Tangerines
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JQPublic
Posts: 1752
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 Posted: 10:35PM Dec 11, 2011 |
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I'd PM the QM, but since I don't know which QM rejected the correction, I'd like to ask here.
Here is my correction:
It's actually the wrong explanation. I've been thinking about this, and although I'm unfamiliar with English food terms, I believe 'gam' should be tangerine, not orange. Here, 'gaam' is a smaller version of 'caang', which is usually translated as orange.
The QM's explanation:
My sources show "Tangerine" as "gwat", while I also find sources that support the author's claim. If this were an FITB question, I would probably add "tangerine" as an alternate answer, but as a multiple choice question, there is nothing incorrect.
However, gwat = gaam. Gaam is, however, the usual way to say it in Cantonese, while gwat (that's ju in Putonghua) is usually used in writing in Cantonese. (As far as I know ju is the only way to say it in Putonghua). However, gwat or gaam, they aren't oranges. So I still think it should be amended.
Also, I think the sources that support the author's claim may be confused. Some people (even native speakers) are confused by gwat and gaam.
---This message was edited on 10:37PM Dec 11, 2011---
'An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.' - Charles Dickens |
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Post from Mathgeek007 deleted on 05:09PM Dec 24, 2011.
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Hrsemn4  
Posts: 495
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Posted: 11:20AM Dec 12, 2011 |
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I've researched this issue and come up with the following...
1) The question being referenced mentioned the pronunciation of the word, not how it is written, so your comment: However, gwat = gaam. Gaam is, however, the usual way to say it in Cantonese proves this correct.
2) A tangerine is considered, by many, a type of orange, specifically a cultivar of the Mandarin orange. Thus, if tangerines are shared, then oranges are shared. The same is not true in converse. This is why the QM said that had this been an FITB question, it would have been suitable to include tangerine as an alternate answer. Changing the multiple choice answer to "tangerine" would make the answer incorrect if any other type of orange is used.
3) in the case of conflicting sources, QMs favor the original material. Your comment: Also, I think the sources that support the author's claim may be confused. Some people (even native speakers) are confused by gwat and gaam.
seems to indicate that either may be considered correct. Respectfully, your insistence that "they" are wrong and "you" are right is not sufficient enough to revise the author's original material.
Overall, the issue of sub-dialects, regional pronunciations, and the like are one of the reasons Braingle urges authors to shy away from quizzes containing translations. The quiz in question is several years old, perhaps predating the guideline pertaining to translation quizzes.
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Post from JQPublic deleted on 04:15AM Dec 13, 2011.
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Post from JQPublic deleted on 04:32AM Dec 13, 2011.
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JQPublic
Posts: 1752
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Posted: 04:36AM Dec 13, 2011 |
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Please don't get the impression that I'm doing this for points or the corrector's grade because I'm not. Sorry if I've given you this impression.
Hrsemn4 wrote: I've researched this issue and come up with the following...
1) The question being referenced mentioned the pronunciation of the word, not how it is written, so your comment: However, gwat = gaam. Gaam is, however, the usual way to say it in Cantonese proves this correct.
Chinese doesn't use the Latin alphabet. All romanisations, be it standard ones like pinyin and jyutping or non-standard ones like Wade-Giles, use the pronunciation.
2) A tangerine is considered, by many, a type of orange, specifically a cultivar of the Mandarin orange. Thus, if tangerines are shared, then oranges are shared. The same is not true in converse. This is why the QM said that had this been an FITB question, it would have been suitable to include tangerine as an alternate answer. Changing the multiple choice answer to "tangerine" would make the answer incorrect if any other type of orange is used.
I apologise that I made a mistake. Gaam is a hybrid of oranges (caang in Cantonese) and tangerines (gwat in Cantonese). Mandarins are a type of gaam. Yet, whether it is a type of orange, or a hybrid of oranges and another species, or whatever, nobody would consider it an orange, just as 'jinmao shihuang' (PTH) means Golden Retriever, not dog.
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