Singlish and its fascination
Mahendra “Speedy” Gonsalkorale
It is hard to believe that 60 years have passed with indecent hurry since we entered that seat of learning and education, the Faculty of Medicine, in what was then Ceylon, The change from Ceylon to Sri Lanka is an illustration of how language evolves. Everything evolves, and language is no exception. It is not just proper nouns but ordinary nouns, adjectives, and verbs as well. There are many ways in which new words are added to any language. They may be invented; or formed by joining existing words, but the commonest method is through the adoption of words from other languages. The English language is full of words derived from French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and the languages of the sub-continent. Singlish is used to describe the unique language used in Sri Lankan circles. It is the quite quaint and inventive introduction of words and expressions derived from Sinhalese and Tamil mainly, to the English spoken by Sri Lankans. Singlish is particularly engaging in the way English words are pronounced and in some instances, the formation of a new word with both English and Sinhalese roots. Language is more than the transmission of knowledge; it is deeply rooted in culture.
I was tempted to write this article after I had an interesting exchange with Srianee (Bunter to most of you!) when we discussed Shehan Karunatilake’s Booker Prize-winning “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida”. Shehan makes liberal use of Ceylonisms such as aiyo, aney, no, what to do, ponnaya, kolla, lokka ,suddha, yako, chik, nakath, preta, mara poet, and even “hutto”!(p163), talking cock, pittu, “I know” I know men”. Bloody nonsense men”. Shehan’s book is well worth reading as a literary masterpiece. Still, it is even more appealing to us Sri Lankans for observations such as on page 4 when he says, “Sri Lankans can’t queue. Unless you define a queue as an amorphous curve with multiple entry points.”
This rekindled my latent interest in this area and I began to read the book “Trials and Transition- in the Island in the Sun” by one of Sri Lanka’s greatest satirical humourists, the journalist Tarzie Vittachi, better known as Flybynight. We are old enough (and young enough!) to remember him. His articles were enhanced with brilliant comic illustrations by the famous Aubrey Collette. The book I refer to was published in 1962, coincidentally our year of entry! I am grateful to Sarath Perera who lent me his copy.
Tarzie Vitattachi has written many other books, including Emergency 58 Ceylon, which won him the Magsaysay Prize in 1959, The Brown Sahib and The Fall of Sukarno. His newspaper columns included "Bouquets and Brickbats" and "Fly by Night" in the Ceylon Daily News. He was the youngest Editor (32 yrs.) of the oldest Newspaper in Asia, The Ceylon Observer. He was only 72 years when he died in 1993. If you like to know more about his illustrious career, please access Wikipedia. His prose is full of humour, satire, metaphors, and clever manipulation of words. His style reminds me so much of P.G. Wodehouse, and I strongly suspect that he was influenced by him.
I like to quote directly from his book, and I hope I can tempt you to read his books and give some thought to any medical words that have crept into Singlish.
Mothers have for generations prayed for “Ruva athi duwek ho kata athi puthek”.
Sir John arrived at a funeral with only one bodyguard. “As the ancient Sinhalese philosophers put it: What to do child, napuru kalata”.
“Myeee, child, I was at St Bridget’s with Sirima”. “Sirima who?” She did not know anyone with that sort of godayatik name. “Sirima child, Sirima Bandaranaike”. “Anney yes, why didn’t you say so”. “She had some nice qualities about her, no?”. “Ye-e-s child”.
The Yeighty Club and the As-As-Cee.
A conversation goes like this- “Banda is a brilliant speaker, both in
English and Sinhalese”
“Yes, he is ambidextrous”.
Doctors who had found no good in Banda’s administration of the Health Ministry, and said so volubly at meetings of the GMOA, were now tripping over their own stethoscopes in their efforts to assure him of their everlasting loyalty and confidence in him as Prime Minister.
Tarzie Vittachi on the assimilation of Sinhalese words into English.
“There are several Sinhalese words that have become an integral part of the English Idiom used in Ceylon. There are also English words and phrases which are given a distinct Sinhalese flavour and used most effectively in conversation. There are also English words pronounced in such a distinctly Sinhalese way that they acquire a new force and meaning when used by Ceylonese.
