Buzz

its one of those things that just makes me go. Do what.

__________________
The Only BEER is a Cold BEER.

And a Single Malt will get ya every time.

Cimarron29414

So this is a bit of a long story that deals with other cultures and how males relate to one another:

One of our favorite restaurants is a Chinese Bistro which is managed by a Chinese immigrant named "Tony". He has been here quite a long time and is in his 30's. He told us that, one year, his best friend from China came to visit. We'll call him Bob. So, Bob's plane is landing in D.C. Tony is waiting at the gate. Bob walks up and gives him a big hug and then begins to hold his hand while they walk to luggage claim. Tony had to explain to Bob that in this culture it was not "accepted" for two male friends to hold hands while walking together. That is relevant to Charlatan' post. Now for the rest of the story:

After baggage claim, they were trying to drive out of D.C. and got lost. They ended up in...the wrong side of town. Now, in China, one does not point using the index finger. Instead, they point using the middle finger. Furthermore, a common verbal filler in Chinese is "nicka". It is sort of like "um". Picture Bob hanging out of the window of the car trying to tell Tony to turn right....um, um, um, THERE!" In reality, Bob was hanging out the window flipping off the residents screaming "Nicka, nicka, nicka, nicka...." Culture can be deadly.

__________________
Gives a man a halo, does mead.

"Here lies The_Jazz: Killed by an ambitious, sparkly, pink butterfly."

Hotmnkyluv

Fun story. Sounds more like a humorous anecdote than a true story for a couple of reasons...
* in China, pointing is done with an open hand, fingers extended but together.
* while there are different hand gestures used around the world to insult people, The middle finger (while used worldwide for counting) is pretty much used round the world to say fuck off.
* In both Mandarin and Cantonese, the single syllable 'en' is used in place of our umm or err.

Sources :
1. Several years traveling the world in the Navy.
2. My brother in law of 7 years who came here from Anhui province 11 years ago

KirStang

While you're right, the story does seem suspect, some people do use, 'Na Ge' 【那個】 as a form of "um." And I have noticed some Chinese holding hands, or, sharing umbrellas.

Cimarron29414

Everything you guys are saying could be true. Tony told me the story verbally and he has a bit of an accent, so I could be missing exact sounds and such. I told it as accurately as I could remember. Perhaps, I am a victim of Tony's embellishment?

__________________
Gives a man a halo, does mead.

"Here lies The_Jazz: Killed by an ambitious, sparkly, pink butterfly."

Charlatan

I have colleagues speaking Mandarin around me all the time and they use "ne ga" as "um" all the time.

I've not heard of using the middle finger to point though. Here, many point with their thumb.

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke