Every morning I hear this as the elevator arrives at my floor at work. So that’s been at least 25 times; more if you include a few lunch outings. So I’ve got “yi-sap-yi-lau” down pretty pat. (Literally “two-ten-two-floor”.) Once in awhile I’ll bust out with it around the office just to break the monotony. It gets a chuckle.
Efren’s a Filipino who just moved here from Singapore and knows Mandarin, but not Cantonese. I was near his desk last time I busted out my “yi-sap-yi-lau” and it was so funny to watch his face go from “Wow, is she speaking Canto–” to “Wait, I recognize that…” to “That’s the elevator recording!!”
Here’s Efren:
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Now that’s funny!