In my opinion Ceylonisms in English have reinvigorated and reinforced the English language used in Ceylon in much the same way and with much the same effect as Americanisms have enriched the English language used in America.
It is useless trying to teach Ceylonese to talk English English; remember the schoolboy who had been taught that the past participle of put was not putten. One day he took a peep into his neighbour’s exercise book and exclaimed, “Sir, Sir, Sir, here this boy has put putten where he should have putten put!”
The fly by night investigation bureau has combined a glossary of Ceylonisms.
patas means without
delay
putting parts means playing
up.
Pul (rhymes with
Gull) means poor, uninteresting.
Hoo-ha means trouble noise fuss.
Koloppan means big
trouble
Thoopi (hat) means hat
but it means also disaster.
Gori is a
catastrophe
Gundu is a fast one
a trick
jus’ be means mind
your own business
putting a break is the same as
putting a tuck , meal break.
Prada means low
grade dull.
Galtic means a hard nut to crack type.
Catch a proctor is mean that in
Ceylon, you never retain a proctor but you always catch a proctor and put
a case . (Put is used so much in Sri Lanka – put a party, put a word
etc)
Suskala means at once
Abbott is a singlish
gem of recent manufacture. Derived from Ayah, became ayah-bit (or piece of Ayah)
which became a-bit which has now become abbot.
Godayatick means a person
who is unfashionable not westernised, rural
Gintu means verve, spirit, guts; strength; rollicking.
Shape a delightful Singlish
word meaning adjust or arrange. For example the bus conductors tells the lady who
was occupying a seat in which he wants to pack another passenger “Nona
tikak shape vela vaadi wenna”- lady can you change your shape to accommodate
another on that seat. (Note: These days “shape” also means to arrange or get
something – mama eka shape karranang) usually as a favour.
Bandaka speed means very fast and smooth.
Tarzie Vittachi is a great fan of Shakespeare (and English literature in general). If you read the book, you will be amused by his contention that William Shakespeare is really a Ceylonese by the name of Villiong Shakesper-r-ra from Galle. “Of course, our brothers in the North said that he is actually Shakesperiyanayagam and the Muslims swore that he was in fact Vilcassim Sheikh Sufeer!
This is just a sample and I look forward to more from you, the Readers.
Mahen
ReplyDeleteThank you for that walk down memory lane. My parents and grandparents were born during the Colonial era and English became their preferred language although much of the speech was interspersed with a fusion of a lavish amount of Sinhala. I picked this up and continued with the fusion language. Since independence Sinhala became increasingly more prominent which too became interspersed with a generous amount of English.
I remember Tarzie Vittachi and his fine regular humorous contributions to the newspaper as “Fly by Night “ and “Bouquets and Brickbats”. I looked forward to reading these. I have never read his books. I am reliably informed he emigrated to England and passed away in 1993.
While at school we had our own vocabulary and some of the words were unique to the school. I remember being in the boarding and some of the words used in the hostel, the day boys never understood.
I recall with much nostalgia our time in the Faculty of Medicine. There too we had our unique vocabulary “Pol mess machang” “bull mess”. I remember so well some of this unique vocabulary was introduced and authored by our very own JC Fernando. Some of those words were far too close to the edge to be mentioned in this cultured journal. But we were all young then and everything was just ok.
Arthal (fun/happy) maarayi ( wonderful )sirawata ( seriously) nondi ( upset) are some of more recent Sinhala vocabulary
ReplyDeleteThank you Speedy for your amusing article.
ReplyDeleteYes I do remember Bouquets and Brickbats, and Fly by night and chuckling over them.Also the theory that Shakespeare was really Sri Lankan - Shakes Perera !
How about " yesterday night" ( eeye raa)
"Go and come " ( Gihilla ennam )
Suri
Suri, Thankd for your contribution Thete are so many- "mee haraka", "gonbijja", "sevalaya" "pus part lebbe" and so on!
DeleteMahendra and Nihal thank you very much for your very valuable contributions. I continue to be fascinated by Singlish words.
