新加坡华语资料库

本资料库收录了具有文化、历史或情感意义的华语词汇。这些词汇是新加坡人过去或现在的生活用语,有的见于印刷媒体,有的则在日常对话中使用。

niú

Sanitary inspector (colloquially known as te gu)

Communities/Organisations

社群、团体

Communities / Organisations

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Sanitary inspector (colloquially known as te gu)

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Communities/Organisations

社群、团体

Communities / Organisations

释义

名词

旧时对于土地或卫生稽查员的称呼。

DEFINITION

Noun

An old term for land or hygiene inspector.

由来
  • 源自福建话中的 te gu
  • 1950 年代的新加坡还是殖民地,资源贫乏,经济不景气,职缺有限,一般百姓的教育程度也不高。因此,为了养家糊口,许多小市民只好在街头巷尾摆起各式各样的摊子,当起无牌小贩。稽查土地或卫生的人员最早也在这一时期出现。
  • 当时,只要是有权发出罚单的制服人员,如市议会、原产局及建屋局的稽查员,摊贩都称他们为地牛。
  • 关于 “地牛” 的由来有两种说法。第一种说法是源自于福建和潮州当地的传说。当地人相信,地震的发生是因为地底下有一只牛一直背着地球,而当牛累了,换个肩膀时就会动摇地面,产生地震。随着先辈们移民南洋,他们便用地牛的传说来比喻以前稽查人员抓拿小贩的场景,当时如同发生地震一样,十分混乱,而小贩们也因此称稽查人员为地牛。
  • 第二种说法则与潮州人对于某种蛙类的俗称有关。花姬蛙(Microhyla pulchra)在潮州当地称为地牛,其色泽呈棕黄色,带有黑色斑纹,在东南亚一带也十分常见。由于旧时新加坡的稽查员身穿土黄色斜纹布的制服,接近地牛的颜色,再加上执法时会喧哗吼叫,形似地牛发出的 “呱呱” 叫声,为非法小贩所憎恶,因此他们便将这些稽查人员称之为地牛。
ETYMOLOGY
  • Originated from the Hokkien term te gu.
  • In the 1950s, Singapore was still a colony that lacked resources, with a sluggish economy and limited job vacancies. The people were also generally poorly educated. To feed their families, many people became unlicensed hawkers, setting up all kinds of stalls in the streets and alleys. The earliest land or sanitary inspectors appeared during this period.
  • At that time, all uniformed personnel with the authority to issue fines, such as inspectors from the City Council, Primary Production Department, and the Singapore Improvement Trust, were referred to by hawkers as te gu.
  • It is believed that there are two possible origins of the term te gu. The first belief is that the term originates from a Chinese legend in Fujian and Chaozhou. The locals believed that there was a bull living under the ground and it carried the earth on one of its shoulders. When it gets tired, it would shift the earth from one shoulder to the other, causing the ground to shake. As early Chinese migrants moved to Southeast Asia, they used the legend of the underground bull (te gu) as a metaphor to describe the scene where inspectors arrest illegal hawkers, which was seen as chaotic as an earthquake. As a result, hawkers called the inspectors te gu.
  • The second belief is related to the common name that the Teochew people have for a type of frog. The frog Microhyla pulchra, known as te gu in Chaozhou, is brownish-yellow, has black stripes, and is commonly found in Southeast Asia. In the past, the inspectors in Singapore wore khaki-coloured twill uniforms, which are similar in colour to the te gu. They also made noises and shouted during law enforcement operations that resembled the croaking sounds of the te gu. As the illegal hawkers detested the inspectors, they referred to the inspectors as te gu.

 

例句
李益光说,他 11 岁跟母亲 “跑地牛”(指躲执法人员取缔的非法小贩)一两年,在达曼裕廊卖菜头粿、炒饭和炒米粉。(《联合早报》, 14/5/2019)
SAMPLE SENTENCE
Li Yiguang said that when he was 11 years old, he and his mother were on the run from te gu (“跑地牛”, which refers to illegal hawkers hiding from law enforcement officers) for about two years while they sold fried carrot cake, fried rice, and fried vermicelli in Taman Jurong. (Lianhe Zaobao, 14/5/2019)
其他地区用语

稽查员(陆、台)

TERMS USED IN OTHER REGIONS

稽查员(Mainland China, Taiwan)

相关资料

  • 2019 新型冠状病毒疫情期间,“地牛” 这个名称似乎再次出现在人们的日常对话中,主要用来形容安全距离大使(Safe Distancing Ambassador)。这是因为人们若不保持安全距离,也同样会被开罚单。

RELATED INFORMATION

  • During the COVID-19 period, the term te gu appears to have re-emerged in Singaporeans’ daily conversations, mainly to describe the Safe Distancing Ambassadors who would similarly issue fines if people did not maintain a safe distance.

参考资料
REFERENCES