Английская Википедия:Faux pas derived from Chinese pronunciation
Шаблон:Short descriptionШаблон:For The following faux pas are derived from homonyms in Mandarin and Cantonese. While originating in Greater China, they may also apply to Chinese-speaking people around the world. However, most homonymic pairs listed work only in some varieties of Chinese (for example, Mandarin only or Cantonese only), and may appear bewildering even to speakers of other varieties of Chinese.
Certain customs regarding good and bad luck are important to many Chinese people. Although these might be regarded as superstitions by people from other cultures, these customs are often tied to religious traditions and are an important part of many people's belief systems, even among well-educated people and affluent sectors of society.
Clocks
Giving a clock (Шаблон:Zh) is often taboo, especially to the elderly as the term for this act is a homophone with the term for the act of attending another's funeral, "to send off for one's end" (Шаблон:Zh).[1][2][3] In 2015, a UK government official, Susan Kramer, gave a watch to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and was unaware of the taboo, which resulted in some professional embarrassment and a pursuant apology.[4] Cantonese people consider such a gift as a curse.[5]
This homonymic pair works in nearly all varieties of Chinese, as the words for 'clock' and 'end' came to be pronounced identically very early in mainstream Chinese varieties, by around the 11th century. That being said, this taboo does not apply to smaller items such as watches, as they are not called Шаблон:Transliteration in most parts of China, unlike clocks and large bellsШаблон:Contradictory inline. Watches are commonly given as gifts in China.
However, should such a gift be given, the "unluckiness" of the gift can be countered by exacting a small monetary payment so that the recipient is buying the clock and thereby counteracting the Шаблон:Lang ("to gift") expression of the phrase.
Fans and umbrellas
It is undesirable to give someone a fan or an umbrella as a gift. The words for 'fan' (Шаблон:Zh) and 'umbrella' (Шаблон:Zh) sound like the word Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang), meaning to scatter, or to part company, to separate, to break up with someone, to split.[6]
These homonymic pairs work in Mandarin and Cantonese. Cantonese has a more idiomatic term for umbrellas (Шаблон:Transliteration in Cantonese, Шаблон:Lang) to avoid precisely this association.
Books
As a book (Шаблон:Zh) is a homophone of "loss, to lose" (Шаблон:Zh) in many areas, carrying or looking at a book (Шаблон:Zh) where people are taking a risk, such as gambling or investing in stocks, may be considered to invite bad luck and loss (Шаблон:Zh). This bad luck does not apply to carrying or reading newspapers (Шаблон:Zh) as newspapers (Шаблон:Zh) are not books.[6]
This homonymic pair works in Cantonese and Mandarin, with the avoidance particularly common in Cantonese-speaking areas.
See also
References
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ http://www.sohu.com/a/160882715_578225 Шаблон:Webarchive 别人过节喜庆的时候，不送钟表。送终和送钟谐音。
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Susan Kurth Clot deBroissia International Gift Giving Protocol
- ↑ 6,0 6,1 Wong Yee Lee Gifts in Chinese Culture