ReplyDeleteI could add a few words to your list.
Borushoke -pseudo affluence
Kuduruks-sudden collapse
Putting a break- another version is, flirting
Thoppi-trouble
Machang-friend
Asweddumisation is an original Sinhala word found in the English dictionary
Another word that was included recently is Ado
I gathered that there used to be a Britisher representing the Oxford English Dictionary, resident in Sri Lanka, to pick up such words.
In the 1950s,I used to enjoy reading Tarzie Vittachi's columns in the Sunday Observer, "Fly by Night", "Bouquets and Brickbats", accompanied by Aubrey Collete's excellent cartoons. Tarzie had nick-names for our politicians ;Oliver Goonetilleke was called Wise Old Owl, SWRDB was called slippery eel Banda etc.
A neice of Tarzie, Ranjula Gurusinghe (Seneviratne) was a student of mine in Colombo and later a House Officer in Galle. Recently she came home to visit my sister Chitrika, who had trained her to be a Pathologist.
To digress and remain on the same theme of language, like some Sri Lankans of my generation I am an expat SL. I am married to a non-SL and hence my use of the mother tongue is mostly confined to those rare visits to my real home in the Indian Ocean. When there is sunshine and rain I remember saying to my sons “aw- wuy wassay nariyage magulay” - a fox is getting married. Now in their forties they still remind me of this, with a chuckle, despite my blushes.
ReplyDeleteAfter 50 years abroad my Sinhala has undergone disuse atrophy. Reading and speaking remains painfully slow. I take no pride in saying this. The common spoken language in Sri Lanka has changed enormously too, over the years. I can hardly understand the Sinhala TV news now although the spoken language seems so precise and sounds so very elegant. Reflecting back to my schooldays my Sinhala writing was something I was so very proud of and recall some of the short stories I wrote which were well received.
When I was a child I lived in Bogawantalawa. It is a small town in a valley in the Central Province surrounded by mountains of tea estates. We were there from 1942-46 where my father was a Government Servant. We had Tamil neighbours who were great friends with us. Their little girl was my playmate. My parents said that I was more fluent in Tamil than in Sinhala. I remember Tamil to this day and can follow a conversation but cannot generate the words to speak fluently. When I went for my Tamil Viva as a doctor my examiner was most impressed and even shook my hand at the end of it.
When I arrived in the UK despite my English upbringing I had great difficulty in understanding the spoken word specially on the phone. This I put down to the different regional accents. In Ceylon we spoke English with an Oxford accent which seemed so very precise like the BBC newsreaders. There were times some thought I did not understand English and resorted to sign language. Before long I learnt to imitate Scottish, scouser and Yorkshire accents and make fun of their pronunciation. Life is full of surprises!!
Nihal, I remember seeing a patient in London fairly soon after coming to England and I asked a nurse to find out whether this chap's language could be translated. She gave me a funny look and said that he was speaking English... cockney English! His accent and words were unintelligible. I also found thick Irish and Scottish accents very difficult but with Cockney, it was more than accent, it was the rhyming slang such as "mince pies - for eyes" and "Thomas Edison is - Medicine"!
DeleteNihal, the only tuition I ever had was in Tamil, when I was 11 years old. My father literally forced me to go for tuition in Tamil and I studied up to Bala Bhodhini Book 4. Now I realise the vision my father had , way back in 1954.
ReplyDeleteIndia has 22 major languages and 720 dialects. Ever since gained independence on the 15th of August 1947, their language policy has remained the same, which ever party has governed the country. Where ever an Indian child is born, he/she has to know three languages; mother tongue eg Gujerati, Bengali etc, National language, which is Hindi and an International language, which is English.
We have only three languages and we have had ethnic wars and mass migration, because of it !
Sanath, that is very revealing. Just shows how advanced Indian thinking was, at least in this aspect. Can you remember any of the Tamil you learnt? I don't like looking back and havingg regrets but if I were to live my life again I would definitely study Tamil, at least so that I can comfortably converse in Tamil.
DeleteSanath, Sri Lanka really "dropped the ball" when it came to teaching English. Indian policies were wise.
