Makista Creole

This paper will deal with a Portuguese creole - the "Makista" or "patois" used in Macau. We will attempt to answer some of the questions raised by available literature and data which has been gathered:

the origin of creole;

extinction or decreolization;

the survival of creole in a restricted function.

I - Historical background

The Portuguese occupation of the peninsula of Macau, in the delta of the Pearl River, was sanctioned by the Chinese in 1557. The Chinese were led to this concession by two practical motives. Firstly, because of the incursions of pirates on the coast:

"The Chinese, who had twice expelled the Portugueses, thinking them a lesser Evil than those Outlaws, offered them the Island if they could root out that Generation of Thieves"

(Faria y Sousa, 1695; Book Ⅲ, p.311)

Secondly, there was a need for a commercial outlet for their trade with the West, as the Chinese policy of isolationism meant that all doors were closed to the outside world until the war with the English in the 19^th Century.

The Portuguese were regarded as a necessary evil and a strong isolationist policy was introduced from time to time in an attempt to keep the Portuguese away. In 1573, the Chinese insisted that a wall be built across the isthmus on the peninsula on the pretext that the Portuguese slaves were looting villages on the mainland. There was but one gate in the wall - the Porta do Cerco.

"Once the Porta do Cerco was built, there was an agreement with the mandarins in Hian-can that the gate would be opened for two days in each month, that the Chinese would hold a market there for the Portuguese to go and buy the goods they required, that no Chinese would be allowed to enter the area and no Portuguese or other foreigners would be allowed to go onto Chinese territory and that the door would be guarded by soldiers and a Chinese official. A few years later when the Leal Senado had already been created, a weekly market was set up and the mandarins sent the procurator a list of those Chinese who were allowed to come to the city although they were still forbidden to live there... Finally the Porta do Cerco was opened every day, the market was established on a permanent basis: little by little, the zeal of the procurators diminished, the brilliant, industrious Chinese edged their way in, gained respect and started building houses, shops and small industries.

(Brazão, 1949, p.105) (1)

"This gate would open every day before the prohibition of commerce (1661) and the neighbouring villagers, coming freely to Macau to sell their goods, would make sure the Portuguese lacked nothing; but the Tartars wanted to force the Portuguese to abandon this port and move into China, because they cannot tolerate the idea that foreigners inhabit the borders of their kingdom and own fortresses and artillery there so they started a garrison to guard this wall, with orders to open the gate only on certain days, once a month. After our persecution began, this move was taken to such excess that sometimes the gate would be closed for months..."

(Brazão, 1949, p.74) (2)

We thus have a specific situation of contact, in which one of the communities is not only barely tolerated, but carefully segregated from the other.

The available demographic data show the Portuguese to have been a minority since the beginning:

1563 - Portuguese.......................................900

"several thousand Malayans, Indians and Africans, most of them domestic slaves" (3)

1622 - Portuguese......................................1000

"all Rich and of the best in India, because the Portions being there very considerable, many Persons of Quality resort thither for Wives", "a considerable number of Christian Chineses, who are cloathed and live after the manner of Portugal." (4)

Chinese........................... about 6,000 "Heathens, being Artificers, Shopkeepers and Merchants."

1878 - Portuguese...............................4,476

Foreigners..............................................122

Chinese.............................................63,532(5)

1896 - Portuguese

born in Macau........................................3,106

others.................................................792

Foreigners.............................................161

Chinese............................................71,021(6)

1910 - Portuguese

born in Macau........................................2,171

from Portugal..........................................996

from other Port. colonies..............................131

Foreigners.............................................244

Chinese............................................74,860(7)

From what has been said so far, we are able to infer the following characteristics for the initial phase of contact (when a creole dialect could have developed):

a) - The Portuguese speaking community is a tolerated minority, segregated by Chinese law, and by cultural prohibitions (see e) below).

b) - The Chinese are not allowed to live in the settlement during the initial period. Contact is restricted to the market place: Even later (1622), when we find references to an established Chinese population, they are "craftsmen, shopkeepers and merchants" and live in a separate part of town. (8)

c) - The restricted number of christianized Chinese are assimilated into the Portuguese culture and language - "Christian Chineses, who are cloathed and live after the manner of Portugal".(9)

d) - Tertiary activities (servants, amahs, etc.) are done by slaves (Malayans, Indians and Africans). (10)

e) - There was no intermarriage between the two communities. No Chinese women would marry Portuguese men, who were seen as foreign devils. (11)

Curiously enough, the Portuguese perceived this refusal as chastity:

What chiefly they admired after this Journey was the Chastity of the Chinese Women; for tho' they are beautiful, and Beauty be inclined to be Wantonness, and though our Men were long among them and familiarly entertained, yet they could never by any means prevail with any of them to yield to their Desires"(Faria y Sousa, 1695, Book Ⅲ, p.195)

The Portuguese were thus forced to get wives from other sources: India (12) and Malacca (13).

