Why do Cantonese people like to call people "Laolao" or "Laomei"?

We who speak vernacular like to call people who speak Mandarin Lao Lao, Lao Po, Lao Zai and Lao Mei. People who speak the vernacular in Guangdong call it the same name, and people who speak the vernacular in Guangxi also call it the same. This is a bit of a name to show distinction. Some people don't know what it means and think that calling them Lao Lao or Lao Mei is meant to be contemptuous and derogatory. In fact, it is not the case.

Jiangxi people call each other "Lao Biao" when they are born. This has its origin and also means respecting others to bring them closer and get along better. Lao Biao is an equal, a relative, and "Lao Biao" means respect and respect. Calling me "my cousin" is considered polite and respectful. It is easy to close the distance, build a good relationship, make it easier to get along, and be accepted by others. People who speak the vernacular in Guangdong and Guangxi call people in the north who speak differently as Laolao, Laozai, etc. This is also a matter of origin and respect. Guangdong and Guangxi are in the south of China. Most people in the Pearl River Basin speak Mandarin, but the languages ??outside are different. Especially in the northern provinces, the languages ????are mostly similar to Mandarin. It is said that there was a Cantonese who worked together with a Hunanese. The Hunan people called the Cantonese people "brother", which was a sign of respect. The Hunanese dialect is similar to the vernacular Lao, and the Cantonese people also called the Hunanese "brother", both with "Lao brother". It is called "Lao, Lao". This Lao actually means Lao, and it is a complimentary and respectful title.

In recent decades, Guangdong has taken the lead in reform and opening up. Many men and women have gone south to work in Guangdong, and they have made a lot of money. Those who don’t know the origin of Long Zu have really misunderstood it. They think that northerners are hardworking and work hard, and they are really trying to get people and families. The older ones are called Lao Lao and Lao Po, and the younger ones are called Lao Zai and Lao Mei. They think it is ironic. It is meant to be derogatory and contemptuous, but it is not. This has become a customary slang.

There is a reason for this. During the Qing Dynasty, two soldiers were brave, one from Hunan and the other from Guangdong. They called themselves brothers. The Hunan soldiers called the Guangdong soldiers as brothers, which is the "old" of "brother" in Hunan dialect. The word "lao" has the same pronunciation as "Lao". Guangdong Bingyong also calls Hunan Bingyong "brother", but Guangdong Bingyong learned from Hunan Bingyong's "brother" and pronounced the word "brother" as "pine". Therefore, people in Guangdong like to call people from other provinces "brother". "Laosong" guy was later called "Lao guy", "Lao woman", "Lao sister" and "Lao boy" according to men, women, old and young! "

To tell the truth, not all Cantonese people like to call people who don't speak vernacular "Laolao, Laomei", mainly because people who speak Cantonese call them more.

There is no way of knowing when the name Zhuisu started to be called, but it has been passed down anyway.

In the past, most of the people who came to Guangdong were Hunanese who spoke Mandarin native to Hunan, and it was difficult to understand clearly. At that time, the Mandarin spoken by Cantonese was not so pure, especially ordinary citizens, who referred to Mandarin as "brother" as "dragging pine". I believe they also knew what it meant, and it was not meant to belittle or look down upon them. I actually mean to respect you, but I just said it incorrectly.

Nowadays, Mandarin (Mandarin) education has been popularized in nurseries. This phenomenon has basically disappeared, but among ordinary citizens, there are very few To outsiders, this is unavoidable. After all, it is just spread among everyone, and it is not harmful. It is not a foul language, a malicious word, or a general name.

Thank you (I shouldn’t post it)< /p>

Because Cantonese speak Cantonese, Mandarin was not heard in small towns in the 1960s. Laolao is not a derogatory term, it is just a short name for people who speak Mandarin. At that time, many cadres who went south to Guangdong, When I first arrived in a rural area to learn about work, I saw a middle-aged and elderly person and came up to say hello: Hello, brother! The locals couldn’t understand what they were saying, so I asked a young man who had read more books to tell me that there was a person at the entrance of the village who spoke Lao Xiong dialect. After some contact, there were people who spoke Lao Xiong dialect, and some were called Lao Xiong Zhang or Lao Xiong Li. Anyone who spoke Mandarin was called Lao Xiang. Later, it became simpler: an adult man is called Lao Lao, and an adult woman is Lao Lao. Grandma, when you are younger, you are called Lao Zai or Lao Mei. It is definitely not derogatory when people in Guangdong call you Lao Lao.

Guangdong is called "Lao" by people outside the province. It has a short history. Guangzhou was liberated in 1949. The People's Liberation Army was stationed in the place. Guangzhou citizens called military bosses, chiefs, etc. according to the Republic of China era. Soldiers said that the People's Liberation Army is the people's army. From now on, instead of calling officers, call them "comrades." So some citizens called soldiers "comrades" and later the chief. I thought there was something wrong with comrades, so I said, let’s call the citizens fellow citizens, and let them call us brothers. So when the citizens met the soldiers, they called us brothers. Cantonese people couldn’t pronounce it correctly, so brother changed the pronunciation to "Laosong". From now on, people from other provinces would call us brothers. There was a nickname: Brother! "Laosong", and slowly evolved into Lao Lao, Lao Mei, Lao Po... and so on.

Wrong, that’s not what people in Guangdong say. We people who speak the vernacular in Guangxi all say the same thing about "Lao Lao, Lao Mei", which means that people who can’t understand the jijijiguagua are like this. Calling "Lao Lao, Lao Mei"

It is emphasized here that "Lao Lao" and "Lao Mei" do not mean to curse or discriminate. People in Guangdong speak very common Mandarin. The original meaning is It means "brother" or "fellow fellow", but it is pronounced as "老松" in Cantonese Mandarin. Later, it was localized by shouting. Gan Cui was called "Lao Zai" and the girl was called "Lao Mei". Dear friends from other places, don’t worry. There is no discrimination here, but the special names of dialects. Have you learned it?

Let me correct you. Nowadays, Cantonese people rarely call people from other provinces in the north this way.

In fact, the Cantonese call "Laolao" or "Laomei" refers to people from other provinces in the north of Guangdong who are not Cantonese or Hakka, that is, Guangxi and Fujian are basically excluded.

In addition, what kind of name is commonly used by older people? Twenty years before the reform and opening up, a large number of people from other provinces came to Guangdong to develop, and the Mandarin of Cantonese people was too ordinary, and communication was difficult. There are difficulties. In addition, there were many social problems caused at that time, which created a bad impression. "Laolao" and "Laomei" are derogatory. Today, Guangdong people who generally receive better education and quality education know that respect Never mention others.

Another point is that with the integration of study, work and life of people from other provinces, the close contact and harmonious atmosphere have disappeared among the current middle-aged and young people.

People in Guangdong call people from outside the province Lao. In fact, people from other provinces who come to Guangdong call the locals laoxiang. This is because the people in Guangzhou heard people from other provinces calling laoxiang in Mandarin and distorted the tone of the call, so they called them laoxiang. It became Laoxiang, and later it was extended to people from other provinces as Laozai and Laomei. It didn't mean to look down on it at all. It was a neutral term, neither praise nor derogation.

Let’s talk about my true feelings! I am a Cantonese, and I have called people from other provinces who come to Guangdong to work since I was a child "Lao Lao", "Lao Mei", and "Lao Po". Anyway, we like to call them this way.

Of course, this is a customary call. French, whether it’s Hakka, Chaoshan or Cantonese, people in Cantonese-speaking areas like to call it this way.

Many friends who have just come to Guangdong don’t like it. It sounds like the same thing. It means discrimination, contempt, disrespect, and a sense of alienation.

Some people even got very angry and vowed not to come to Guangdong again, saying that Cantonese people are not hospitable and look down on outsiders.

In fact, these ideas are too misunderstood, and they are not meant at all. These verbal things are just to distinguish the identity of the other party.

What kind of discrimination, insult, and look down on people. The meanings are all wrong. People from other provinces who have settled in Guangdong know that in fact, being called this way is precisely because it has been recognized by the locals and has gradually been accepted.

In fact, it has the same meaning as the flower names given to children at home, such as Cuihua, Yaomeizi, Guawazi, etc.

The reason why they are misunderstood is because of Cantonese and Mandarin. , the difference is really quite big, and I can only have a partial understanding of it for a while, and it is easy to misinterpret the real meaning.

Among the locals in Guangdong, there are men who are calling for girls while pursuing others. There are a lot of women who call them "Laozai" and are dating others at the same time.

It can be seen that these titles really don't mean anything. They are just a distinction between status and cannot be stopped. Locals and people from other provinces love each other.

In fact, Guangdong people are the most open province in the country. Everyone who comes here is a guest. They are never xenophobic and there is very little discrimination. No matter where they go, they are in Guangzhou and Foshan. , Shenzhen, Dongguan, Qingyuan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhuhai and other cities, everyone treats each other as guests, gets what they need, cooperates happily, and eats, drinks and has fun together.

Most of them have stayed in Guangdong for several years. My friends, I definitely don’t want to leave this place. In addition to its prosperity, the most important thing is that it is very friendly to outsiders. It is a fair competition for all small businesses and vendors, and some are even anti-customer.

So, if you come to Guangdong for the first time and hear someone calling you "Lao Lao" or "Lao Mei", don't take it to heart. You should greet them with a smile. If you hear someone call you "Pretty Boy" , "Beautiful girl", that's even more serious, it means that you are really good-looking, handsome and beautiful.