DeleteIt is lovely to see so many responses. I hope our special vocabulary will goon increasing with more contributions. Can anybody think of medical english senteneces "enriched" with sinhala words? Not quite the Rudra Rasaratnam gems ( "Bella kappala gediya operate karanawa"). Maybe be more like " Aney sin aney, her husband had a is-stroke yesterday and has been hose pital iced at Nawaloka. Aiyo! You should see the look on her face! Sooo upset and harima dukai! Sin no! Naraka kale aney as the astro told them"
ReplyDeleteHi Mahen
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your interesting post and many thanks.. It made me start reflecting on how the word “bisteak” evolved in Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka the Appus used to describe a beef steak as bisteak. Those days some people would add an I to most English words starting with s. For example, the school converted to Ischool, steak became isteak, station istation and sports became isports.
When such a word was part of a compound word, this “I” was retained. So a beef steak became beef isteak. Interestingly, eventually, beef
isteak became bisteak. Languages normally evolve to allow for speedy communication. This explains the elision and elimination of the “eef”.
A few years ago on a visit to Florence, Italy, I was in a restaurant browsing through the menu. My eyes lit up when I saw the dish of the day, bistecca alla fiorentina. Mamma mia I said to myself. How similar the Singlish and Italian word for beef steak are! Which came first: the English beef steak or the Italian bistecca.
Direct Translations
I have found direct translations of English to Sinhalese very amusing. For example, short eats are called kotta kama. In the 1930s my grandfather was the post master at Bala pitiya. A member of his staff a Mr Medonza (a relative of the famous physician) returned from sick leave and he told his colleagues that he could hardly get out of bed because all his junctions (meaning joints) were painful and stiff!
Hi Bora, Good to see your comment on the Blog and I am glad you "anjohyid" reading it. Your bistek story reminded me of our "cook-guard-housekeeper-reciever of bouquets-reciever of bricjbats", Letchiman in Matale who announced one day to me the "Buthmaster" at the time, "Chir, ada arak muss gande naha, itrhin mama vegetable bistek thami hadanne"!
ReplyDeleteYes, direct translation has enormous risks as the construction of senteneces is different, such as "I home going" and "I tomorrow meet you" etc,
I do think that the manner in which Singish is spoken is someties most endearing and appealing as the sum total gives more meaning than the words can convey,e.eg, myeeee, soooo, aney pau aney! how to thank, nooooh!
One of the annoying aspects is the tendency of some Sri Lankans to judge others by how well they pronounce English words and laugh and ridicule "Goaayas" or "Godayatiks" as if pronouncing a foreign laguage properly represents cultural superiority.
Mahendra, Nihal and Bora, Another word I notice quite often on boards displayed outside restaurants in the villages, is "Sorties" spelt in Sinhalese. It is the Sinhala adaptation for "Short eats". Ironically, it may apply to the eatables, in English as well!
ReplyDeleteBora, sounding an I in front of S was considered to be Godayatik, during our school days. I remember it happening to a few teachers at the RPS and less often at RC.
ReplyDeleteSanath and Bora and the rest of my learned friends
ReplyDeleteUsing and “i” in front of the “s” was indeed called godayatik. Being a “godaya” was an immensely derogatory term which made people blush and even get annoyed. I too remember some of my school teachers and later on some medical students too had “strange” pronunciations of English. During those days there was so much emphasis on correct English pronunciation and grammar, it was pathological. When I arrived in London being a cosmopolitan metropolis there were people from all corners of this planet. They pronounced English as they wished. When I pointed out their mistakes, they never considered it as a problem saying “I am not English, as long as they understand what’s the problem”. That does make good sense.
When I was preparing for the MRCP Clinicals it was the usual practice to attend M.H Pappworth’s tutorial classes in London. Amongst his gems was the advice to refrain from eating onions or garlic before the examinations and to speak slowly and clearly and in the best grammar possible. When asked if there was racial bias at the examination he was more diplomatic saying “If you do reasonably well the examiners will think that is not bad for an Egyptian from the edge of the Sahara desert and give a pass”.