These facts point to the impossibility of a Chinese substratum for Makista creole. Given the circumstances (trade), a pidgin could have appeared and probably did, though there have been no references to it. References to the use of Chinese. by the Jesuits in their missionary efforts (14) and to the use of Portuguese men as preferred interpreters for the British and the Chinese (15), seem to indicate the use of Chinese by the Portuguese in their interactions with the Chinese. Even later when, with the weakening of the prohibition against staying in the Territory, the Chinese took over the tertiary sector, we see the emergence, among the Portuguese population, of a form of Cantonese, the Cantonese of the "amahs", learned during childhood (16).

We can then say that rather than use a pidgin, the resident superstratus population learned Chinese.

Both d) and e) plus the close relationship with the city of Malacca (occupied by the Portuguese fifty years earlier and the nearest Portuguese possession) support the idea (Batalha, 1974, p.29; Thompson, 1961, p.238) of a ready-made Portuguese Malaccan creole, an early form of Papiá Kristang, brought over in the early years by the wives and servants and reinforced by the settlement in Macau of numerous families who fled from Malacca at the time of the Dutch occupation (1641).

This early form of Papiá Kristang would have been subject to borrowings from Chinese (abundant in more recent times) and the lexical influence of Indo-Portuguese creoles, given the presence of Indo-Portuguese wives and servants.

The obvious structural similarities with Papiá Kristang, and the fact that most of the terms related to the home and to feminine activities - cooking, utensils, women's clothing, etc. - came from Malay (Batalha, 1973: 1974, p.29) and are present in the earliest records (17), further enhance the theory of an imported Malaccan creole. Popular perception confirms this view - creole carries the stigma of being "malaqueiro" - (see Appendix I).

We thus have the historical coexistence of three linguistic systems:

1 - Chinese - spoken by the Chinese population and used as the trading language with the two other groups;

2 - Standard Portuguese - spoken by the minority of administrative and military personnel temporarily residing in Macau. Given the power structure in the territory, this must have been the prestige form, used by the governing classes and the Church (see Appendix I);

3 - Patois or Makista - spoken by the native Portuguese population - those born in Macau - the "filo Macau" or "filo da tera", the "sons of Macau".

The coexistence of 2 and 3, the prestige associated with 2 and the social stratification in the speakers of 3 must have been the origin of a postcreole continuum (De Camp, 1971).

"The Macaists speak a Portuguese patois, very unlike real Portuguese. There are three forms of this dialect: (1) as spoken by the lower classes, (2) a form that approximates more to pure Portuguese, (3) as spoken by the Chinese. There are several "Portuguese" papers in the colony, said to be written in better Portuguese than those of Goa ".

(Peace Handbooks, 1920, vol Ⅷ, 81, p.4)

No data are available to confirm this assertion. However, we can see evidence of that continuum in the present phase of decreolization.

A theory of decreolization of patois is assumed in this paper, rather than a theory of its extinction. The process of extinction of creole discussed in the literature available and also discussed by Dr. Barreiros, must be seen rather as decreolization in the making, a gradual convergence with the target language, or rather, peninsular Portuguese. The "mixture of languages", the "jargon", mentioned by Batalha (1974, 18) (who in the same book quotes convincing data for the process of decreolization on pp. 45-53), and the "corrupt Portuguese" mentioned by Barreiros, are no more than evidence of a late phase in the process of decreolization.

This issue deserves further discussion but the constraints of this paper prevent it for the moment.

One strong argument for a process of decreolization as opposed to the definitive death of creole is the actual, present day use of creole for selective communicative functions. We will analyze this special use in the next section.

II - Patois and Diversion

Along with the decreolizing form of creole, we find multiple evidence of the sporadic resurgence of the archaic form of patois in the life of this community:

1 - Folklore - traditional songs, riddles, narratives, children's games, nursery rhymes, proverbs (18) and so on. Even Macaists who have moved to Lisbon (19) and the U.S.A; (20)) remember the old songs and riddles some of which are identical to those preserved in Malaccan creole. (21)

2 - Lyrics in patois have been adapted to contemporary tunes: "Hello, Dolly", "Kiss me goodbye", "You belong to my heart", "Spring time in the Rockies", etc. (22)

3 - Invitations to parties and menus are sometimes written in the old creole (see Appendix B).

4 - During Carnival, the masked revellers will jokingly adress people in creole, pointing out their particular weaknesses or peculiar physical or moral traits. (23)

5 - Patois is also used in operettas and plays performed during Carnival by amateurs. (24)

6 - In recent years, a few books have been written in the creole, in an intentional effort to revive the language. (25)

7 - A traditional form of social satire, dating back to the Middle Ages (26), addressed to particular individuals in the form of anonymous letters, dialogues or poems slipped under the doors of the Macaists is abundantly documented towards the end of the 19th century (27) and is still in practice today (see Appendix C).

The survival of an archaic creole in such restricted socio-cultural forms at a time when its use as a mother tongue has ceased, is unusual.

Instances of extinct languages, preserved in ritual ceremonies (of which probably the widest known case is the use of Latin in the Catholic liturgy), or as private codes of secret societies, have been documented in anthropological studies. But here we have a language which is otherwise nonfunctional shared by all the members of the community for a specific communicative function, attesting to a latent competence in a seemingly extinct linguistic system.

One relevant feature is the socio-cultural domain in which creole is preserved - a range of cultural and linguistic activities all strongly linked to the concept of diversion both in linguistic and social terms: songs, riddles, plays, satire, the numerous references to the "chiste" or "graça" (28) as the motivation for its present use (29). The temporal setting for most of the occurrences is also in the area of social diversion - Carnival, parties, plays and music.

