Page:A Manual of the Foochow Dialect in Twenty Lessons.pdf/45

44 This Monday, 只一拜一 cī siŏh bâi-ék. Last Tuesday, 上一拜二 siông siŏh bái-né. Next Wednesday, 下拜三 â bái-săng. A few weeks since, 前幾禮拜 sèng gūi lā̤-bái. What is the day of the week to-day? 今旦拜幾 gĭng-dáng bái-gūi? In less than a week, 昧至一禮拜 muôi gáu siŏh lā̤-bái. In a few weeks time, 過幾禮拜 guó gūi lā̤-bái. 上 Siông and 下 â apply to days, weeks and months, but not to years.

2. The introduction of watches and clocks have brought into use the following expressions relating to hours and minutes. What is the time? 幾點鐘 幾點 gūi dēng-cṳ̆ng or gūi dēng. One o’clock, 一點 siŏh dēng. Half past one, 一半點一點半 [sic] 點半 siŏh-dēng buáng, or dēng buáng. Five minutes past two, 二點過五分 Lâng-dēng guó ngô-hŭng. A quarter past three, 三點過一刻 săng-dēng guó siŏh-káik.

3. 少 “Ciēu” and 差 chă are used for “less than”, “short of”: 7.45 o’clock, may be 七點過三刻 chék-dēng guó săng-káik, or 差一刻八點 chă siŏh-káik báik-dēng. Two less than a hundred cash, 一百錢差二隻 一百錢少二隻 siŏh-báh cièng chă lâng ciáh, or, siŏh-báh cièng ciēu lâng-ciáh.

4. In the example given above, “half past one”, half qualifies hour; so used it stands alone, but if followed by no other word it takes 一 siŏh before it. Half a dollar, 半塊錢 buáng-dó̤i cièng. I only want a half, 那欲一半 nâ ó̤i siŏh-buáng. The greater part, 大半 duâi buáng. The smaller part, 小半 siēu buáng.

5. Before noon, 上 siông-dáu. After-noon, 下 â-dáu. Monday after-noon, 拜一下 bái-ék â-dáu. Half a day, 半日 buáng nĭk. 半日 Buáng-nĭk, is often used with the idiomatic meaning “a long time”. I talked to him for a long time, 儂家共伊講論務半日 Nè̤ng-gă gâe̤ng ĭ gōng-lâung ô buáng-nĭk.