Talk:shumai

Etymology

@Justinrleung Are we sure that this term was borrowed directly from Cantonese, and not via Japanese? In Singapore, we usually spell it as "siew mai", which seems more likely to have been borrowed directly from Cantonese. The dog2 (talk) 17:09, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

@The dog2: Some speakers pronounce this as /ʃ/ in Cantonese, so it's possible. It's very unlikely to come via Japanese since dim sum generally has no connection to Japanese people in the West. — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 17:17, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

@Justinrleung: True when it comes to dim sum, but if you go to ramen restaurants or izakayas in the U.S., you can often find many Japanese-Chinese dishes, including the Japanese version of siu mai. I wonder if it's possible that siu mai first made its way to the West via Japanese ramen restaurants. The dog2 (talk) 17:25, 24 May 2022 (UTC)

@The dog2: I still think it's quite unlikely. I'm not necessarily familiar with the history, but I think the first contact with 燒賣 should be direct. Japanese-Chinese restaurants seem to be a relatively recent thing. @Fish bowl, any insight? — justin(r)leung _{{ (t...) | c=› }} 17:28, 24 May 2022 (UTC)