THE English language is one of the official languages of Hong Kong, so it is seen on signs and labels everywhere. But some of our official words are unique to our city and were “borrowed” from other languages.

Consider the word “shroff”. It means the place in a building where a cashier operates and takes payments, usually for car parks and government offices. But it migrated to Hong Kong all the way from Persia, where its equivalent word, “saraff”, means a generic money-changer of any sort.

There is also “nullah”, like in Stone Nullah Lane. This means a gully or ravine, but in Hong Kong, it specifically means a water drainage channel. The word actually is derived from the Indian “na la”, which has a similar definition of a brook or ravine, but India eventually came to use the term for artificial canals. When India became a British colony, its colonial masters turned it into “nullah”, and it spread to other colonies, including Hong Kong.

As for a “godown”, it usually refers to a warehouse, especially one near harbours, which are used to store products. It actually comes from a Malaysian word “gudang”, which similarly refers to a storeroom. When it was transliterated to English, it was sometimes written as “gudam”, but eventually writers settled on its modern version.

Tai-pan, meanwhile comes from Chinese. It is derived from the pronunciation of “大班”. The Chinese characters mean “top-class”, and the English word likewise refers to those who are at the top, in this case, the top of a company. In other words, a Tai-pan is a business executive of a large company in China. Sometimes it can be extended to refer to any executive who is from overseas, specifically.

Credits: Issue 09, 24 November 2022 (Thursday) by Quest from hkej

1. cashier (n) 收銀員

2. generic (adj) ⁠通用的

3. derive (v) 從 …中得到的

4. artificial (adj) 人造的

5. transliterate (v) 音譯

6. executive (n) 行政主管

TAI-PAN refers to the leader, but there are lots of other phrases that can informally mean the same thing. “Big cheese” is one way to refer to a leader, as well as “head honcho”.

A “magnate” or a “czar” are also words that describe a business leader with great influence. A “diamond czar”, for instance, would be a businessman who has made lots of money in the diamond business. These are just informal descriptions, though, as they are not actual job titles.

Credits: Issue 09, 24 November 2022 (Thursday) by Quest from hkej

Synonyms are words or phrases that have similar or identical meanings.

1. Funny – It can also mean hilarious, amusing, comical, entertaining and humorous.

2. Brave – It can also mean courageous, fearless, valiant, heroic and daring.

3. Start – It can also mean begin, commence, initiate, launch and kick off.

4. Talk – It can also mean speak, converse, communicate, chat and discuss.

5. Calm – It can also mean, serene, tranquil, peaceful, composed and relaxed.

Below are links to free English Language Learning Materials:

BBC English

Speak Street Worksheet

British Council Learn English

Caro Kowanz English