazines.
The examples given illustrate how Chinese words are often italicized and glossed in texts to help non-Chinese readers understand their meanings. For instance, in Clavell's Noble House, terms like "Tai-fun" (Supreme Winds), "Tai-tai" (supreme of the supreme wife), and "ma-foos" (stable hands) are explained within the narrative.
Further examples from different sources, such as the South China Morning Post, Asia Magazine, and the Waikiki Press, demonstrate the practice of providing glosses for Chinese terms like "see-fu" (master), "fook" (all-embracing luck), and "Bok coy" (a type of cabbage).
The text also highlights the issue of lack of standardization in the spelling of Chinese words in romanized form. Different spellings are used for the same word across various publications, such as "kylin" or "ch'i-lin" for the Chinese mythical beast, "lychee" or "litchi" for a type of fruit, "tai chi ch'uan" or "tai chi chuan" for a form of exercise, and "wan tun" or "won ton" for a type of dumpling.
Examples from different sources, including the Waikiki Press Beach Press, an advertising magazine, the University of Hong Kong Bulletin, and the South China Morning Post, are provided to illustrate this variation in spelling.
Additionally, the text touches on grammatical issues related to the use of Chinese nouns in English texts, such as whether they should be treated as countable nouns with plural endings or remain unchanged.
The discussion concludes with an observation from The Noble House, where the writer is seen to vacillate between different forms for certain Chinese nouns, such as "quai."
78
explain their meanings. For example, in Clavell's Noble House, almost all the Chinese words are italicized, and a short gloss is often worked into the text. For example, we have the following: 'Tai-fun, the Supreme Winds, were gusting at 170 m.p.h.' (p. 692). 'Tai-tai meant "supreme of the supreme" wife' (p. 712); 'Knots of owners and trainers and jockeys were conferring, ma-foos
stable hands walking horses in their blankets.' (p. 370) We can take the following as further examples. Describing the making of bamboo scaffolding in the building industry, the South China Morning Post on July 19, 1982 quotes someone as saying," "Obedience is important" he said, "as the 'see-fu' (master) teaches you the main skills.
From the Asia Magazine, July 4, 1982 we have the following: 'A strong Chinese belief is that one's fook (all-embracing luck) can be derived from ancesters. The Waikiki Press, July 16, 1982, in its article introducing Chinese food to its tourist readers, offers this explanation among others, 'Bok coy: a celery-like cabbage with a very pleasant flavour”.
Lack of standardization in spelling still characterizes a number of words. We have, for example, kylin or ch'i-lin, meaning the Chinese mythical beast, lychee or litchi, tai chi ch'uan or tai chi chuan, wan tun or won ton. From the Waikiki Press Beach Press, July 16, 1982, we can find the following: Lychee: also spelled "litchi” and half a dozen other ways
Webster
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records five. The July, 1982 issue of an advertising magazine contains the following advertisement: 'Classes. Chinese Shadow Boxing (Tai Chi Ch'uan) a graceful path to all-round fitness". In the University of Hong Kong Bulletin for members of staff, September 15, 1982, the expression is written without the apostrophe: 'Tai Chi Chuan is the ancient Chinese method of maintaining the flow of "chi" or vital energy through the body.' The Asia Magazine July 18, 1982, begins its article on London's Chinatown by referring to the 'pungent' smell of 'chow mein and won ton.' The South China Morning Post uses wan tun in its May 4, 1982 issue, when it reports about a U.S.-based Chinese fast-food chain called Charlie Chan restaurants.
Grammatically, there may be confusion over whether a countable noun should take a plural ending or be marked by zero. In The Noble House, we find the writer vacillating between quai
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