To return to my life in SL, I just cannot believe it was 57 years ago I was an intern, overworked and under paid, in Kurunegala. As I did a surgical appointment it was the customary practice to cover on-calls for EYE and ENT at night when their doctors were on leave. I loved this arrangement as there was a pretty lass from the wanni as a nurse in the Eye ward. I often dwelt there much longer than was required to enjoy a cup of tea and a chat. She was indeed more knowledgeable than I was as to what each person needed for the night. What was written in the BHT those days was a mini biography. Every patient had in the eye examination section a note about his/her PL given a tick or a cross. I asked the nurse what that was all about and she promptly said “that’s PLASH LIGHT”. This got me perplexed and waited for the next day until the EYE SHO, Derrick De Silva arrived. He said that PL was “perception of light” which seemed to make sense. I do appreciate that the nurse knew what it was all about and that is what matters.
I just wonder what the situation is in Sri Lanka presently . Do people insist on correct English grammar and pronunciation? Is it still pathological??
Nihal, the standard of spoken and written English of the average Rajarata or Sabaragamuwa student is pretty dismal. I always request the students to speak to each other in English. I advised them to have a pocket English dictionary handy. When they present cases, I don't allow them to read; they are allowed to glance at their notes occasionally.
ReplyDeleteIn Ruhuna, it was the same after the 2nd batch onwards. English newspapers were made available by me in their Common Room. Very soon there were protests that Sinhala papers were not available and it was supplied as well. Whenever I visited their Common Room to read the papers in the afternoon, I found the English paper nicely folded and the pages of the Sinhala paper strewn all over the place!
The last lecture I delivered to the Ruhuna students was about the importance of English.
I have been reading the daily Island and Sunday Island papers for a long time. The reason for doing so is because of the Editorial and coverage of cricket. The editor of the Island is Prabath Sahabandu who was educated at Rahula College ,Matara and University of Peradeniya. After reading his editorials, sometimes I have to refer to a dictionary still. The cricket journalist is Rex Clementine who is on par with the British journalists. As you know Manik de Silva quite well, I don't have to comment about him. I would strongly advise you to read both papers on-line.
Sanath
ReplyDeleteIt is so true the National language should have its place in society. But they have exposure to it all the time. As you have rightly pointed out English is vital for medical professionals. I do wish the medical students heed your advice.
I read the Island Newspaper and also the SL Times regularly and find them to be interesting of a high standard. The editorials are well crafted on current topics. The topics on cricket are superbly written by Rex Clementine and he doesn’t mince his words. Manik as we all know is one of the finest writers and editors and must have legendary status at Lakehouse.
Our generation was immensely fortunate to have an English education and to get the best of both worlds.
The current editor of the Sunday Times is Sinha Ratnatunga and he is also in the top bracket. A former editor Gamini Weerakoon was also quite good. The medium of instruction for us was Sinhalese up to Form 3 at RC (we were 13 years of age). An year later we changed over to the English medium. The transition was rather smooth. Chemistry, Physics and Biology were taught in English from the beginning and it was the same for Botany and Zoology, which replaced Biology a year later.
ReplyDeleteFROM KUMAR G
ReplyDeleteThank you and congratulations on your amusing and delightful post. It would have raised many appreciative titters and hopefully a few glasses too amongst the declining band of aficionados of the blog.
One of the joys of growing up in the fifties in Ceylon was the abundance of excellent newspapers.
Every weekend I would look forward to the Sunday Observer, Sunday Times , The Lankadeepa and the the Silumina. Honed in Sinhala and English literature in the village temple and the hallowed classrooms of the school by the sea, they were a veritable feast for a ravenous youth. The Tamil newspapers were said to be of high quality too but I missed out on them due to my ignorance of that tongue.
The Lake House journalists were pre-eminent. Apart from Tarzie Vitacchi, there was E.M.W. Joesph alias Sooty Banda the Lion of the Lion House, Professor J.L.C. Rodrigo, alias Adonis the classicist and Vernon Gunasekare ( Bora’s uncle) who wrote “ Below the Bench”, humorous accounts of court proceedings. They were preceded by giants too; HAJ Hulugalle, H.D. Janz the quaint gaunt saint and many others.
