Comments on: Dating food

By: Andrea

Andrea — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 22:35:26 +0000

Or do you take milk or sugar?

I dunno, it sounds okay when we're talking about hot caffeinated beverages, but when it comes to condiments or meals in general, it just sounds weird.

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 03:09:59 +0000

If would seem that Charles Dickens, or at least

one of his characters in Great Expectations used Singlish:

`Do you take tea, or coffee, Mr Gargery?'

(chapter 27)

By: Kristen

Kristen — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:24:02 +0000

it's all about survival. you learned mandarin, i learned singlish. and some weegie.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:07:09 +0000

Kristen, so you speak more Singlish than me? Hahaha!

Vicki, maybe we should work out a theory why the word 'take' is used.

By: vickiho

vickiho — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:43:50 +0000

Funny, I was just thinking the same thing today at lunch, when someone asked me if I "took" vinegar with my xiao long bao. And I translated it into Mandarin in my head, but that didn't work. Same route, same route.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:43:46 +0000

heh. stuff like this just passes me by now.

i asked a colleague if they had taken their breakfast the other day on a conference call, while we were waiting for the others to join, and then i asked if another colleague was going to be participating, or whether they were still on MC.

then i realised that an austin-based singaporean friend who was in the next room talking with mark was doubled over laughing at me – i guess it seemed really out of context for him, since he's only known mark and i here, and it's easy to forget we were 'exposed' for 6 years before we arrived in austin. and now, of course, my daily exposure continues, even though i'm out of the country.