eldertree
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Manager of Imperial Park Realms
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Ethnic Heritage: Chinese in a Chinese body
Gender Identity: Cis
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Post by eldertree on Nov 19, 2017 15:38:30 GMT
Because watermelon in Chinese is 西瓜 (xigua) and in Japanese it's スイカ (西瓜) or suika.
So what I want to know is who received it first and named it 西瓜。
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redwine
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Post by redwine on Nov 26, 2017 9:00:50 GMT
If Vietnamese name for watermelon is similar then it’s higly likely that China received it first. If it’s different then the question is still not answered.
Vietnamese word is dưa hấu, pronounced “zua hoe”. I don’t think it’s similar enough.
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eldertree
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Manager of Imperial Park Realms
Posts: 847
Likes: 286
Ethnic Heritage: Chinese in a Chinese body
Gender Identity: Cis
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Post by eldertree on Nov 26, 2017 10:36:06 GMT
If Vietnamese name for watermelon is similar then it’s higly likely that China received it first. If it’s different then the question is still not answered. Vietnamese word is dưa hấu, pronounced “zua hoe”. I don’t think it’s similar enough. Wow that's an interesting concept Watermelon originates from tropical Africa and was later cultivated in ancient Egypt. Then spread to Middle East and Europe. China had notable contact with Middle East. I did a bit of research: 西瓜 Etymology From Middle Chinese compound 西瓜 (sej kwæ, literally “west + melon”). Compare modern Mandarin 西瓜 (xīguā, “watermelon”). sui is the 唐音 of 西. There is an alternative spelling of 水瓜, which may be seen as both ateji and a calque of English watermelon. Sino-Xenic (西瓜): Japanese: 西瓜すいか (suika) Korean: 서과 (西瓜, seogwa) Mongolian: шийгуа (šijgua) So then it is interesting why Vietnamese have a different word for it, I expected them to have a similar word, especially since according to Japanese records, 西瓜 is a Tang dynasty reading. I was thinking maybe it's to do with French loanword instead, but watermelon in French is pastèque, which doesn't resemble dưa hấu at all. |
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