The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-02-17
All SIMS ENGLISH.
Some Facts ms to the Chinese-Amcriean

- 80
Some Facts rs to the chinese-Amcrican
Dialect.
1t is well known that the Chinese can
not master the sound of tho letter "r,"
but this has proved the rock on which
many protested writer's of the Chinese
dialect have come to grief. They do
not recognize the fact, says the San
Francisco Chronicle, that while John
Chinaman can not make the 'sr" sound,
he is fertile in cXpcdients to avoid it.
Two illustrations will show how easy it
is to blundcr on this point. In an early
edition of one of Bret Uartc's Stories
altered, we believe, in later editions
he makes n Chinese servant call him
self "Ah RI" which is manifest i'm
possibility. His name would certainly
have been "Ah Lii" for the initial ''r"
would not only not come trippingly
from his tongue, but not at all. But in
the Same or another story he makes
Chinaman call his employer "NIr.
Fostel," his name being Foster. Now,
no Chinese person." to quote the re-
striction act, would ever say "Fostel."
He would soften the last syllable of the
name and call it "Fostah," just as the
name "Porter" in his mouth would be-
"Potah," very like the negro pronuncia-
ton of the same word.
The author of "a Summer in a Can
yon" has given very good example of
the difficulties of the Chinese with the
letter e." She makes one of her
heroines, mischieyous girl, select q
reading lesson for the Chinese cook,
who wants to learn English. The les
son is made up of such sentences as
"The grass is green" 1.-THE rose is
red' and the like. Of course they be-
came in Hop Sings mouth ''The glass
is gleen," "rhe lose Is led" and SO on.
The whole scene is an excellent study
In broken China and is commended to
the ambitious Eastern writer's who
want to try their hands at English as
she is spoken by the Chinese in Cali
fornia.
The letter j" is another which pre-
sents difficulties to John, which, how
ever, he usually resolves by making it
into "ch." 1t may be slightly cxagger-
ated to say that Chinese scholars in
Sunday-school know the author and
founder of the Christian faith as "Chee
ely" but it is not very far out of the
way. An American in this city, an in
terpreter of the Chinese language,
whose given name is Jerome" is usual
ly known among the Chinese as "Chee
Loam." they, perhaps, imagining that
that Is all the name that belongs to
him.
1t should be noted, too, that the Chi
nese In California do not use the lingua
franco called pigeon English" which
is employed in China. Such an express
sion rs my bong topside," meaning:
II live higher up" is never heard here.
The Chinese in this State try to talk En-
glish, and some of them succeed fairly
well, although the CT" and 81" are too
much for them.
This is not an attempt at an exhaust
i've stndy of Chinese English, but rather
q note of warning to ambitious dialect
writers who have learned the dialect
from books. If they will but bear in
mind that 'r" does not become 81" I'M
less it carries the genuine 'r" sound,
and that such word, for example, as
Berkeley" is not "Bell1lcy" in the Chi
nesc tongue, but something more nearly
resembling "Bahkley," they will be
saved from blunders which make their
sketches and stories rather ludicrous
than humorous to those who are accus-
toned to the dialect.