We thus have a creole in the late stages of decreolization where an archaic form persists not only in the domain of linguistic diversion play but also, and this is the most relevant feature, restricted to the area of social diversion.

Such an unusual survival must be due to the need for social cohesion, for a sense of social identity, in a community which perceives itself as a minority (in terms of the surrounding Chinese population), isolated by geographical distance and by a psychological distance (due to the power structure within the Portuguese population) from the possible source of national and cultural cohesion-Portugal.

The old creole - patois or Makista - survives thus as a point of solidarity and shared identity in an area which is by its nature communal - diversion.

Ⅲ - The Lampoon

In this section I shall attempt a more detailed analysis of one of the forms in which creole has survived - the lampoon.

The Linguistic Community

If we look at the demographic data available for the period during which most of the lampoons circulated, we can see that the Portuguese population, a minority in terms of total population, is, in itself, composed of two groups:

those born in Macau - the "Makistas",

"Macuenhos", or "filo da tera" and;

peninsular Portuguese - "português di Portugal" (30).

Although they share the same national identity, the two communities are in fact separated by two major elements:

1 - The power structure - The peninsular Portuguese occupy the administrative and military upper échelons in the government of the territory. The other socially dominant institutions, the Church and the Schools, are also controlled by them.

The Makista community, though largely middle and upper middle class, is, in terms of the power structure, in a lower stratum.

2 - Cultural identity - The Macau creole community inherited a true creole culture, pervading the multiple areas of social interplay - cuisine, folk traditions (songs, riddles, nursery rhymes, games, folk medicine), organization of social events (weddings, parties, religious festivals) etc. At the same time they inherited the memory of creole. No longer a mother tongue, creole is used by the community in the sphere of sociolinguistic diversion, as a marker of identity, a way of identifying the in-group from the outsiders, the "others".

Due to pressure from standard Portuguese, the prestige language, the language of the dominant group, decreolization has taken place. The middle and upper class strata of the Makista community, bilingual until recently, now use standard Portuguese in all contexts and situations with the exception of verbal play. The community draws upon its latent competence in creole for this significant area of sociolinguistic behaviour.

"Variation in language is one of the principal sources of material for the sociolinguistic game. To imitate the pronunciation or grammar of another group at the same time as taking on particular roles and attitudes that are thought to be associated with that group is a powerful means of creating stereotypes and of upholding those that already exist. At the same time there is an important defensive aspect to developing the sociolinguistic play potential of one's own variety of the language. A social group under pressure, aware that its own linguistic norms are disvalued by other groups, will often elaborate complex forms of verbal play in which its own speech is uniquely highly valued."

M. A. K. Halliday, 1978, p. 160. )

Halliday's remarks are of particular interest in the case of Makista creole. Creole is the variety chosen for lampoons - the humorous clothing of social satire.

The chosen genre of letters from women to women makes use of the stereotypes held within the community - women as the source and dispensers of gossip. Social satire is thus disguised as gossip, softened and excused by the irrelevance which male dominated culture traditionally places on it.

Vôs nomestê repará minha trela

Paciencia, vela vela são assim.

Afinal falá qui falá são mesmo,

Dale qui dale nungha cusa sem fim! (31)

Do not mind my blabber,

Be patient, old women are like that.

We talk and talk,

Blabber without end!

The Corpus

The lampoons (collected and published by Barreiros from 1943-44 in the Macau magazine Renascimento and identified in this article by their original date) are written in the form of a letter from an old woman to a female relative. The geographic distancing required for the exchange of letters is achieved easily - the fictional relative lives in Hongkong where a large community of Makistas lived at the time and still exists today.

The conventions of the genre (a private letter) are carefully observed in the majority of the lampoons available:

I - Salutation

II - Obligatory Opening Greeting - which may be followed (optionally) by a) - an excuse for the delay in the answer and or b) stating the reason for the letter.

Ⅲ - Body of the Letter

A - Personal news

B - Family news

C - Local news - gossip

The order of A, B, and C is interchangeable. Social criticism and satire are always from the participant's and/or witness's point of view and are interwoven with either one or all of A, B, and C.

IV - Final Salutation - optionally preceded by a causal statement - the excuse for having to end the letter.

V - Closing Formula

VI - Signature

In a collection of twenty two lampoons, nineteen obey this format. The most recent lampoon (1944) diverges from it in striking ways: the letter, though still signed by a woman, is directly addressed to the specific target of the satire. II, Ⅲ and IV are absent and the criticism is direct - the author reproaches the actions of the target and ridicules some of his physical traits; IV is substituted by a warning on the absurdity and danger of reprisals.

This deviation from what seems to have been an established canon for the genre may point to the decline of the genre. The lack of other samples from recent times (in itself a probable indicator of the decline of the genre) prevents any conclusive claims.

Masques

When we identify the situational features (in Halliday's terms) of these speech events (though the medium is writing, I am still taking them as such), we find that the lampoon as a genre, uses as vehicle for social satire and at the same time for humour, a stylistic device frequently found in literary texts - the masque.

