Showing 1-2 of 2 entries tagged
“Hong Kong English”
shroff
‘Shroff’ is a word whose use in English can be traced back to colonial times. An Anglo-Indian corruption of the Persian borrowing saraf, it was used to refer to local bankers and money changers in former British territories in Asia such as India, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Today, the word has almost completely fallen out of use, except in Hong Kong English, where it has taken on the more modern sense of a cashier or […]
add oil
‘Add oil’ is an expression that has gained a lot of currency in Hong Kong in the last few years. A literal translation of the Cantonese phrase ga yao, it [..]