#I do know some mandarin drug slang

[moyashidreams]

I can’t believe I almost forgot to post this powerful bumper sticker from today. Vapes out for Jesus.

#I cannot believe this is real #they also had a sticker that said 可愛い草 #which means cute grass #but I don’t think grass in Japanese is slang for weed like it is in English #idk drug slang in Japanese sorry #I do know some mandarin drug slang #don’t worry about it #I trust these tags to help people find this post

[nikkotinamide]

language use in kiseki

I don't think this has been mentioned before but the kiseki scriptwriters/directors actually use language to reflect the characters' backgrounds/level of education. This is purely from observing the language shown in the drama, I'm unsure if it is reflective of Taiwanese society.

We know that whilst not well to do, Bai Zong Yi is a top student. He's well-educated and learned. Fan Ze Rui, given his privileged background, is also the same. This is reflected in their speech: they use standard mandarin, and I don't remember them having used slangs. This is one of the reasons they click.

Contrast this with Ai Di, Chen Yi, and the soy milk shop owner. The owner mainly uses minnanyu (taiwanese hokkien), interspersed with mandarin. For Ai Di and Chen Yi, they mainly use mandarin but with certain minnanyu words interspersed. Ai Di also uses quite a bit of slang.

Here Ai Di says "我爸妈毒kiang了啦". Kiang is minnanyu slang for tripping on drugs.

Here Chen Yi says "an zua 变这样" (how did you become like this).

We know that Ai Di left school, and given how Chen Yi's speech pattern is similar to Ai Di's just with less slang, we can assume Chen Yi also left (and may even have been more educated). This suggests that the use of minnanyu is intentional to show that they are less privileged in terms of education/background.

This lends some insight into the boundary between Fan Ze Rui and Ai Di & Chen Yi. Fan Ze Rui is only affiliated with Yiyun Meng because the 2 of them treat him as a friend and the Fan family has ties to Yiyun Meng. He is called 哥 because he is a friend, not because he is a brother. And this stems from his privileged background. He can't speak the same language/lingo and he finds himself unable to assimilate.

The writers go on to juxtapose the reality of Bai Zong Yi (now affiliated with some Yiyun Meng members) and Ai Di, against the normal lives peers their age lead.

This scene was quite funny. Fang Zi An thought Fan Ze Rui and Ai Di were undercover policemen, and he thought it was as though he was in a Stephen Chow film, getting into character as a calefare speaking cantonese (“meng ngo ah a-sir. ngo hai ho yan ah. nei hai caai lou. nei hai caai lou!”). Cantonese isn't widely spoken in Taiwan and we can see the faces Fan Ze Rui and Ai Di make at each other showing that they don't really get what Fang Zi An is saying at all.

And Fang Zi An is an example of how kids their age should be - carefree, nerdy, passionate etc., which Bai Zong Yi and Ai Di do not have the privilege of. Bai Zong Yi has to worry about his family/finances, while Ai Di has real danger to contend with at every turn.

It's just so interesting how kiseki decided to use language to add flavour to their characters. And I love how these characters from vastly different worlds have collided with each other.

#kiseki: dear to me #fan ze rui #bai zong yi #ai di #chen yi #fan ze rui x bai zong yi #chen yi x ai di #ramblings #the 阿sir sent me