The features were complemented by Aubrey Collette the incomparable cartoonist who became internationally renowned after being virtually exiled from his land of birth.
I would laboriously cut out my favourites and paste them in a large scrap book. One soon became three. Sadly these disappeared when our ancestral home was refurbished.
Sooty Banda deserves to be better known. His “ Mabel Rastiadu’s Golden Treasury of Trilingual Verse” is a classic
FROM KUMAR G (2)
ReplyDeleteSooty Banda deserves to be better known. His “ Mabel Rastiadu’s Golden Treasury of Trilingual Verse” is a classic.
Some of the parodies are of well known English poems.eg
“Shakes Perera’s “
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney sweepers come to dust
Became
Golden boys and golden girls mus,
Like Thota Kareng come to pus.
Georgy Porgy, pudding pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry.
Became
Georgy Porgy aggala,
Ganu lamai bayakala.
Some were originals.
Amma no, appa no,
Appa kanda thuttu no.
Percy poosy balali,
Thuttu deke herali
His humorous column in the SO poked fun at even the Prime Minister of the day Mr D.S.Senanayake who was hugely amused by the reference to his handle bar moustache. SB a salaried public servant was formally reported to DS . He merrily dismissed it saying, “ actually as a matter of fact , we need something to laugh at”.
Tarzie V’s Island in the Sun was a thinly disguised barb at the politicians of the day ; they were labelled with remarkably accurate eponyms. SWRD was the electric eel, Sir John the rogue elephant , RG Senanayake was the depath naya
Dudley S the tired tortoise and Sir Oliver the wise old owl.
He also wrote very perceptive articles about many people, including Dudley Senanayake and the famed music critic composer and rebel Elmer de Haan, an ex Royalist.
ReplyDeleteMahen, Sanath and Nihal:
I agree that the folk who used to add i to words beginning with s were laughed at and even labeled for life as G-TIC.
However in the 1950s and 1960s there was a bakery/restaurant in Galle town near the bus stand and they produced the most delicious sponge cakes, the best I have eaten. Everyone, including the posh, would refer to the cake as i-spongy cake and this was accepted as the standard pronunciation.
Bora
DeleteOur cook at the Kurunegala Quarters was an asthmatic called Rhonchi Rajapaksa. When we asked him what was for dinner he said "Presh Pish sir". He was a serial womaniser in the area and his claim to fame was that he worked with the doctors.
I wonder how Rhonchi overcame his shortcomings when chatting them up.There was a sister in the GHC Merchants ward who had a similar problem to Rhonchi. When she offered Pis and chips for lunch the patients said NO thank you.
DeleteLike you, Kumar and I attended Papworth's tutorials in Seymour Place London W2,they were useful.He charged £5 per lesson, to be paid on entry.
Bora
DeleteRhonchi R was a legend at Kurunegala quarters. He was vague about how long he has been there. Rajasekeran the Pathology registrar who was there for 5 years said Rhonchi was already well established when he arrived. Once Rhonchi’s nightly pursuits culminated in a syphilitic chancre. This had occurred a few years previously. He always said he was the best cook in the world and we put it down to delusions of grandeur of tertiary syphilis!!
His cooking was excellent but when he brought the chicken curry to the table, we had to ask him why the chicken had only one leg. He had kept the other leg for tasting purposes. Rhonchi often had issues with the “buthmaster” for the ever increasing prices and we were certain we subsidised his evening drinks in the process. This never came to much money anyway. He was otherwise a very honest guy and we never lost anything although our rooms were always open.
Whenever we had a drink in the quarters we offered him a tumbler of arrack which he gulped in one go, cleared his throat and disappeared into the night, away on his missions.
He had befriended the owner of the funeral parlour close to the hospital. Ronchi was often seen in the parlour comforting the relatives and partaking of the food and drinks lavishly laid on the table. He was never sober after his days work was done.
Soon after our internship ended Rhonchi fell ill. He was warded and cared for like a VIP. He sadly passed away. He never had any relatives and the doctors were his next of kin. We did all we could to give him a fine send off. He is still remembered with affection and was indeed a legend of our time.
