Faux pas derived from Chinese pronunciation
Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "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 (Template: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" (Template: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 Script error: No such module "lang". in most parts of China, unlike clocks and large bellsScript error: No such module "Unsubst".. 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 Script error: No such module "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' (Template:Zh) and 'umbrella' (Template:Zh) sound like the word Script error: No such module "lang". (Script error: No such module "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 (Script error: No such module "lang". in Cantonese, Script error: No such module "Lang".) to avoid precisely this association.
Books
As a book (Template:Zh) is a homophone of "loss, to lose" (Template:Zh) in many areas, carrying or looking at a book (Template:Zh) where people are taking a risk, such as gambling or investing in stocks, may be considered to invite bad luck and loss (Template:Zh). This bad luck does not apply to carrying or reading newspapers (Template:Zh) as newspapers (Template: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
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ http://www.sohu.com/a/160882715_578225 Template:Webarchive 别人过节喜庆的时候，不送钟表。送终和送钟谐音。
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Susan Kurth Clot deBroissia International Gift Giving Protocol
- ↑ a b Wong Yee Lee Gifts in Chinese Culture Template:Webarchive