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1 Issue No.38 December 2009 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES DIVISION, CIVIL SERVICE BUREAU 1

2 xià(haa6) (haa2) dei6haa2 ground floorfirst floor first floor second floor first floor first floor second floor 2/F 1/F G/F Basement 3/F 2/F 1/F Basement 2

3 When we say a robber goes south or heads south, what does that mean? Does it imply that the robber is going in a southerly direction? Not necessarily. It simply means the robber runs away from the crime scene. To go south is to escape, in whichever direction. One possible origin for this expression is that in the United States, in the mid-nineteenth century, a large number of lawbreakers, who sought to escape punishment by the local courts, fled southward to Mexico which is geographically further south or lay low in Texas, a state bordering Mexico. Over the years, the meaning of going south has expanded to refer to the act of disappearing or quitting, maybe because the term was a euphemism among Native Americans for dying. For example, Having missed victory by a hair s breadth, the frustrated racing driver went south and was not seen any more. This may mean the driver gave up his car racing career and vanished from the track altogether. In the financial sector, to go south means falling or dropping. This tallies with our concept when map-reading that up is north and down is south. Metaphorically, south refers to the bottom, north the top. For example, Hard hit by the scandal, the stock price of the company went south. 73

4 * * Electronic Glossary Program In the course of drafting or translating, some colleagues may need to look for a specific term to describe a vague concept, or come across a proper noun that they are not certain how to render in Chinese or English. In whichever case, consulting a dictionary might give them some idea, but not necessarily the answer, especially if it is a term used in the context of public administration. Take the term basic allowance as an example. The dictionary explains only what basic means and what allowance refers to. In context, this compound noun can actually mean two different things. To get the exact Chinese equivalent, it is advisable to make use of the electronic version of the Glossary of Terms Commonly Used in Government Departments compiled by the Official Languages Division (OLD) of the Civil Service Bureau. The electronic glossary was first launched in 1997, with a database of terms collected from various government departments. Throughout the years, there have been constant updates to include the most up-to-date terms used in government documents. The consolidated entries cover an extensive spectrum of government affairs, such as finance, education, housing, transport, medical services, social welfare and public order. To keep pace with modern technology, a new glossary program has recently been developed with the following major new features: a greater degree of customisation in pre-selecting categories to be searched and font size to be displayed enhanced search functions which generate a faster response and keep track of recent searches improved print functions which allow printing of a particular search result or all entries of a chosen category one-step updating by downloading new terms directly from the Central Cyber Government Office (CCGO) Colleagues may download the enhanced glossary program from the OLD Intranet ( EngAbridge/oladownload.htm) to their desktop computers for use as a daily reference tool. As an alternative, searches can also be made online by visiting the CCGO website ( portal.ccgo.hksarg/en/glossary/displayglossaryaction. do) or the Civil Service Bureau website ( gov.hk/hkgcsb/glossary/glossary_en.php). Whether within or outside office hours, in the workplace or at home, the glossary is there to give a big helping hand. If problems are encountered in using the glossary, colleagues may approach the Research and Support Services Section of OLD on for advice or assistance. 4

