Even More About That 嗰!

The New China Bookshop in Guangzhou, or actually, the New China Bookshop in general, is a real treasure trove. Look what I found there last weekend, a map of Mexico with all the towns and villages in Chinese characters! Simplified, but still Chinese.

There were many other maps there too, but the one of Mexico particularly caught my attention. Because I really want to go there. Is it because of Breaking Bad? Or all the western movies I watched as a child, with one hombre chasing another hombre across the endless plains of I knew not what? Or is it because of this photo I took on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang province? I just feel it’s taken in … Mexico. 墨西哥 (Mak Sai Go – Ink West Older brother)

In the last couple of articles about that 嗰 (go) We discussed that one 嗰個 (go go) and those 嗰啲 (go di). But there’s more to the 嗰 – heaps more!

All my students learn 呢度 (li dou – This Location or Here) with ease. But when it comes to 嗰度 (go dou – That Location or There), up come the frontal cortex (or something) barriers. I don’t know why. 呢(li) is everything that’s close and here, this, and 嗰 (go) is everything that’s further away or something we’re talking about, that.

我想去墨西哥城！(o seung heui Mak Sai Go Seng! – I want to go to Mexico City!)
嗰度有好多博物館 (GO dou you hou do bok mat guhn – THAT location have well many erudite-matters-hall [there are many museums there]).