Hokkien (Taiwanese) help!

[foucault]

Hi all,

I'm polishing up a document for publication and am just looking for confirmation for a translation I've done from Taiwanese to English (my Taiwanese is not very good). Two (related) phrases:

1) 阿啄仔

2) 阿兜仔

I know they're pronounced /a tɔk a/ and they both mean "(white) foreigner", but I'm looking for a more literal translation of 啄 and 仔.

The best I can some up with is: "pecking (nose) guy" but I'm worried that "guy" is not terribly accurate (nor academic sounding) and I'm also wondering if there's a better translation for "pecking".

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks kindly.

[danny1997]

啄 : pecking, hooked or pointy nose

仔 : It's difficult to find a literal translation for it, since it is more like a nominalizing/diminutive suffix than a real word. In some cases, it means young child, young animal.

[foucault]

Thanks kindly Danny1997.

A translation I just got from another forum suggested "sharp (pointy) nose person", and you also confirmed this with your help.

I know 仔 is a little tricky to translate, esp. since it has masculine and slightly intimate connotations. But for a-tou-a I think "person" is better than "young child", or "guy" (as I had before), since it refers to all white foreigners and not just kids (or men).

Thanks again. Much appreciated.