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6 Waterloo is a small city south of Brussels, Belgium. Despite its small size, it is a name of great significance in world history. It was there, in 1815, that Napoleon Bonaparte suffered a decisive military defeat which put an end to his rule as the French emperor a battle said to have changed the course of European history. From the Battle of Waterloo is thus derived the idiom to meet one s Waterloo. This expression is used to refer to a severe and unexpected defeat a final fiasco usually preceded by a spate of successes. For example, if electoral candidates who used to be popular among voters fail to win enough votes for a seat, they are said to have met their Waterloo. The defeat at Waterloo was undoubtedly something that Napoleon remembered for the rest of his life. It was such a devastating blow that words failed him when the time came to accept this awful fate. When we say words fail us, it means the emotions are so overwhelming that we have become dumbstruck wanting words to convey our feelings. This idiom can also be used in a good sense, such as to express our wonder and amazement at the sight of a spectacular scene of nature. But in what situation will we say someone fails us? This is when someone has not lived up to our expectations, or even has betrayed our trust in him or her. A relevant scenario would be, for example, when a trusted business partner has been discovered offering intelligence to a market competitor. From failures, there is always something to learn. This is the spirit underlying the maxims Failure teaches success and Failure is the mother of success. Experiences drawn from failures may open the door to future achievements. But those blessed few who are born to be successful do not need to overcome a lot of hurdles to attain their goals. Without fail, their success stories are the dreams of many. Here without fail means absolutely and without exception. This expression can also be used to emphasise that something will happen for sure. For example, we may say, A low tax regime, without fail, attracts foreign investment. For certain civil service grades, the staff appraisal cycle coincides with the calendar year. Therefore, with the year drawing to a close, supervisors will be busy filling in the appraisal forms of their subordinates. Writing up a performance assessment can be a challenging task. This is especially true for those supervisors who have a couple of officers under their direct command. In cases where these supervisors are scratching their heads and wondering what expressions should be used to describe precisely the performance of their subordinates, the little book Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations, by James E. Neal Jr., may help. Under a merit system, making assessments that truly and accurately reflect an officer s performance is of paramount importance. So it is essential to find the right words. Designed for supervisors who need to evaluate their subordinates performance regularly, this guide contains ready-to-use phrases for describing staff performance in various aspects, ranging from customer service, time management and writing skills to goals and objectives, leadership and professionalism. These assessment criteria are organised alphabetically into some sixty groups for easy reference. Under each category, there is a list of phrases for appraisers to select appropriate ones for a particular case. For example, under motivation, a choice of almost one hundred phrases is offered. To name but a few, there are displays a strong incentive to succeed, strives for excellence at every opportunity, demonstrates strong will power and determination, maintains fresh enthusiasm and sustains a high level of momentum to choose from. Apart from phrases by topic, the book includes brief sections on helpful adjectives and verbs, as well as expressions about performance rankings and denoting frequency. These sections can be of great help when appraisers have difficulties in putting their thoughts into words. This guide is especially useful for fledgling supervisors who may be at a loss as to what approach to take in completing an assessment. Even if the phrases suggested may not suit a particular context, they are still good catalysts for arriving at the right words. Scanning through the pages, users are likely to come up with some relevant ideas. Indeed, for both novice and experienced supervisors, Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations is a reference worth consulting in their workplace. With the help of this handy tool, writing staff appraisals should no longer be a taxing and time-consuming job. The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure. Sven-Göran Eriksson 6

