What’s Inside the Word “Ma”?
“嘛”字里都有嘛？
The famous lyricist Yan Su once wrote a song titled "The 'Ma' Songin Tianjin Dialect":
"Every string of notes, do-re-mi-fa, emphasizes the charm is in our Tianjin dialect.
It’s full of flair, shows off style;
so clever and so suave; humorous, straightforward, bold and spicy!
This ‘ma’—it’s full of knowledge—sometimes it's a question, sometimes it's surprise;
sometimes it's a denial, sometimes it’s an exclamation; sometimes it’s just praise.
Don’t be fooled by ‘ma’, it’s quite profound.
It might be affectionate, or it might be quarrelsome;
it might be dismissive, or it might be smooth;
sometimes it’s just to laugh and laugh.
You, you, what do you say it is?
Ma-ma-ma-ma, ‘ma’ is just ‘ma’."
The Tianjin dialect's "ma," used as an interjection at the end of a phrase or sentence, is full of humor:
"Eating something deliciousma [fourth tone]."
"What's your surname ma? What are you up toma?"
"You want itma? You have it ma? If you want itma, just come and get itma."
"If you don't listenma, you won't get itma."
Recently, an witty conversation that only Tianjin locals would understand has gone viral online.
A: "Well, ma, this matter is settled then."
B: "Ma?(What?) What matter ma?"
A: "What’s your brain thinking ma? What’s mama matter is there to talk about? You know what I mean ma.”
B: "Oh! I thought you were talking about 嘛(something)important. But if there's 嘛(nothing special), let’s just go with it!"
The word “ma '嘛'”in Tianjin dialect has the following meanings：
1.Interrogative pronoun: It means"what" and can express inquiry, negation, doubt, or reproach, pronounced with a descending fourth tone:
"What’s the ma matter with you?"
"What ma mattr are you talking about? I don’t understand."
"We’ve seen it all ma! What’s the ma point? Let’s go home!"
" Whatma thing is in your box? Let’s see it."
2.Equivalent to the interrogative pronoun "where." "Ma dui ma (嘛对嘛)" is similar to "What’s going on?" expressing dissatisfaction or doubt about an unusual situation, also pronounced in a descending fourth tone:
"That unreliable kid from the alley became the deputy director of the neighborhood committee overnight, acting all high and mighty. Ma dui ma? (What’s that all about?)"
In specific contexts, the use of "ma" is even more interesting, as it conveys a sense of cleverness, wit, casualness, straightforwardness, and boldness, much like the lyrics written by Yan Su.
著名词作家阎肃曾写过⼀⾸《天津话“嘛”字歌》：“每⼀串⾳符哆来咪发，讲究好听是咱天津话。透着那个俏，显着那个嘎;那么机灵，那么潇洒;幽默直爽，豪放泼辣!就是这个‘嘛‘，学问就挺⼤——有时是疑问，有时是惊讶;有时是否定，有时是打镲;有时它就是可呀可劲夸。别看这个‘嘛’，学问就挺⼤。或许是亲切，或许是吵架;或许是不待见，或许是圆滑;或许它就是打呀打哈哈。您啦，您啦，您说那是‘嘛’?嘛嘛嘛嘛，‘嘛’它就是‘嘛’。
天津话的“嘛”哏儿味十足：“吃嘛(四声)嘛(四声)香。”“你姓嘛叫嘛，想⼲嘛?”“要嘛有嘛，想嘛来嘛。”“说嘛不听嘛，给嘛不吃嘛”。
最近⽹上流⾏⼀段天津⼈才看得懂的风趣对话——
甲：那个嘛，这事⼉就这么定了啊。
乙：嘛!嘛事⼉?
甲：你脑⼦⼲嘛去了?嘛嘛事⼉?你说嘛事⼉?
乙：嗨!我当嘛事⼉呢，这有嘛⼉了?咱就这么定了!
“嘛”在天津话的义项有：
疑问代词，表示“什么”，表示询问、否定、质疑、责备等意思，念四声降调：
“嘛事儿您了?”
“你说的嘛玩儿?我咋不懂呢?”
“都看嘛了，有嘛劲儿，回家吧!”
“你盒⾥装的嘛玩意⼉?拿出来让咱瞧瞧。”
相当于疑问代词“哪儿”，“嘛对嘛”相当于“哪儿跟哪儿啊”，表示对反常情况的不满和质疑，念四声降调：
胡同⾥那个不靠谱的⼩⼦，⼀夜之间成了⾰委会的副主任，趾⾼⽓扬的，这都是嘛对嘛呀?
在具体语境里，“嘛”字的运用更有意思，正如闫肃老师歌词里写的，透着俏嘎、机灵、潇洒、直爽、泼辣。
