redirected from
kengchio kia
Commonly found variants; note these may range from acceptable alternatives to
non-standard forms or incorrect spellings*.
* Singlish is a largely spoken creole, and as such descriptivism (recording forms that reflect actual pronunciation in spoken language, or as appearing in the linguistic corpus) is more pertinent than strict prescriptivism. Nevertheless, the use of more standard forms (or for words originating in languages with Latin script, such as Malay, accurate to the original spelling) is recommended and encouraged.
* Singlish is a largely spoken creole, and as such descriptivism (recording forms that reflect actual pronunciation in spoken language, or as appearing in the linguistic corpus) is more pertinent than strict prescriptivism. Nevertheless, the use of more standard forms (or for words originating in languages with Latin script, such as Malay, accurate to the original spelling) is recommended and encouraged.
also can:
kengjio kia keng chio kia kengchio kia
* The diacritic ◌̃ represents a nasalized vowel.
[ SSS:
keng jio kiã ]
keng jio kia
→
Hokkien:
弓蕉囝
poj:
keng-chio-kiáⁿ
Detailed etymology
definitions
noun
- (pejorative) a person of Chinese descent who speaks English well but has poor skills in Chinese languages, is only in touch with Western culture, and lives a Western lifestyle with Western tastes and values
I was your quintessential Anglo-Chinese School Chiak Kantang Kengchio Kia (potato-eating banana child)...
— 2004 December 12, Colin Goh. The Sunday Times (LifeStyle). L14
antonyms:
usage notes
Equivalent of coconut for a Chinese person.
* The nasal vowel is almost always unmarked by speakers, though it is very important to the pronunciation of the term. In a dipthong or tripthong, the recommended convention is to mark the final vowel, unless it is spelled using a repeated letter, in which case the first-occurring repeated letter is marked.