7 Ricky Tong Senior Official Languages Officer Civil Service Bureau The beautifully decorated Christmas tree was glittering under the pale, translucent sky of Central, casting its glow on the crowded Statue Square and carrying the wishes of the loved and the unloved. People were busily taking pictures and the laughter-filled Square was illuminated with flickering flashlights. The commercial gaiety of the holiday made the happy happier and the lonely lonelier. Woody was standing among the crowd under the Christmas tree, holding his cane tight and trying hard to straighten his back. He attempted to raise his drooping lips but failed. Cheers! I shouted. He failed again. Forget it. Stay there. It s a nice pose, I reassured him. His glasses slipped down his nose, showing his hollow and sunken eyes, an indelible mark of a young man s imprisonment in an old folks home for years. Yiu Lai, much smaller and shorter than Woody, was hiding herself behind him to support his back, fearing that he might fall down at any moment, and her bony arms, if revealed, would screw up our annual shoot. The three of us sat down on a bench. Woody was wiping his forehead awkwardly with his yellowing handkerchief, Yiu Lai rubbing her tired arms, and I browsing through the photos. We were so happy that this annual event, which meant so much to each of us, was accomplished without a hitch. I first met Yiu Lai and Woody when we were in Primary Five. In those days, Yiu Lai was always late for school. When asked to explain her habitual unpunctuality, she just looked blandly at our class mistress, nicknamed Fatty Wong because of her size, and defied her by returning to her seat with a wicked and triumphant smile. She was our idol because no one dared to challenge the evil Fatty Wong. Woody was also a troublemaker. He could always find excuses to fight with Kam, a plump girl sitting behind him. No one liked Kam. She informed on what we did and what we said to Fatty Wong, who once punished the whole class by making us copy a long Chinese poem one hundred times. Despite our age, some of us, in particular Woody, already harboured the idea of revenge. One day, while Kam was being teacher s-petted by Fatty Wong in the teachers room, we held an emergency meeting to work out a plan to punish the traitor. I stood guard outside the classroom, clutching the doorknob with my sweating hands and praying that I would not be discovered. The meeting was brief. Woody opened the door and gave me an assuring nod. I knew something really bad was going to happen. In an unsupervised art lesson two days later, a show was staged to reveal sinful human nature of the Lord-of-the-Flies kind. We were instructed by our art teacher to paint a landscape with watercolours. Woody intentionally leaned back while Kam was drawing. As predicted, she yelled at Woody. And as plotted, three other girls, one being Yiu Lai, came up to stop Woody as if they were doing it for the good of Kam. A nosy boy then dashed forward and bumped into Yiu Lai, who, as rehearsed, dropped the wet palette onto Kam. The action was flawless and the revenge perfect. Years later, when we talked about this, we still thought what we had done was right. After graduation, we went to different secondary schools and made new friends. We did not reunite until a decade later when we went camping on Lantau Island. Woody and Yiu Lai told me they had already left school. Woody, much taller and darker, was a shipping clerk, and Yiu Lai, as rebellious and defiant as before, was a receptionist. We did not get a wink of sleep that night. We sat around a bonfire and talked on and on, reliving our mischievous days in primary school, and our laughter echoed across the hilltops. The wintry wind was blowing against our faces and the undergrowth was swaying under a crescent moon. The night was warm. We promised we would see each other more often. But we did not keep our words. After a long separation, we met again in an old folks home when Woody had been found suffering from degeneration of the brain. On this reunion night, Woody was sitting quietly in a corner, with his head bent low. I went up to him, pondering how to start our conversation. I patted his shoulder and he raised his head slowly, revealing his expressionless, gaunt face. Hi, buddy. How re you doing? He gave no answer but I pressed for a reply You can t speak? He lowered his head a bit and I was standing there, motionless and speechless. One year, Yiu Lai and I went to see Woody just before Christmas with a box of dark chocolates. We sat quietly in the dimly lit corner, licking our chocolate-stained fingers and enjoying the idyllic tranquility of the evening. Why don t we go to Central and take some photos? suggested Yiu Lai. That was how our annual Christmas shoot started. We were in Central again, sitting on a bench, exhausted but contented. Woody was twitching his lips to smile and Yiu Lai yawning and stretching lazily. I fumbled in a shopping bag for a box of chocolates. The Christmas tree before us was glittering in the dark, carrying our wish for a miracle. We each tasted a tiny piece of chocolate and the bitterness melted slowly on our tongues. Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill 7

8 Words of Wisdom Proverbs are old, pithy sayings that offer advice or inculcate morals. Here are a dozen of proverbs on gains and losses, but each with one word missing. Can you figure out the missing words and put them in the appropriate squares of the puzzle on the right? When all the missing words are in place, you will get a thirteenth maxim in the middle row. Get started and see what you come up with You a few, you lose a few. 2 You cannot make an without breaking eggs. 3 Finders keepers, losers. 4 What you lose on the swings, you gain on the What you ve never had, you never. 6 Nothing, nothing gained. 7 If you run after two hares, you will catch. 8 You must lose a fly to catch a. 9 Nothing comes of. 10 As you sow, so you. 11 There s no great loss some gain. 12 A little loss, a great one tames. Please send your entry to the Editorial Board of Word Power, Official Languages Division, Civil Service Bureau, Room 2310, High Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong before 12 February Watch out for our coming issue to see if you get all the answers right and if you are one of the lucky five to win a prize. The Editorial Board will have the final say on the answers. Name: Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms (delete as appropriate) Department: Post: Office Address: Tel. No.: * * Dr Gillian M. Humphreys Hon Chinese Adviser Dr Hong Po-man Hon English Adviser Dr Gillian M. Humphreys Editorial Board Chairman Mrs Stella Mui Member Miss Holly Lo Member Ms Iris Tai Member Miss Hilda Yan Member Miss Candice Lo Executive Editor Mr Kenneth Luk Member Mr James Ho Member Mr Albert Leung Assistant Editor Ms Shirley Lui Member Mr K W Cheng Member Ms Dawn Chan ( (csbolrs@csb.gov.hk) Word Power is also uploaded to the homepage of the Civil Service Bureau ( If you have any comments or suggestions about this publication, please write to the Editorial Board of Word Power (Official Languages Division, Civil Service Bureau, Room 2310, High Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong or csbolrs@csb.gov.hk). 8

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