May his Soul Rest in Peace.
Nihal, did he have a partner named Crepts or crackles?!
ReplyDeleteHi Nihal and Sanath
ReplyDeleteRhonchi seems to have led an interesting and satisfying night life going after crepitations,despite the limitations in pronunciation.Glad to hear that he received VIP treatment and given a fine send off.
Bora and Sanath
ReplyDeleteThe enigmatic Rhonchi Rajapaksa will live on in my memory for evermore. He was affectionately called 'Uncle' and he loved this. His life was mystery and kept his past under wraps. No relatives for a SLankan must be so very rare.
No crepitations but I remember Ernie Peiris ward class when he asked a girl to present a case. She did so brilliantly but we could hardly hear her. Ernie called her "Whispering Pectoriloquy"
This is the other thing we are good at- nicknames! What a fabulous name, Rhonchi! We have Kalu Bals. Thattha Bala, Yankee Bala, Thans Balls, Pol Tokka, Half Soda, Kaluwa, Cigar, Kate pus, Puk Nona, Patas etc etc!
DeleteIt is Sigar and not Cigar as his name was Sidath Jayanetti.
ReplyDeleteTake your point Sanath but my contention is this. Sidath became Sigar but the pun is on the word Cigar which sounds like Sigar and unlike Sigar, Cigar has a meaning - hence my preference for Cigar, who as you know is my first cousin.
DeleteI have referred to Tarzie V's contention (in jest) that Shakespeare was actually ShakesPerera and here is a transcript of an amusing part from his book.
ReplyDelete" Three years ago, at about the time that Professor Calvin Hoffman was packing his pick and shovel to dig up Earl Walsingham's grave to prove that Shakespeare was actulally Marlowe returned from the grave your Unlce had made a world shattering discovery in Ceylon.
Prof Leavis and Prof Passe choked on their Adam's Apples. Oxford and Cambridge quaked. Land values in Stratford-on-Avon teetered. Shares on Wall Street tumbled. Brave men quailed and learned women wept. But the truth was inescapable.
William Shakespeare was not Marlowe or Bacon or the Earl of Derby at all.
He was not even an Englishman.
He was a Sinhalese. His real name was Villiong Shakesper-r-ra from Galle side".
Mahendra, I really admired Tarzie Vittachchi but most unfortunately has not read his book/s. How could I access one?
ReplyDeleteSanath, I borrowed mine from Sarath Perera who had a copy which belongedto his late mother. I tried to get one but couldn't find any through the internet. There was one source from Australia but you have to pay for evety page and the total asked for was about 1000 Aus $!! Some of his other books are availble from Amazon.
DeleteI was going to ask you whether you could get one through Ranjula Gurusinghe (Seneviratne)
Sanath, (and others who are looking for old 'out of print' books) try browsing through second hand book stores in Colombo. I recently donated some of my sister's belongings, including books, to the Thrift Shop at St. Andrew's Scots Kirk at 73, Galle Road. The Church is a bit beyond Crescat Residencies, same side of the road, before Galle Face Green. (0112323765). The Thrift store is open on Wednesdays from 9:00 to 5:00 pm. I was amazed at the amount of books for sale and had to run out of there quickly in case I was tempted to buy some!
DeleteMahendra, I will try
ReplyDeleteMahen, thanks for this very interesting post and for stimulating an equally interesting and entertaining discussion. "Aiyo" is officially in the Oxford Dictionary and is defined as an "exclamation in southern Indian and Sri Lankan English, used to express distress, regret or grief." It is one of the first Sri Lankan expressions that my German son in law learned. He used it so freely and often that my grandson thought it was a German expression!
ReplyDeleteSince there are so many cricket lovers on this blog, I want to digress a bit. There are so many cricketing idioms that have crept into the English language that even Americans use them without knowing their origins. I can think of a few, and would like to learn a few more.
ReplyDeleteSticky wicket
Dropped the ball (Could refer to baseball as well)
Bowled over
It is simply "not cricket"
Someone had a "good innings"
That is all I can think of at the moment.