September 14, 1908.}
THE ORIGIN OF "PIGEON
ENGLISH."
“A Griffin” writes to us—“ Since my arrival in Hongkong the jargon known as "Pigeon English" has interestel me very much, but I have never been able to ascertain how it came to be the commercial lingua franca of China, seeing that the English were not the first Europeans to trade with China. What was the language medium through which the other foreigners traded? Can you throw any light on the subject ? '
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We are not old enough to remember how the Spanish and Portuguese and the Dutch got on in the days before the British traded with China, but supposs they managed as the Portuguese do in Macao to-day, by teaching natives words in constant use and thus forming "pigeon" language of their own. The supre macy of "pidgeon English" in the centres of trade along the China coast must be regarded as a tribute to the aggressiveness of the
British.
Oar o rrespondent, and, doubtless, many others, will be interested in the following remarks on the subject which we take from
·
an old book entitled 4. The Fan Kwei in Canton," written by one of America's pioneer merchants and published in 1882:-
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
never mind; la-la-loon from Isdruő, a thief; grand, from grande, the obief, as, for instance, 'grand chop; 'junk, from the Portuguese sound where they first traded. of Chueng in the dialect of the East Coast, have bazaar, a market; Shroff, moneydealer; Of Indian words we chunam, lime; tifin, lancheon; go-don, from ka-dang'; las, one hundred thousand; cooly, a labourer; chit, a note or letter; bungalow, a cottoge; kaaris, curry, and others.
A
Some peculiarities of expression and application of two words constantly used in Pigeon-English may be mentioned. The language was by no means confined to those of foreign, but it contained quite a vocabulary of words of Chinese, origin; it was, in fact, a very mixed tongue. Chop, for instance, is of which signifies literally any 'document.' perpetual cocurience. It is the same as 'oho,' shopkeeper's bill is a 'chop, so is an Imperial edict or a Mandarin's proclamation; a cargo boat is a chop-bost, it does duty als for a promissory note, a receipt, a stamp or sesi, a licence for shipping off or to land cargo, a mark expressed by first chop,' and for goods, or a permit First quality, is an inferior according to quality is No. 6. 8, or 10 chop,
When a cooly is sent on su chop. A first chop' man speaks for itself, so errand requiring haste, he is told to go 'chop does bad chop man.'
the worst of all,
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Pigeon-English is the well-known name given to that unique language through the medium of
The variety of uses to which the compound which business was transacted and all inter- word 'ohow-chow' is put is almost endless, and course exclusively carried on between the in some cases have a directly opposite meaning. Western Ocean foreigners and Canton For instance, No. 1 chow chow' thing Chinese. For years after my arrival but three sigoides utterly worthless," but when foreign residents were Chinese schola-s-
applied to a breakfast or dinner it means namely, Doctor Morrison; the present Siranexceptionally good.' A 'chow-chow cargo John Francis Davis, the last Chief of the
is an assorted cargo; a general shop is English East India Company's establishment;
8 obow.show' shop; provisions of all and one American, myself-while 'Pigeon kinds are classed under the general head of English' had grown up with the early days of
'ohow-chow; and as may have been remarked foreign intercourse with the port of Canton.
in the list of the Factories, one was called the It is not difficult to arrive at the creation of this Chow-chow' from its being inhabited by divers particular and strange language. Foreigners Parsees, Moormen, or other natives of India. came to Canton for a limited period, and would not or could not apply themselves to the study of so difficult a language as the Chinese, of which even
& sufficiency for commonplace purposes was not easy to acquire, and if acquired would be useless anywhere else. The local government also placed serious obstacles in the way of learning it, to the length of beheading a Chinese teacher for giving lessons. This is on the authority of Dr. Morrison, who related to
CANTON.
[FROM OUR CORRESPONDEN 7.
:-)
185-
- September 3rd. THE CANTON STEAM LAV CH ASSOCIATION.
wharves without special license from the I. M. Steam-launches are prohibited from boarding
Customs authorities. Several of the launch owners have recently complained of this matter to the Secretary of the Association who sent a dispatch to the Viceroy concerning the affair, This document turns out to have been written without authority from the President of the Association, Me. Yu Kin Cho. The latter disclaims all responsibility and the writer will be fined for his unnecessary seal.
CANTON HANKOW RAILWAY,
received private instructions from the Prime It is reported that the officials here have Minister, Chang Chi Tang, that owing to frequent shareholders
troubles arsising between the and the Directors of the Company and also the mismanagement of affairs of the concern by the latter, the Government has decided that unless 57 per cent,
of the second instalment on the shares which is now due is collected before a certain date, the Government will take back the line and under- take to construct the Kwangtung section itself.
ILLITERATE MILITARY AND NAVAL OFFICERS, The Minister of the Board of War has in- structed Viceroy Chang to examine all the Military and Naval Offoars from General and Admiral downwards and find out and report to the Board those officers who are uneducated and to order them to devote certain hours every day to the study of the characters.
SILK GUILDS SENDING REPRESENTATIVES ABROAD.