The tenor of discourse, again I refer to Halliday's analysis of speech events and their features:

... refers to the relationship between participants... not merely variation in formality... but... such questions as the permanence or otherwise of the relationship and the degree of emotional charge in it.

John Pearce (in Doughty et al.: 1972; pp 185 - 6) and is, in this case, conveyed through a complex social sharing of pretenses:

-The fact that the real author of the lampoon is a male member of the community is known by everyone (this allowed Barreiros to identify several of the authors by name). However the apparent addressor is a woman. The pretense is still present in the later lampoons (1944), although other stylistic devices have been dropped.

-The apparent addressee is a woman though the covert addressee is the entire community.

This pretence or masque is linked to the second masque evident in the texts:

-The frequent warning to the addressee of the private character of the letter and of the dangers of making it public.

Vôs minha Chencha, já fazê muto mal de deçá gente copiá minha carta, fazê imprimí, espalá pra tudo caza-caza, pra invergonhá pra eu, pra vôsso tio, tia-tia tudo... Agora amestê tomá mas cuidado; nomestê assim dizmazelada, pinchá carta pra aqui, pinnchá pra ali, qui vâi câi na mão de gazetero pra fazê chacota, como já soçodê cô ôtro carta

10/12/1869

(You, my Chencha, were very wrong to let people copy my letter, print it, distribute it everywhere, to shame me, your uncle and all your aunts.... You have to be careful from now on, you must not be careless and leave it lying around, so that it can fall into the hands of some accursed newspaperman, to make fun of it, as happened with the other letter.)

Vôs num sábi, nhy Chencha, minha Tone

Qui laia péste já panhá minha carta.

Sem eu sábi, já mandá imprensá:

Cavá já repartí para tudo gente

E eu tamêm já recebê dôs copia.

Qui maldade, são certo pra inquisilhá.

E em cima tudo êste gente

Chamá pra minha carta di pasquim

4/27/1870

(You do not know, Mrs. Chencha, my Tony Who is a pest, got hold of my letter. Without my knowing, he had it printed:

It ended up in everyone's hands And even I received two copies. Such a nasty thing, just to cause trouble.

And on top of this these people

Call my letter a lampoon.)

The use of the feminine masque in social satire not only exploits the stereotype of women as the source of gossip, as pointed out above, but also exploits the license allowed by the masque (analogous to the license permitted during Carnival to the masked revelers who frequently dress up in drag).

The sharing of a pretense or fabrication, the performance of a socially accepted lie (the lie is accepted only in the context of the speech event) by the members of the community is often the basis for humour in many other cultures (see Bauan's (1984) analysis of tall tales and the dimensions of "lying"). What makes the lampoon uniquely interesting are the complex frames of consistency developed to reinforce the veracity of the mask.

Frames of Consistency

By frames of consistency I mean the various frames or devices used to carry out the consistency or coherence of the masque.

In the case of the second masque - the pretence of the private character of the latter, in spite of the known intent of publicity - coherence is achieved through the detailed listing of the troubles the publication of previous letters has caused such as family quarrels, shame for the family and finally social ostracism (10/12/1869; 10/25/1869; 11/8/1899; 4/7/1870; 4/27/1870)

The consistency in the feminine masque is achieved through more elaborate framing, drawing upon the stereotypes of feminine behaviour in the speech community:

1. - Women's specific areas of interest

1.1 - Family infighting and gossip

(1) Vôsso tio nunca cazá na dia de anno de rê. Na ultima hora então que vem falá, que amestê botá prégam, mêdo que tem impedimento. Quim pôde impedí já dá licença, inda pôde tem mêdo de más impedimento?

8/11/1869

(Your uncle did not marry on the King's birthday. At the last moment he said the banns had to be made public, that he was afraid of some obstacle. But those who could prevent the marriage, already gave their permission. Why be afraid of anybody else preventing it?)

(2) Unga policia já vem pedi Tereza pra cazá. Eu que tempo já falá com titi Rita, que tomá assilái gente criá, são pra ramatá dá disgosto. Inda nunca sabi dá dôs ponto de costura bemfêto, já sai com cazamento!

12/10/1869

(A policeman came to ask Tereza to marry him. A while ago, talking to auntie Rita, I said that we raise these kids to end up suffering. She does not even know how to sew properly and she is already talking of marriage.)

1.2 - Family news

(1) Pobre de vôsso tia, anôte de dia metido mão na agu frio, a muí farinha de pau, que ja panhá unga forte constipação... Agora tá tomá misinha mestre; cada dia tá más um póco aliviado de toce.

4/8/1870

(Your poor aunt, with her hands in cold water, day and night, to grind the manioc, caught a terrible cold... I am taking a remedy and every day the cough is getting better.)

(2) Vôsso tio tá muto triste. Este anno já perdê quanto mil pataca... Jôgo este anno já nompôde tirá muto.

Dispeza cada vez más grande. Familia augmenta. Divida nompôde cobrá. Maior parte são gente grande-grande que lá devê.

5/10/1869

(Your uncle is very sad. This year he has lost several thousand patacas... Profits from gambling are not good this year. Expenses are increasing. The family gets bigger. Debts are not being paid to us, most of them from important people.)

