New Members foucault Posted August 10, 2012 at 10:37 PM New Members Report Share Posted August 10, 2012 at 10:37 PM Hi all, I'm polishing up a document for publication and am just looking for confirmation for a translation I've done from Taiwanese to English (my Taiwanese is not very good). Two (related) phrases: 1) 阿啄仔 2) 阿兜仔 I know they're pronounced /a tɔk a/ and they both mean "(white) foreigner", but I'm looking for a more literal translation of 啄 and 仔. The best I can some up with is: "pecking (nose) guy" but I'm worried that "guy" is not terribly accurate (nor academic sounding) and I'm also wondering if there's a better translation for "pecking". Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks kindly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny1997 Posted August 12, 2012 at 01:00 PM Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 at 01:00 PM 啄 : pecking, hooked or pointy nose 仔 : It's difficult to find a literal translation for it, since it is more like a nominalizing/diminutive suffix than a real word. In some cases, it means young child, young animal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members foucault Posted August 12, 2012 at 04:14 PM Author New Members Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 at 04:14 PM Thanks kindly Danny1997. A translation I just got from another forum suggested "sharp (pointy) nose person", and you also confirmed this with your help. I know 仔 is a little tricky to translate, esp. since it has masculine and slightly intimate connotations. But for a-tou-a I think "person" is better than "young child", or "guy" (as I had before), since it refers to all white foreigners and not just kids (or men). Thanks again. Much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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