Ho Gwong

I read on the lomography site (I think... it's a commercial site so I'm not giving a link to the buggers), that Holga is an anglicization of ho gwong which, they said, means bright light. Hmm. One of my Mandarin speaking students discussed it with her Cantonese speaking chum, and they agreed it actually translates into something like you have a bright (healthy looking) face. Which is much nicer. The gwong syllable is pronounced in a charming way, reminiscent of the ringing of a bell or, well, gong.

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