Apparently, the Chinese and East Asians have a similar usage: (A polite term of address for) a middle-aged or elderly man who may or may not be a relative http://www.singlishdictionary.com/singlish_U.htm
(A polite term of address for) a middle-aged or elderly woman who may or may not be a relative. Compare Uncle. 2001 Neil Humphreys Notes from an Even Smaller Island 29 .. I have yet to meet anyone who is ‘harder’ than a Singaporean auntie. Believe me, they are rock solid and their resolute attitude and lust for life is something that the younger, greedier generation can learn from. A Singaporean auntie or uncle can be anyone who is from the older generations, like an English old age pensioner (OAP), and the term is used out of affection and respect. http://www.singlishdictionary.com/singlish_A.htm#auntie http://www.eudict.com/?lang=engchi&word=uncle%20(polite%20form%20of%20address%20for%20older%20male) FN +91-832-2409490 or +91-9822122436 (after 2pm) #784 Nr Lourdes Convent, Saligao 403511 Goa India http://fn.goa-india.org http://goa1556.goa-india.org 2011/6/21 Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão <[email protected]>: > On Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:08:09 -0700, Santosh Helekar wrote: <<<There are > nearly 200 dialects of the English language around the world. There > > are at least 35 dialects of English in the United Kingdom alone. Oxford > English has many words borrowed or derived from several foreign languages in > it, including Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Tamil, Bengali, and of course, Sanskrit. > Cheers, Santosh>>> > > > > COMMENT : First and foremost, I would request whoever uses the term > “Dialect” to check its meaning. Here is definition by wiki: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialect > > Now, can Santosh please let me know where I can find the vocabulary, > grammar, etc. of all the dialects he has cited above? And may I also know in > which dictionary I can find “Uncle” & “Aunty” defined as a manner of > addressing people as I have originally posted? And as Wiki states, an > individual’s pattern of language usage is ‘Idiolect’. > > There is always a ‘Standard’ maintained in any language which is the written > language and taught in schools as the “Standard English of England’ which > does not undergo alterations. The rest of the variation can best be labelled > as ‘corruption’ of the language. > > http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/changlang/across/languagetimeline.html > > Dr. Ferdinando dos Reis Falcão. > > >
