FEAR and SURPRISE

[amhoanna]

A couple of questions.

1) How would U guys say, "I was afraid she would turn out to be evil, so I told Ayu to come live with us."

2) What words do U use to express surprise? How would U say, "They were all very surprised to find that Ayu was evil too."

3) Do U guys use or ever come across a phrase "kiaⁿ-khì" or "kiaⁿ-ì" having a meaning related to fear or suspicion? (Not kiâⁿkhì 行氣.)

[aokh1979]

1. 我「驚講」、「擔心講」、「煩惱講」
2. 伊儂「著怔驚」
3. Me never......

[niuc]

Bâ-gán usage is the same as Aokh's. Not sure about how 怔 sounds in「著怔驚」, we say tiòh-chiⁿ(tshiⁿ)-kiaⁿ, or sometimes just 著驚 tiòh-kiaⁿ.

How about a nice surprise e.g. when given a surprise birthday party? Kiaⁿ-hí 驚喜 is listed at 台文-華文線頂辭典, but I have never heard it used. In this case, I would say something like 知影个時陣真歡喜. How about you guys? Thanks.

[amhoanna]

Thanks, guys. Can "tio̍h cheⁿkiaⁿ" be used w/o connotations of fear? I.e. negative, but w/o implying that the person was scared?

What about "The boss surprised him last week by bringing him to Macau with her"? Let's say the guy was neither afraid nor pleased nor displeased -- just surprised. And, let's say the speaker (narrator) wasn't surprised at all. How would U guys say this?

[amhoanna]

I'll take a crack at the sentences I mentioned in my first post. Native speakers, please correct me.

"I was afraid she would turn out to be evil, so I told Ayu to come live with us."
--> (Hit cūn ·ho·ⁿ) Goá kiaⁿ kóng hoānsè i sī pháiⁿlâng, ánne m̄ cia' kiò A'iú lâi ka' goálâng toà còhoé.

"They were all very surprised to find that Ayu was evil too."
--> Soà ·lo̍'lâi (--> ·loai) ilâng cia' cai'iáⁿ goânlâi A'iú mā sī pháiⁿlâng, ilâng lóng tio̍' cheⁿkiaⁿ.

[niuc]

In my usage, tiòh-chiⁿ-kiaⁿ is of greater severity than tiòh-kiaⁿ. Both are negative, but IMO not necessarily implying that the person was scared. They can mean [shocked], or [surprised] in the sense of shocked after knowing the fact.

What about "The boss surprised him last week by bringing him to Macau with her"? Let's say the guy was neither afraid nor pleased nor displeased -- just surprised. And, let's say the speaker (narrator) wasn't surprised at all. How would U guys say this?

To translate the original meaning: 頂禮拜仔in頭家予伊想[勿會]到个chuā伊去Má-káu. I usually change a bit and say: 伊想[勿會]到講頂禮拜仔in頭家會chuā伊去Má-káu.

"I was afraid she would turn out to be evil, so I told Ayu to come live with us."
--> (Hit cūn ·ho·ⁿ) Goá kiaⁿ kóng hoānsè i sī pháiⁿlâng, ánne m̄ cia' kiò A'iú lâi ka' goálâng toà còhoé.

"They were all very surprised to find that Ayu was evil too."
--> Soà ·lo̍'lâi (--> ·loai) ilâng cia' cai'iáⁿ goânlâi A'iú mā sī pháiⁿlâng, ilâng lóng tio̍' cheⁿkiaⁿ.

Sound perfect for me!

[amhoanna]

Kámsiạ Niuc. Interesting that Baganese for MACAU is Mákáu.

[niuc]

Interesting that Baganese for MACAU is Mákáu.

I wonder if the term Má-káu is Hokkien or because in Bahasa Indonesia it's Makau. I heard Ò-mn̂g used by some Baganese esp. older and Chinese educated, but from what I remember, mostly Má-káu (because since 1966 all were Indonesian educated?) when the term ever used at all (very rare compared to Hiong-káng). I even remember that there was a term "Má-káu-pô" referring to women who worked at bar, night clubs or something worse. Yet my mom has never heard the term. May be it was a slang used by my friends.

[amhoanna]

Mákáupô? Great word.

Reminds me of TWnese Khehhiaⁿ and Hōlómá, meaning MALE and FEMALE EXTRAMARITAL LOVERS, respectively. I wouldn't be surprised if the folk etymology of Khehhiaⁿ as 客兄 doesn't actually jive with history.

It seems possible that the name Mákáu itself came out of some Hokloid language. Maybe even a Hoklicized Tai-Kadai language that died out in the 19th century? What do the old folks say in Penang: Mákáu or Òmûi?

[niuc]

What is má in Hōlómá, 馬? In Bâ-gán-uē we also say 客兄, but I don't remember any term for the female. Another term is 猴哥, also known in TW (http://210.240.194.97/iug/ungian/SoannT ... l/chha.asp). Interestingly, the verb is different for each term i.e. 討客兄 and 綴猴哥 or simply 綴猴. To "catch" them is called liàh猴.

According to wikipedia, the name Macau comes from 媽閣廟. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Macau . Sounds very probable, right?