Diploma

A grandmother was pushing her little grandchild around Wal- Mart in a buggy. Each time she put something in the basket she would say, 'And here's something for you, Diploma.' or 'This will make a cute little outfit for you, Diploma.' and so on.

Eventually a bewildered shopper who'd heard all this finally asked, 'Why do you keep calling your grandchild Diploma?'

The grandmother replied, 'I sent my daughter to Virginia Tech and this is what she came home with!'

I asked two Chinese educated ladies how to say it in Cantonese, Masters and Doctorate. I was told "Pok Si" and "Sek Si" respectively.

A few days ago, I was at a wedding eve dinner and chatted with some women in their fifties, who probably had only primary Chinese education. They told me it should be "Sek Si" then "Pok Si". I have just reconfirmed with someone else that the earlier version was correct! I am confused but would then to agree with the first version.

This confusion reminds me of the surgeons being called "Mister" instead of "Doctor" in UK. To others, they cannot imagine going for further specialization and being reverted to Mr.!

To the layman, the confusion will go on and on. Only those in the profession or in academia would know and appreciate the difference.

Just yesterday at the coffee shop in Pusing, soon after a housewife explained to me, her husband said, "those who study until Sek Si are those who studied until they are "ngong chor"! Almost immediately, the wife asked me what level my daughter is studying and I replied, "ngong chor"! She felt embarrassed at what her husband had just said.