The Filk Filiature Guilds of Nam Hoi, Poon Yu, Shun Tak and other silk pro- ducing districts have decided to raise Although by the Chinese all foreigners were
large fund for the purpose of sending repre- called Fan Kwses, or Foreign Devils, still sentatives to all the foreiga silk markets to a distinction of the drollest and most charac-investigate and study the silk trade,
made between them. The It is their intention to deal direct with the teristio kind was English became • Red-haired devils; the foreign home buyers in the near future, as the Paisees. from the custom of shaving their heads, representatives will remain permanently in were 'White-bead devils; ' Moorien
those foreign markets where silk is largely simply molo devils. The Dutch became Hooonsumed. lan, the French Fat-lan-ay,' and the Americans Flowery flag devils. The Swedes were 'Suy' and the Danes Yellow-fag devils.' The
were
Owing to the dulness of the silk trade this year, the Presidents of these guilds recently held a joint meeting at which it
me an instance that took place before I arrived, Portuguere have never ceased to be 'Se-yang was stated that silk is one of the largest
and he further informed me that for years after his own arrival in 1807 he was obliged, as a protection to his own teacher, to study at night in a room with lights carefully screened.
On the other hand, the shrewd Chinaman succeeded in supplying this absence of the knowledge of his own language by cleverly making himself familiar with sounds of foreign words, and conforming them to his own monosyllabio mode of expression, at the same time using simple Chinese words to express their meaning. He thus created a language, as it may be called, deprived of syntax, without the logio speech, and reduced to its most simple elements. It took firm root, became the con- ventional medium of intercourse in respect to transactions of enormous value and magnitude, and exists in all its vigour and quail tness to this day.
It was undoubtedly an invention of the Chinese, and long anterior to the appearance of the English at Canton in its origin, as may be proved by the admixture of Portuguese and Indian words still to be found in it, the latter having probably been originally made known by those primary visitors from the western world via India. The English came more than a hundred years after; words from their language were then gradually incorporated, and increased with the disappearance of the Portuguese, who confined themselves to their own growing colony of Macao, until, finally, the former became the principal traders, and thus this language became known as Pigeon-English.
The word 'pigeon' is simply a corruption of 'business,' and with its companion means bu-iness-English. Of Portuguese origin we have the most undoubted proof in such words na mandarin, from mandar, to order; compra dore, from compra, to bay; joss, from Deos; pa-te-ls, from padre; maskei from marque,
C
kwas, thus retaining the name first applied to them on their arrival from the Western Ocean' (which the words signify), while their descendants, natives of Macao, are 'Oman war, or Macao devils' from the Chinese name of the town.
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I have now
!
In the Canton bookshops near the Factories was sold a small pamphlet, called Devils Talk.' On the cover was a drawing of a foreig- ner in the dress of the middle of the last century -three-cornered hat, coat with wide skirts, breeches, and long stockings, shoes with buckles, lace sleeves, and in his hand a cane. one of these pamphlets before me. It commences thus, 'Yun,' and under it is its barbarian definition, expressed it another Chinese word whose sound "is 'man.' After many examples of this kind come words of two syllables-tha, 'kum-yat, with their foreign meaning expressed by two other Chinese characters pronounced 'to-teay' to-day-and so on to sentences, for which the construction of the language is peculiarly adopted. This pamphlet, costing a penny or two, was continually in the hands of servants, coolies, and shopkeepers. The author was a Chinaman, whose ingenuity should immor- talise him. I have often wondered who the min was who first reduced the 'outlandish tongue to a current language. Red candles should be burnt on altars erected to his memory, and obtations of tea poured out before his image, placed among the wooden gods which in temples surround the shrine of a deified man of letters.
A Hankow paper notes that German firms have again been successful in securing the balk of the contracts for the Canton-Hankow railway, two local British firms having only managed to secure a very small contract each.
lines of trade in the Kwangtung Province. The export of this commodity to foreign countries last year was enormous and all those who were connected with the trade made hand- some profite, This year the demand for silk
has been considerably diminished and prices of all kinds of silk have fallen immensely. Many merchants have failed, and numerous filiatures have been compelled to close down. Unless representatives are sent abroad dark and as unable to understand what is the silk men regard themselves as in the the real cause
of the actuations. By having representatives abroad they say they will be in direct touch with the exact position of affairs in the foreign markets. These re- demand in the markets and would be able to sell presentatives could cable when there is any dir. ot to the buyers. to make money in a sure way," they say.
This is the only means
TAMPERING WITH MAILS.
The owners of the “On Kee" steam launch, trading between Canton and Waichow have reported to the Postal Commissioner here that the newly-appointed Superintendent of the Pak
ha Likin Station has insisted upon opening all the sealed mail bags to look for datiable and none of the search officers dared to open articles, but the Captain of the launch protested
them. The Captain reported the matter as the Likin officials might forcibly open them on another occasion.
OLD MILITARY OFFICIALS.
Admiral Li 'I sun issued a notifloation yester. day to the effect that, although he has held office for a long time, many of his subordinates are unknown to him; some of them are too old (over 70 years of age) and useless for the service; others, being incapable and ignorant ; so requires that all should register themselves personally at his office before the end of t
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