Quest Posted August 6, 2004 at 02:31 PM Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 at 02:31 PM Even though I don't agree with everything he said, but he did make some interesting points. http://www.blogbus.com/blogbus/blog/diary.php?diaryid=224590 comments? Also, I am interested in the relationship between 西安话“得四”and the Japanese "desu". Is that true? 西安乃秦都,相传徐福。。。 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ala Posted August 6, 2004 at 06:12 PM Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 at 06:12 PM Also, I am interested in the relationship between 西安话“得四”and the Japanese "desu". Is that true? 西安乃秦都,相传徐福。。。 Not really, it's quite a big stretch of the imagination. Xian's “得是” (deisi) is used in questions to express doubt, or to contradict (反意疑问). I guess someone must of gotten confused with what the desu in Japanese そうですか? (sou desu ka?) means, and thought: "wow they sound similar and the phrases express the same thing." Xian's 是 (si) is equivalent to Japanese "desu". This is the same for most Chinese dialects. The character 是 in Japanese is pronounced as a voiced ze (是非 zehi). Xian's “得是?” (deisi) or "得是的?" is equivalent to Japanese "sou desu ka?" or something like 是吗? or 真的? in Standard Mandarin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Lee Posted August 6, 2004 at 08:36 PM Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 at 08:36 PM When answering questions in positive term, both Cantonese and Japanese pronounce the same. Cantonese uses 係 for YES in a positive answer while Japanese uses Hai which sound the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ala Posted August 7, 2004 at 04:42 AM Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 at 04:42 AM When answering questions in positive term, both Cantonese and Japanese pronounce the same. Cantonese uses 係 for YES in a positive answer while Japanese uses Hai which sound the same. I was under the impression that the Cantonese Hai is a restricted form of Yes, similar to Mandarin 是 (shi4). It is better translated as "It is" or "It is so." Am I wrong? Shanghainese has a broader form of Yes: éh (/E/ 53). It covers: 对,正确,是,可以. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claw Posted August 7, 2004 at 05:11 AM Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 at 05:11 AM I was under the impression that the Cantonese Hai is a restricted form of Yes, similar to Mandarin 是 (shi4). It is better translated as "It is" or "It is so." Am I wrong? You are correct... essentially 係 replaces almost all instances of 是 in Cantonese, sometimes even in compounds such as 但是, which becomes 但係 (it doesn't happen to all compounds, i.e. 要是 stays the same). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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