(3) Ja mandá chomá nhum Chico, pra vemanôte tocá piano, dançá na caza, pra tirá tristeza de nôs tudo.

11/8/1869

(I sent for Mr. Chico to come here this evening and play the piano, so that we can dancce and throw off our sadness.)

(4) Vôsso tio, agora já achá licença pra cazá.

10/25/1869

(Your uncle finally got all the necessary papers for the wedding.)

1.3 - Local news

(5) Nhum Quimquim já vâi viazá, imbarcá di piloto na navio que levá chichâi.

1/3/1865

(Mr. Quimquim is going away, he got a job as a navigator on a ship.)

1/3/1865

1.4 - Complaints against husband or family.

(1) Pore de vôsso Tia, que tem tamêm que matá morê na costura de vestido de noiva, eu então que sô de lavá limpá este um pôco de criança crianca já basta pra tirá este um pôco de criança já basta pra tirá tudo tempo de minha ôtro serviço. Medi arroz são eu: pezá lenha são eu; lidá cô gasto são eu.

6/3/1870

(Your poor aunt, who is working like a slave to sew the bride's gown, and just to clean all these children takes up time from my other duties: who measures the rice? I do; who sees to the wood? I do; who keeps track of the expenses? I do.)

(2) Aquele sumitico, pra mesquinhá quanto "ten cens" ten fazido sempre ovidos di mercador

21/10/1869

(That tightfisted (husband of mine) to save every "ten cents" has been pretending he can't hear (me asking for money))

1.5 - Illness and folk medicine

(1) Eu já prepará quanto papel de mesinha vento, murdicim, suador fresco, pra mandá pra vôs aminhão pra fatião. Logo mandá tamêm ung-a botli de sucri de carambola pra vôsso Ado fazê gargalezio quando repeti sua dor de garganta.

1/9/1870

(I prepared (list of remedies) to send to you tomorrow by the boat. I'll send also (remedy) for your Ado to gargle when his throat aches again.)

(2)... nomestê esquecê de tudo aquela receta, que eu já mandá quando apanhá savam. Nomestê lembrá sam brinco, eu falá cô experiencia: tudo gente ri, qui fui eu pilá costa a nôte intêro, mas eu inda tá vivo, elôtro tudu qui fazê cusa demoda tá morê mas ásinha.

1/3/1865

(Don't forget to prepare those remedies for which I sent you the recipe when I had savam (illness caused by bad air). Do not think it a joke, I speak from experience. Everybody laughed, when I spent the whole night massaging my back, but I'm still alive and all those who laughed are closer to their death.)

(3) Otro dia acunha mofina de ama abri janela, eu erguí cedo, sâi fóra, apanhá vento, ficá constipado. Primero tomá sincap, misinha vento, raspa mordicim... Dotor falá sam doença d'idade e mandá tomá ninho di pastro.

1/3/1865

(The other day, the accursed maid opened the window, I got up early, went outside, caught the wind and caught a cold. First I took sincap tea. The Doctor said it is because of my age and told me to take a remedy.)

(4) Eu já recebeu muto carta de minha adorada Tia, mas não respondeu pelo motivo de está padecendo de molestia de proveito.

4/3/1870

(I received lots of letters from my beloved aunt, but did not answer because I'm suffering from an illness)

(5) Adeus, minha querida Chencha; eu já nompôde continuá escrevê mas hoze, minha cabeca tá muto doi.

10/12/1869

(Good bye, my dear Chencha, I have to stop writing now, my head hurts too much today.)

1.6. - Domestic occupations (serviço) as excuses to end the letter.

(1) Como ja são hora de vem tudo parecero de jôgo, eu já nom pôde escrevê más novidade. Amestê olá fazê chá, tirá sucre, mandá fazê torada, comprá manteguilha na botica de barbero.

10/5/1869

(Because the partners for the game (mahjong?) are arriving, I cannot tell you any more news. I have to see to the maid making the tea, I have to get the sugar, have the toast made, buy butter in the barber's shop.)

(2) Eu tem unga cumpridão de histôria inda pra contá com vôs, mas está muto cupado com serviço.

11/11/1869

(I have a lot of things to tell you but I'm very busy with the housework.)

(3) Eu se nunca escrevê pra vôs antes, são por cozu de minha cupação com serviço deste unga cazamento de vôsso tio grande.

6/3/1870

(If I did not write before, it was because I have been busy with the preparations for your uncle's wedding.)

(4)... são tamêm cupada cô prepará ropa pra vôsso prima assisti na fonção na caza de comédia, que eu já deçá de escreveê pra vôs.

4/19/1870

(I have been so busy sewing the dress for your cousin to wear to the function in the theatre, that I have not writen to you.)

2. - Women's specialized lexical areas

In all the lampoons (except for 1944) we find references to food items and fashion, evidence of the stereotype of what women talk about. The stereotype may reflect the fact that when the sexes have different spheres of activity, a social division of labour, we will find sex-typed areas of lexical elaboration (Lakoff-1975; Conklin-1974) such as colour, sewing, fabric, cooking methods and utensils, and child care.

