24 January 2006

You and Me

Back online after a hiatus of over a month. Been busy with an exhausting trip to nice and clean Singapore. We'll restart slowly.

The Cantonese word for me is ngo5. The o rhymes with the o in often. It does not rhyme with the o in two, nor the o in tow.

The Cantonese word for you is lei5, and rhymes with the English lay. You might as well just pronounce lay, but don't forget to use the proper tone. Tone 5 is low rising. Tone 6 is low level. (A previous posting about the tones is here)

Ngo5 and lei5 are singular pronouns. To say 'we', use ngo5 dei6. The dei6 rhymes with the American pronunciation of day (as opposed to the Australian version, which sounds like 'die').

Finally, the Cantonese word for the plural you is lei5 dei6.

Sample conversation if Johnny Weismuller's Tazan was filmed in Hong Kong:

Tarzan: Ngo5 Tarzan. Lei5 Jane.

And that is as grammatically incorrect as "Me Tarzan, you Jane" does in English.


Next: Is it time?