Re: Notes on Tam Wing Kwong, "The Game of Sparrow as played in China".

"Julian Bradfield" <jcb@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:e6c7jpzwrzw.fsf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> "Cofa Tsui" <IMJ@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes:
>
>>> The Chinese is hand-written; °¨ [ma3] with the traditional character,
>>> and ±N [jiang4] written not with the usual Chinese shape, but with
>>> the shape now standard in Japan, with the "paw" radical in the top
>>> right. (Is/was this shape also common in Hong Kong?)
>>
>> Don't quite understand the question - Have to see the image. Do you
have 
>> the
>> scan?
>
> No. Let me explain more clearly. In a normal traditional Chinese
> typeface, ±N has as its top right component the shape ¤i. However, in
> Japanese, the same character has as its top right component the
> reduced form of ¤ö, as seen in the top half of §´. This is the shape
> used on the cover of the book. (Also, the left component is written in
> the simplified three-stroke form rather than the full four-stroke
> form, but this I guess is common in handwriting.)

I got it now! It's what is called "abnormal form". This form of writing is

either standardized or eliminated in today's Chinese (especially with the 
simplified Chinese system). And the answer is: No, this form of writing
the 
word ±N [jiang4] is not common in Hong Kong nowadays (and not common in
the 
Chinese system either). (It could be normal at that time as "abnormal
forms" 
of writing were common in the old days.)

>
>>> A question for the Cantonese speakers: Amy Lo's book uses "µf¤l
>>> [fan1zi] Fan Jee" for the Honour tiles (Winds and Dragons), also
>>> presumably meaning doublers. Are both the fan1 characters possible for
>>> faan in Cantonese, as far as you're concerned?
>>
>> I guess, the use of ½¤l [fan1zi] could be a mistake. ½¤l ("turn
over",
>> "piece") doesn't seem to have any proper meaning. In the term "µf¤l
>> [fan1zi]", µf means number, fold (used as noun). "µf¤l [fan1zi]" as
used 
>> in
>> mahjong means "score" "pieces".
>
> On the other hand, one of the meanings of ½, in Mandarin at any rate,
> is "double, increase twofold". So from that it seems reasonable. Any
> Mandarin speakers out there?

When in writing, a Chinese word would normally give the same meanings, no 
matter it is spoken in Mandarin, Cantonese or other dialet. ½ [fan1] is 
used as verb so the term ½¤l [fan1zi] is kind of farfetched, although 
understandable. (I speak Mandarin/Putonghua too ^_^)

Cofa Tsui
www.iMahjong.com