2.1- Food

amchôm di achar di gamên

balsa di sucri pedra

jara di jagra

1/3/1865

achar laia laia

bolo batê pau torados

10/12/1869

bicho bicho

10/21/1869

bottli de achar laia laia

flandi di bolo batê pau torado

perna di presunto

pece fino

chilimeço de casa

lamci di Cantão

10/5/1869

bletle vestido de casamento

papu di anju

ôvo de aranha

bolo supião

10/21/1869

queizio do Califórnia corno bifi

10/21/1869

doce pinhão rabo de porco apôrona

11/11/1869

amchông de sambal de viva

amchông de limão achar de Sião

4/7/1870

manga de Manila

5/3/1870

catupá

lichia

laranja

apôrona cô rabo de porco

doce de padrinho

marmiquela

pece cabuz

6/3/1870

pece

cambrão

porco

vaca

frango

ade

tafu-muí

bredo chachau

aroz

1888

ginebra

pão

mão de porco

cangi

4/7/1870

2.2 - Fashion

dó de seda de França

chapéu

5/3/1870

Picó

vestido de caçopo branco

11/3/1869

vestido americano de saia curto

10/12/1869

moda di balam

1/3/1865

cambraia com listan vermelho vestido de unga pataca dez jarda

1886

seda pra fazê quimão

casaca

chapêo alto

chapêo de pala

sobre-casaca

chapêo baço

calçao tabla-tabla

pano dó

vistido côr de alicrim

4/27/1870

chapéu de pruma

sapato de Eropa com fivela lustro

vestido de anca

1888

3. Participant/witness point of view.

Social satire or criticism is always conveyed from a participant's (either the addressor or one of her close relatives) or from a witness's point of view. The addressor is either present or was told about the event in question by someone she trusts. The framing involves the description of colourful details, witty remarks and personal comments (feelings, attitudes) by the addressor.

In the lampoon, we have not only the use of an "obsolete" and socially marked creole, but also the elaborate framing of a masque as the source of verbal play, softening an otherwise controversial and potentially threatening form of social satire.

The framing involves the use of cultural and linguistic stereotypes, which give us an insight in the social and cultural systems of this particular speech community, and in the way variation is used to convey social meaning.

"Social man is, inevitably, his own ethnographer" (M. A. K. Halliday, 1978, p.234). and he reveals his ethnography through his use of language.

Appendix I DIALOGUE (a)

Entre Augusta de 15 annos de edade e o seu primo João Fernandes de 18 annos

APPENDIX II INITATION

CONVITE

Na quarta-fera, dia 3 de Feverero, na Teatro D. Pedro V tem comedia de bobo. Logo representá opera "Lolita". Porta logo abri justo 9 hora. Se vôs querê ri que torcê, pôde vem olá, mas nebom trazê criança-criança como ano passado. Vos-ça onsongça gente pôde vem nuncassá convite. Quim querê bom logar vem cedo, podê sentá baço, podê senta riva, vontade. Muimui, Merita, Geni, Léla, Lolita, Bento, Janeca e Ambrosio logo entretê vosotro tudo. Nunca bom pensão, nôs nadi cobrá sapeca.

Carnaval, 1937

APPENDIX Ⅲ

10-10-1944

Só

Só onti pôde rameté lê tudo aquele rabugenga que ja sai na gaseta de Macau pâ vôs.

Eu cavá lê tudo aquele lenge lenga, senti que vôs deveras são tolo.

Vôs nunca são mau rapaz mas são chulido. Sentá sentá lembrá de vai metê com cusa que nunca são de vôs sa capacidade.

Vos pensá que tudu que vôs quere fazê logo sae bem fêto mas ja sae tudo erado e peor são non querê dá braço tocê pa tudo aquele que são más capaz que vôs. Vôs assim novato querê bate com olotro tudo? Todo gente más batido na cusa de vida?

Naquela festa grande de 50^o anu de liceu, eu na vôs sa lugar logo senti qui nôn tem chiste. Quando nadi ri (eu ja ouvi que algum ja ri que cai calção) aquele vôs sa companheiro companheiro de escola, velo e novato, aquele um pouco que vôs logo que topá sô olotro na rua virá cara pa non tem que visitá.

Que fui vôs fazê assim? Vôs despresa olotro porque vôs senti que vôs mas superior que olotro? O! senti vergonha porque olotro são pobre e vôs sa pai agora são rico? O! são ja senti que vôs são deveras tolo, são deveras, buro mas non quero falá cô olotro pa pedi conselho, pa pará co mangação? Mas certo são pa estunga motivo. Vôs ja senti que nuncá são assim capaz como olotro, que são diveras buro mas non quero dá braço torcê.

Agoro otro ancusa: Vôs assim querê mostrá bom Christão como pode esquecê mandamento de nôs Santa Madre Igreja?

Como vôs senti que são bom Christão e entrá naquele irmandade de JUVENTUDE CATOLICA que condená tudo baile baile, falá que são imoral, quando vôs ta vai quaisi tudo anoite dança na cabaré cô refugiada refugiada?

Não so vôs perdê vôs alma como fazê perdê alma, corpo e nome de olotro naquele porquise de cabare, assim misturado com dançarina, china china que nada tem que perde?

