Meaning of Punti

[Jake]

Can anyone explain the meaning of Punti and with what characters the word (referring to the ethnic Cantonese natives in contrast to the Hakka) is written? Thank you so much, I am of mixed Hakka and Punti ancestry and was taught that punti was both a derrogatory Hakka word (punti lau) and also a Cantonese word meaning "native." Just wondering, since I don't understand either language, and grandma never explained what punti lau meant -- just that it wasn't nice
Jake

[Dylan Sung]

See the Cantonese forum as well. 本地佬 is person who is cantonese or who speaks cantonese.

Well, it's not exactly derogatory, just a figure of speech. Rather like when I who was born abroad and go back to my ancestral village and being called a 紅毛仔 a "red haired kid" indicating one was foreign, in the sense of being raised in and having foreign culture.

Dyl.