The Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei provides studio space for artists and also makes interesting videos to introduce the creative orientation of people working there. This short gem about zine-maker 李柏萱 Esther Li Pak Huen is both an insightful presentation of this young artist’s work and an engaging combination of spoken word, image and music.
Two characters in Esther’s name require some explanation. 柏 paak3 means “cypress tree” and perhaps suggests evergreen-ness and longevity. 萱 hyūn1 is the “tawny daylily”, and may here indicate a wish for beauty.
Grammar-wise, there are two points in the video concerning sentence final particles. The first of these concerns 喎 wo3:
因為做呢個《夜歸少年》雜誌啦 | 係有啲人會見到我做緊呢樣嘢喎
I have been making a zine called The Night-returning Youths, and as a result some people noticed that I have been doing this thing.
One function of 喎 wo3 is used when speaking about things that are unexpected by the speaker. This certainly helps to explain the particle’s appearance here. And as 曾琬淋Yuen-lam Tsang explains in Basic Sentence-final Particles in Hong Kong Cantonese, 喎 wo3 can also be used to remind the listener of things they have not noticed or thought of, to enthusiastically agree (or disagree) with another person, and (with 點解 dím2 gáai2) to express the idea that one is being treated unfairly and would like an explanation!
Secondly, as was the case in the previous video about Tse Saipei, there are many instances of 囉 lō1 in this video. I still can’t say exactly why it is used, but here it seems to occur mainly in assertions which the speaker makes in her own name:
1:16 最近就我特別多咗留意風景囉
Of late, I’ve been paying a lot more attention to my surroundings.
2:01 我會想大家去見到創作就係喺生活裏便囉
What I’d like is for people to see that creativity is [part of] life.
In Mandarin, 囉 is explained as “showing an affirmative tone”. I sometimes wonder, too, whether it is added in Cantonese when the speaker makes an affirmation that she anticipates will be a little difficult for the listener to readily accept.
The following items of vocabulary are also worth adding to your repertoire: 類型 leuih6 yìhng4 = type; 落手落腳 lohk6 sáu2 lohk6 geuk3 = to get one’s hands dirty; 影印機 yíng2 yan3 gēi1 = photocopy machine; 敏銳 máhn5 yeuih6 = sharp, acute, keen; 工作室 gūng1 jok3 sāt1 = studio; 斜路 che3 lóu6*2 = a slope; 地形 deih6 yìhng4 = topography; terrain; and 發掘 faat3 gwaht6 = to excavate, to unearth or to explore.
Please scroll down if you want the transcription, notes and English translation. Otherwise, you can view the video here (there are subtitles in Standard Written Chinese and English). And remember, if you want the standard jyutping romanization or to check any of the Chinese in the text, please consult the Sheik Cantonese on-line dictionary.
You might also like to make use the Ekho Text to Speech Converter if you have trouble matching any part of the transcribed Chinese text to the spoken version. Just make sure you select “Cantonese” under the language menu before you paste cut and text into the relevant box.
李柏萱：點解做 zine 呢 | 都係我睇到無論係香港或者其他地方 | 都會有呢一類型嘅刊物啦 | 係讓大家一齊去參與 | 真係變成一場視覺上嘅交流
Hello，我係李柏萱 | 噉我自己呢，會畫插畫，會畫漫畫 | 都會做版畫嘅 | 噉我近年呢，就 . . . 都會自己去做 zine 啦 | 即係一啲獨立出版嘅刊物
zine 係你比較唔需要任何背景 | 或者好完整嘅計劃啦 | 噉你就已經可以落手落腳做 | 你可能有部影印機，你有張紙，有支筆 | 你就可以開始將你嘅諗法變成一個書嘅形式去表達出嚟
Caption: 寫日記
寫日記呢個習慣啦，我就係由大學開始嘅 | 原本都係一個好敏銳自己啲情感呀 | 呃，或者我經歷咗啲咩嗰種人呀 | 喺寫呢個過程係會令我 . . .
