I double checked the expression in the documentary and, sure enough, it was an erroneous translation of the original expression. Even before I could tell every single word of the local dialect in the verbal fight, I found it extremely unlikely that the girl could have used such a strong word as in the English translation to her father, considering her upbringing in a traditional family and the context in which that expression occurred in the argument.
In the argument, the daughter in fact used laozi, an expression that a patriarchal figure in Sichuan dialects usually uses in place of "I" or "me" to assert his authoritative position in the household. For example, instead of saying "I want you to do this," a patriarch of the family usually says "Laozi want you to do this." Because the expression has been used so widely that it has become a replacement for the first person pronouns for many men, patriarchal or not, on the streets of Sichuan province.
Because of the wide use of the expression in the dialects, it's not surprising, at least to me, that the girl spurted it out in the middle of a heated argument. While the expression, when used by a daughter in the family, would be considered disrespectful, it is nowhere near the level of disrespect indicated in the four-letter translation. Frankly, I don't really understand how this simple misuse of the expression could have caused such a commotion in an otherwise newly reunited family. Maybe that is the result of the father being so depressed for so long, due to his poor health and the long journey home, among other things.
In the argument, the daughter in fact used laozi, an expression that a patriarchal figure in Sichuan dialects usually uses in place of "I" or "me" to assert his authoritative position in the household. For example, instead of saying "I want you to do this," a patriarch of the family usually says "Laozi want you to do this." Because the expression has been used so widely that it has become a replacement for the first person pronouns for many men, patriarchal or not, on the streets of Sichuan province.
Because of the wide use of the expression in the dialects, it's not surprising, at least to me, that the girl spurted it out in the middle of a heated argument. While the expression, when used by a daughter in the family, would be considered disrespectful, it is nowhere near the level of disrespect indicated in the four-letter translation. Frankly, I don't really understand how this simple misuse of the expression could have caused such a commotion in an otherwise newly reunited family. Maybe that is the result of the father being so depressed for so long, due to his poor health and the long journey home, among other things.
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