Eu ja ovi falá mas ancusa: que naquele sabado que "MELCO CLUB" dá chá com dança até 3 aoras de manhão, que vôs tamem ja vai, mas logo que chegá meia noite vos ja fugi cõ vôs sa refugiada pa vai cabaré de hotel Kuoc Chai.

Vôss nunca pensá que masqui seja vôs non tem animo de mostrá claro claro goto de gaio dodo como tudo olotro, nadi falta olo profano, olo que sabe tosca tudo, cabeça suzo, boca desbocado que aquéla hora mesmo principiá passá palavra? "Nunca ta fazê bom cusa".Vôs nunca senti ardê cara, ardê orelha, na cabaré?

Eu não pode capacitá como vôs pode tem animo de vai cabaré com refugiada nunca medo senhor BISPO, que tudo lôgo sabe; de padre XXXXXX, vôs sa drêtor esperitual e de aquele otro dotor que tudo gente falá são quasi padre, XXXX XXXXXX, que são quim dirigi na Mocidade Portuguesa, que vôs tamem são ugna filhado!

Vôs nunca são parvo, nunca são tolo, nunca são non tem sizo? Vôs pensá que gente non tem olo pa olá ó pensá que são vôs gente já não tem animo pa murmurá?

De tudo aquele lenga lenga que ja sae na gaseta unga eu senti que vôs tern razão de ficá réva: são aquele um pouco de rapaz rapaz chamá vôs dotor dentista. Eu primêro non sabe qui foi dá estunga suposto pa vôs mas preguntá cô unga pregunta cô outro ja vem sabê estunga historia: que vôs unga dia que ta joga jogo de bola vai bola bola vem, que bate cô unga avano de rede (eu lembrá que já ovi falá que chamá Tenis) vôs ja cae e non pôde levantá nem pôde mexê - Aquele otro, vôs sapar olá vôs assim apanhá susto, pensá que vôs apanhá vento suzo, core chamá gente socoro mas ninguem tem capaz de levantá pa vôs. Tudo espantado olá bem fêto são qui, cusa assim estranho. Intão descobri que são vôs ja ficá cô tudo dente enterado na chão. Assim tudo disisti, fala são más bom chama unga china de cavá mato, traze a sua fero de cavá pa disinterá vôs, sa dentuça.

São assim que ja salvá pa vôs?!

São divéra que ja acontece estunga historia?

Se nunca vôs são divera tem rasão de ficá reva, de péga odio pa olotro tudo com pôco de boatêro.

Vôs nunca bom ficá réva cô eu; nunca são discompôr, nunca são querê xovalha pa vôs, são somente unga disabáfo de eu sa disgosto de olá vôs assim feto pôco, de eu sa medo de vôs sigui mau caminho, por isso assim pa porta traz eu vai avisando de tudo quanto que este gente tá falá, tá murmurá de vôs. Mas se eu sabe que vôs logo tomá conselho, dadi ficá reva eu logo disabafá, fala com vôs pa nunca bom fica assim impostor, assim prisunçoso, tudo gente tá murmurá, tá olá pa vôs có canto de olo.

Eu conhece vôs sa pai, vôs sa mãi, ja côlo vôs quando pequenino pode dá unga checho ucho e unga abraço forte, forte, nunca são reparado.

Ti Mariquinhas

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barbosa, Jorge

1971 "Crioulos" Academia Internacional da Cultura Portuguesa, Lisbon.

Barreiros, Danilo

1943-44 "Dialecto Português de Macau" in Renascimento,

Macau, 1943-1944.

Batalha, Graciete

1959 "Estado Actual do Dialecto Macaense", Revista Portuguesa de Filologia, vol. IX, Coimbra.

1974 "Língua de Macau". Macau Government Press,

Macau.

1977 "Glossário do Dialecto Macaense". Instituto de

Estudos Românicos, Coimbra.

1986 "O Chão de Padre e seus moradores portugueses".

Imprensa Oficial, Macau.

Brazão, Eduardo

1949 "Apontamentos para a história das relações diplomáticas de Portugal com a China". Agência Geral das Colónias, Lisbon.

Conklin, Nancy

1974 "Toward a Feminist analysis of Linguistic Behavior"

The University of Michigan Papers In Women's Studies, Ι,

N°1, 57-73.

De Camp, David

1971 "Toward a generative analysis of a post-creole continuum", in Dell Hymes, ed. - Pidginization and Creolization of Languages.

Doughty, Peter S., & Pearce, J., Thornton, G.

1972 "Exploring Language". Edward Arnold, London.

Faria y Sousa, M.

1965 "The Portuguese Asia", translated into English by John

Stevens and published by Gregg International Publishers,

Westmead: 1971.

Ferreira, José Santos

1978 "Macau sã assi"

1973 "Qui-Nova Chencho"

1978 "Papiá Cristan di Macau". Published by the author,

Macau.

Halliday, M.A.K.

1978 "Language as Social Semiotic - The social interpretation of language and meaning".Edward Arnold, London.

Lakoff, Robin

1975 "Language and Woman's Place". Harper & Row,

New York.

Peace Handbooks

1920 Vol XⅢ, 81, Macao. H.M.Stationery Office, London.

Thompson, Robert W.

1961 "O dialecto português de Hong Kong". Boletim de

Filologia, Vol XIX. Lisbon.

