PIDGIN ENGLISH. 173 



but it is never used in the sense of the modern Chin-Chin, 

 and the natives believe the latter to be pure English. One 

 of the most curious "pidgin' 5 words is an excrescence pro- 

 nounced ga-lah. It has no signification, and is simply added 

 to a word or sentence to round it off. A Chinaman will thus 

 say, "my wanfcsee go topside ga-lah" for "'I shall be going 

 upstairs" or "up town.*' The origin of this queer word is 

 found in Chinese colloquial. Each dialect has certain " empty 

 sounds," as the sylla appropriately named, which are 



affixed to the ends of sentences to satisfy certain laws of 

 rhythm, and the commonest of these is Jco-lo or ko-la, w 

 has easily changed into ga-lah. I must not omit to mention 

 a word which is of constant use and without which a . hina- 

 man quite breaks down in the simplest phrases — the word 

 pieeey. This represents what is termed the "classifier" 

 which in ise colloquial precedes most subsl and 



to which a close analogy is shewn by such words as orang, 

 buah, biji &c. in Malay. As Chinese however possesses some 

 75 of these useful words there is no need to look beyond it 

 for the derivation of their pidgin equivalent, 



Although pidgin English seems, when first heard by an 

 unaccustomed stranger, to be as difficult as a veritable i 

 eign language, its inverted, construction and curious mispro- 

 nunciation are very easily acquired, and it therefore continues 

 in extensive use. A colloquy committed to writing looks 

 curious. Suppose, for instance, a foreigne ve called 



about some business on a native merchant : 



Chinaman. Ai yah ! chin-chin; how you do ? 



Foreigner. Chin-chin ; any piecee news have got ? 



Ch. rTo got news ; thisee day bTong too muchee hot ? 



For. Yes ; too muchee hot ; you pidgin numba one ? 



Ch. Pidgin no b'long good jus' now; you got any pidgin 

 for my ? 



For. My got liftee smallo piecee ; mv want see buytee one 

 lole (roll) sillik (silk.) 



Ch. All! my got plenty. IVhat fashion coloh you wantsee ? 

 Alio fashion have got. That Guvnoah mississee (Governor's 

 any time come thisee shop makee buytee (always deals 

 at this shop); etc., etc. 



It does not appear that pidgin English will die out. 

 Numbers of Chinese, indeed, thanks to emigration to the Uni- 

 ted States, and the increased facilities available in the British 



