New Message (aryan invasion)

[Das Menon]

At 04:18 PM 12/16/96 GMT, Dan Lusthaus wrote:
>
>Chinese speakers make up the speed by eliminating things like definite and 
>indefinite articles. inflections, tenses, etc. For example, "No ticket, no 
>take" is a lot faster than "If you don't have a receipt, you can't pick up 
>the clothes" (NB: In Chinese "ticket" would also be one syllable). Chinese 
>uses fewer words, and each word is monosyllabic -- that equals faster 
>speaking time; we start to catch up while their gesturing, but they still 
>have the edge.
>

Now I know the orgins of Singlish (Singapore English)! In Singapore you have
to speak like "no ticket, no take" to make yourslef understood in shops.

If you ever happen to be in S'pore and orders a can of beer (assuming that
is a drink you consume), don't be surprised if the bartender answers "Beer
can, bottle can, can cannot!!". What he meant is that he can give you beer,
he can give you bear in a bottle, but he cannot give you a can of beer!

Regards...Das