● 類型 leuih6 yìhng4 = type | ● 刊物 hōn1 maht6 = publication | ● 參與 chaam1 yuh5 = to participate in; to have a hand in | ● 插畫 chaap3 wáa2 (?) = illustration | ● 完整 yùhn4 jíng2 = complete; integrated; intact | ● 落手落腳 lohk6 sáu2 lohk6 geuk3 = to get one’s hands dirty; to put one’s hands and feet to work; to take action | ● 影印機 yíng2 yan3 gēi1 = photocopy machine; photocopier | ● 形式 yìhng4 sīk1 = a form; a shape | ● 原本 yùhn4 bún2 = originally | ● 敏銳 máhn5 yeuih6 = sharp; acute; keen
Esther Li Pak Huen: Why make zines? Both in Hong Kong and in other places, you find [都會有] this type of publication. It enables everyone to participate, really becoming a [place] for visual exchange.
Hello, I am Esther Li Pak Huen. Me, I do illustrations [畫插畫] and draw cartoons, and I also make prints. In recent years, I have been making zines on my own, some independently published publications.
[To make] zines, you don’t need to have much of a background [in magazine-making] or a very detailed plan. You can just dive right in and make one [可以落手落腳做]. With a photocopier, a piece of paper and a pen, you can begin to turn your ideas into a book-format [so that you can] express [yourself].
Caption: Keeping a Diary
I started the habit of keeping a diary back when I was at university. I am the kind of person who is very sensitive to my own feelings, and I underwent some things [我經歷咗啲咩]. The process of writing things down enabled me . . .
【1:00】. . . 搵得翻我自己嘅 | 即係 *je 可能我整理自己嘅時候呢 | 會見到有一 啲嘢係好重要 | 對於生命嘅觀察啦 | 噉我就會想將佢化為一啲作品去同人分享咁樣
最近就我特別多咗留意風景囉 | 石硤尾呢個社區啦 | 我係有呢個工作室嘅空間呢，我先會踏足呢個地方囉 | 喺呢度生活之後呢，我就發現佢同我原本嘅社區係好唔同 | 好簡單咁樣囉 | 佢嗰啲樓呢，唔算好高啦 | 噉有陣時 *yensi 又有啲斜路呀 | 噉係見到成個地形 | 好特別呀，對我嚟講
Caption: 夜歸少年的啟發
因為做呢個《夜歸少年》雜誌啦 | 係有啲人會見到我做緊呢樣嘢喎 | 噉佢過嚟訪問我 | 訪問嘅過程呢 | 其實我都從對方身上學習到啲嘢囉 | 一路喺度創作、一路製作| 我都可以因為咁而遇見 . . .
● 工作室 gūng1 jok3 sāt1 = studio | ● 踏足 daahp6 jūk1 = to set foot on/in | ● 斜路 che3 lóu6*2 = a slope | ● 地形 deih6 yìhng4 = topography; terrain | ● 遇見 yuh6 gin3 = to meet
. . . to find myself again. That is, when I was trying to sort myself out, I’d notice things that were really important, certain observations about life. At such times, I want to turn such things into artworks so that I can share [my observations] with others.
Of late, I’ve been paying a lot more attention to my surroundings [風景]. I only set foot in Shek Kip Mei when I got my studio workspace in this district. When I began living here, I discovered just how different it was from my own district. It is much simpler here, and the building aren’t as tall. And then, here and there, there are these slopes. To me it’s very special, the whole terrain [of this place].
Caption: What I Learned from The Night-returning Youths
I have been making a zine called The Night-returning Youths, and as a result some people noticed that I have been doing this thing. Someone came and interviewed me and, in the process, I learned some things myself from the person doing the interviewing. Because I am working here and making here, I will encounter . . .
【2:00】 . . . 唔同嘅機會 | 我會想大家去見到創作就係喺生活裏便囉 | 我都想佢哋喺生活裏便發掘到一啲更有趣嘅事物啦 | 噉所以我都好 . . . 好喜歡可能透過唔同嘅方式啦，噉去同大眾去連結咁樣囉
● 發掘 faat3 gwaht6 = to excavate; to unearth; to explore
. . . different opportunities. What I’d like is for people to see that creativity is [part of] life and that they could uncover some more interesting things in life. For this reason, I really like connecting with a wider audience [大眾] through a variety of different means.
Chinaman Creek 