[lowlight]

I am still wrapping my head around the english slang that is used in Hong Kong (like elevators being called "lifts", apartments being called "flats" and stamps being called "chops", etc)

Before I go ahead with my research in starting a bank account, can someone make this clear for me?

I noticed some accounts are called "current" accounts... Does that just mean it's a chequing account?

That is all, thanks

[PDLM]

Yes.

And "lifts", "flats" and "chops" are not slang they are the correct formal word in English.

[lowlight]

Every time I come across a word I don't know, I end up having to look it up :lol:

I guess british english is so old, it has picked up a lot of slang and colloquial terms... That would explain why when spoken with a british accent, words rarely resemble the way they are spelled...

Anyway, thanks for the info! One more word for my english to english translation list

[freeier]

chop is proper english ? that's something new... 8-P

[CrouchingDonkey]

I agree, 'lifts' and 'flats' are British English terms, but I'm not so sure about 'chops'. My guess is that it was used back in the colonial days, or even further back in history.

But don't worry lowlight. The English used here is pretty wacky to me too. There are signs on buses with the phrase 'Please fold up your perambulator' or words to that effect. At first I was thinking 'WTF's a perambulator?!' It's only when I looked at the picture that I realised. It's a baby-buggy/pushchair/stroller!

It seems that when a company wants something translating, they type it into babelfish, rather than check with a native English speaker!

[HKFella]

For practical purposes in HK think of it as a no-interest chequing account (let me guess, you must be from Canada, to spell 'chequing' and yet not be familiar with current accounts). In HK, a savings account by contrast is one on which interest is payable (purportedly) but cheques cannot be written. It's not necessarily exactly the same in other countries, even former British colonies, and the products keep evolving, blurring these distinctions.

BTW, re the one more word you've added to your list - is it the word 'slang'? You do need to look up its meaning.

Originally Posted by lowlight

I am still wrapping my head around the english slang that is used in Hong Kong (like elevators being called "lifts", apartments being called "flats" and stamps being called "chops", etc)

Before I go ahead with my research in starting a bank account, can someone make this clear for me?

I noticed some accounts are called "current" accounts... Does that just mean it's a chequing account?

That is all, thanks

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by CrouchingDonkey

It seems that when a company wants something translating, they type it into babelfish, rather than check with a native English speaker!

"perambulator" is a perfectly valid English word. OK - so it's more often spoken in the abbreviated form "pram", but that is the correct English word for what it describes. A native English speaker (i,.e one from England) would have no problem with this - it's only those of you who speak foreign dialects that have the problem. (And you would be pretty much lost speaking the Scottish or Singaporean dialects of English I guess).

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by lowlight

I guess british english is so old, it has picked up a lot of slang and colloquial terms...

I feel you need to go and educate yourself about the meanings of the words "slang" and "colloquial". You are not using them in a way which is correct in any dialect of English (even North American ones).

On the word "chop" you will find it in any dictionary (use http://dictonary.reference.com as a start), and you can see that the etymology is from the Hindi word for what was previously more often called a seal in English. There are plenty of words in the English language that were absorbed into the language from those spoken in the former Empire.

[lowlight]

Chop is purely a colloquial term, as you mentioned, it is based on a Hindi word.

You're not going to convince me that "Lift" is the "formal" word for Elevator, it being an American invention (well the Brits had a predecessor, called an "ascending room"

"apartment"'s etymology goes back to the 1600's, while use of the word "flat" goes to the 1800's (a Scottish word). Although 'apartment' doesn't seem to have been used as the American equivalent to "flat" until the 1800's. So we'll call that one a tie

So yeah, nice try though

[kombuchakid]

You sau potato I say aloo

English as she is spoke around the world is anarchic in the extreme, and I for one would not have it any other way


Just to confuse you a little more
http://csmonitor.com/2004/1123/p01s03-wosc.html

a good place for a chop
http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/hobsonjobson/

and an oldie from AWAD
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/awadmail43.html