Chinese phrases and words used in this graphic novel reflect the terms and expressions that best represent the dialect of the first wave of Chinese to North America. These peoples hailed from the four counties (Sze Yap) of the southern Chinese province of Kwangtung (Guangdong) – Hoy Ping, Sun Wui, Toisan, and Yen Ping counties. Names and places in this story reflect this historic context. The following words were originally used by our pioneers, with today’s “spelling” form in parentheses – (i.e., Mandarin Pinyin writing equivalent).
In addition, the original Chinese terms used by Gold Mountain pioneers will be employed. Here is a summary of some original Chinese phonetic descriptions, followed by their literal English translations, and the actual name used today:
Some place names used were the same in America and in Canada. For example, “Yee Fahw” (second city) was used to identify a smaller city or community in relation to the main city (e.g., Sacramento to San Francisco, New Westminster to Vancouver).
The prefix “Ah” before a name is a common southern Chinese colloquialism when addressing a person. So someone with the surname Lee would be addressed by the Cantonese as “Ah Lee” and Mr Smith as “Ah Smith”; it could also be added to a first name, so Brad would be addressed as “Ah Brad” and Susan as “Ah Susan.”
Because Chinese words are phonetically anglicized here, the English “phonetic” spelling will undoubtedly be met with variations. An example is the Chinese word for Gold Mountain 金山. It has been written in English in various forms, including Gam San, Gham Sun, Gum Saan, Gim Tsun, Gaam Shan, Ghum Shun, and so on. This graphic novel uses Gam Saan, which appears to be the most commonly used version.