NOTES

(a) - This dialogue, between Augusta, 15 years old, and her cousin João Fernandes, 18 years old, was published by F. M. de Lima, in Hongkong in 1895. Reprinted in Barreiros (19?)

(b) - Standard Portuguese speaker (A.) implies that Makista is not Portuguese.

(c)- Creole speaker - Makista is Portuguese.

(d)- Creole speaker-Creole does not hinder communication.

(e)- Stand. Port. speaker - Creole hinders communication, especially with European Portuguese.

(f)- Stand. Port. speaker - The use of creole is even worse for men than for women.

(g)- "(Standard Portuguese)... is only good for following the Mass, with a book, in church." - This line reveals the role of the Church in the social reinforcement of the use of Stand. Port. The religious register is highly significant in a Catholic community such as this one.

(h)- The Creole speaker is stigmatized as "malaqueiro" (from Malacca), reflecting the popular perception of its origins.

(1) - Author's translation.

"Construída a Porta do Cerco, foi acordado com os mandarins de Hian-chan que ela se pudesse abrir dois dias em cada lua, que nesses dias os chinas fizessem aí mercado para os portugueses irem fornecer-se dos géneros que precisassem, que aos chinas fosse proibido entrar no estabelecimento e aos portugueses e mais estrangeiros sair ao território chinês, e que a dita porta fosse guardada por soldados e um oficial china. Passados anos, e já depois de existir o Senado, estabeleceu-se o mercado semanal, e o procurador recebia dos mandarins uma lista que designava os chinas a quem era permitido vir à cidade, continuando porém a ser proibído a todos habitar nela...... Afinal a Porta do Cerco passou a abrir-se todos os dias, o mercado internou-se e fixou-se; pouco a pouco o zelo dos procuradores enfraqueceu, a brilhante e industriosa actividade chinesa insinuou-se, fez-se bem vista, e foi construindo e multiplicando casas, lojas e oficinas"

Marques Pereira - As alfândegas chinesas de

Macau, quoted by Brazão, (1949).

(2) - Author's translation.

"Esta porta abria-se todos os dias antes da proibição do comércio, e os aldeões dos lugares circunvizinhos, vindo a Macau com toda a liberdade de vender as suas mercadorias faziam com que não lhes faltasse nada; mas os tártaros, querendo obrigar os portugueses a abandonar este porto e entrar na China porque não podem suportar que os estrangeiros habitem nas fronteiras do seu reino e possuam aí fortalezas e artilharia, iniciaram uma guarnição para guardar esta muralha com ordem de não abrirem a porta senão em certos dias determinados. Uma vez por mês e depois que a nossa perseguição começou, este rigor passou a um tal excesso que às vezes decorriam meses sem que a porta se abrisse..."

Adriano Greslon - Histoire de la Chine sous la domination de les Tartares, ibid.

(3) - Batalha (1974) p. 22.

(4) - Faria y Sousa (1695) Book Ⅲ, p. 311.

(5) - Crioulos (1967) p. 171.

(6) - Foreign Office-Peace Handbooks, vol. XⅢ, 81, p. 5.

(7) - ibidem, p. 4 Handbooks, vol. XⅢ, 81, p. 5

(8) - ibidem, p. 5 "It is divided into a Chinese and a nonChinese quarter, each under a special administrator".

(9) - Faria y Sousa (1695) Book Ⅲ, p. 311.

(10) - Batalha (1974) p. 22.

(11) - ibidem, p. 29.

(12) - Faria y Sousa (1695) Book Ⅲ, p. 311.

(13) - Batalha, (1974) pp. 27-29.

(14) - Faria y Sousa (1695) Book Ⅲ, p. 79.

(15) - Dr. Barreiros, personal communication

(16) - Batalha (1974) p. 19.

(17) - ibidem, pp. 15-17.

(18) - Barreiros (1943-44)Crioulos, pp. 182-186. Batalha (1959) 1977.

(19) - Barreiros (1943-44) pp. 359-360.

(20) - UMA-(1974) the newsletter of the California Macaists, publishes a few poems and riddles in patois.

(21) - Batalha (1986) p. 60.

(22) - Ferreira (1973).

(23) - Barreiros, personal letter.

(24) - Barreiros (1943-44). Ferreira (1973).

(25) - Ferreira (1973)(1978).

(26) - Though we find examples of satire in the Portuguese literature, throughout the centuries, satirical poetry, directed to a specific individual as is the case in the Macau creole, is only found up to the end of the 16th century, the "Cantigas de Escárneo e Maldizer". This form may well be the origin of Macau satire.

(27) - Barreiros, (1943-44)

(28) - Both terms have multiple meanings: 'Playful use of the language, joke, pun, fun, jocosity, something given for free ("graça")'.

(29) - Barreiros (1943-44) pp. 359-360. Ferreira (1973) Introduction.

(30) - "Linguazi di português di Portugal, comê bem pagá mal in Barreiros (1943) pp. 468-469.

(31) - Halliday (1978) p. 160.

(32)- "Carta de nhy Roza para nhy Chencha", Barreiros, 1870; p. 241.

*Researcher in the Linguistics Department of the Univ. of Austin (Texas); ICM Scholarship holder.