自從十年前我已經發現有哩個現象,大部分人明明指係一對眼、手、腳都會講咗一隻
It's bugged me for at least ten years that Cantonese speakers uses the singular counter 隻 when they are clearly referring to a pair (of eyes, hands, legs).
網上有既例子:
Some attestations from the great Internet:
有咩方法可以令隻眼大d (How can I make my eye look bigger?)
我隻腳好大..好難買鞋.. (My foot is huge... I can't find shoes)
身高170嘅話隻腳無理由咁短 (Being 170cm tall, his/her leg shouldn't be so short)
照上文下理肯定係指成對眼/腳(唔通大細眼 長短腳咩)
It is clear from context that they are referring to BOTH eyes/legs (unless you only have one huge foot)
當然,用「對眼」「對腳」既人都有,不過口語裡面講「隻」已經被接受可以解做一對或者一隻。
Of course, there are speakers who use the plural counter 對 , but the usage of the singular in place of the plural has long been accepted. Its actual quantity is ambiguous
例:我隻眼好痛 (lit. My eye painful)
--究竟係一隻眼定兩隻都痛?兩個解釋都可以
-Does it mean one eye or both eyes? It's ambiguous.
唔願意接受哩個約定俗成用法既人就會有以下既對話:
If you choose to believe that this usage is a corrupted form, you might have had this conversation before)
A: 你隻眼好靚呀... (Your eye is beautiful...)
B: 係?你講左眼定右眼先?(Really? My left one or the right one?)
A: ..... [The romance killer strikes again!]
但係隻=對既用法似乎只係限於身體部分,而一對對既物件仍然係分得清清楚楚:
例:伙記,俾隻筷子我呀~ ≠ 一對筷子
Nonetheless, this singular=plural counter usage appears to be limited to body parts that come in pairs. As for objects that come in pairs, there is a distinction:
e.g. If you tell the waiter "Give me a chopstick please," he will assume you drop only one and needs only ONE chopstick
大家係咪都係咁用隻=對?定係冇留意過?有冇試過因此而發生誤會?
I remember I have had a weird friend who used to correct me every time I said 「我隻腳好攰」or 「你隻眼好靚」... (so I suppose this problem may have been bothering you for more than ten years?) I still use 隻/對 interchangeably though :P and no, I would really say "give me a chopstick please" when I actually need a pair. By the way, it should be 「已經」instead of「己經」! :)
ReplyDeleteI would miss the intended meaning of a pair of chopstick if it was spoken to me in the singular form! And not because I am being "the weird friend" but in my mind there is a real distinction between 隻/對 for inanimate objects.
DeleteCorrection made.