On the way back to HK, it was interesting to witness an episode on the train of an enthusiastic mum who was trying her best to show off her nursery daughter’s English ability to her accompanying friend. She asked the daughter what in English “a father of a father” is. The adorable daughter replied resolutely
“grandpa”. The mum seemed to be very annoyed and she immediately corrected her daughter to say “No! It should be “ga-land” father. How come it is “ga-land ba”! Perhaps, it could be “ga-land fa” but certainly it is not “ga-land ba”! She seriously reminded her daughter to pay more attention in class.
Yes, she is right! It is certainly not “ga-land ba”!
在回港的和諧號上，我目睹了很有趣的一幕：一位熱情的媽媽想向她旁邊的朋友炫耀一下她讀幼稚園的女兒的英語水平。她問女兒“父親的父親”英語怎麼說。她女兒毫不猶豫地回答“Grandpa”，這位媽媽顯得勞氣，她立即糾正女兒的發音“不對，應該是“”ga-land fa da”，怎麼會讀成“ga-land ba”呢! ，頂多就是“ga-land fa”但肯定不是“ga-land ba”。這位媽媽嚴厲地提醒女兒在日常課堂上要多留心聽書。是的，這位媽媽是正確的，的確不應是“ga-land ba”。
何君堯