|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Apr 23, 2019 15:33:19 GMT -5
In Chinese, you can't simply combine words together to make a phrase thinking that'll work. For example, I tried to come up with the phrase "Late afternoon" so I combined the word for "late" and another word for "afternoon" and put them together. My Chinese ex-coworker told me that's wrong. You can say "afternoon" or "before evening" or simply give the time of day, but there's really no phrase for "late afternoon." Yes, you can make up your own phrase and say "late afternoon" but Chinese people will look at you funny and call the cops. The issue is that you are using the meaning of English word combination. Other languages may not necessarily have that combinations. You are thinking English expressions not Chinese expressions, that's the problem. I totally realize this and knew this beforehand. The way I study: After I learn some basic concepts, I start to apply them in complex ways in real life. When I'm driving, I do some translating of signage, to the extent I can. When I go to COSTCO, I translate whatever people are saying. That's why when I heard some someone say "late afternoon," I immediately tried to translate that. |
|
|
|
Post by XAsstCoach on Apr 24, 2019 0:22:08 GMT -5
You can always say 下午5点左右, which translates to afternoon around 5pm. But I have found 左右 (approx) timewise in China could mean +-2hrs.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fight On! on Apr 24, 2019 1:00:49 GMT -5
I learned Bambara in the Peace Corps pretty well. I even conducted interviews for my PhD dissertation in Bambara with no assistance. Sadly, outside of NYC it isn’t easy to meet people who speak it. Sometimes I surprise taxi drivers in various cities when I recognize their last name and bust out my language skills.
Still it is sad to be losing my ability.
|
|
|
|
Post by mikegarrison on Apr 24, 2019 1:07:06 GMT -5
You can always say 下午5点左右 No, actually I'm pretty sure I can't say that. |
|
|
|
Post by Phaedrus on Apr 24, 2019 8:28:13 GMT -5
In Chinese, you can't simply combine words together to make a phrase thinking that'll work. For example, I tried to come up with the phrase "Late afternoon" so I combined the word for "late" and another word for "afternoon" and put them together. My Chinese ex-coworker told me that's wrong. You can say "afternoon" or "before evening" or simply give the time of day, but there's really no phrase for "late afternoon." Yes, you can make up your own phrase and say "late afternoon" but Chinese people will look at you funny and call the cops. Here in Seattle, what are called cha siu bao in most places in the world are called hum bao. One time I was in Amsterdam and I tried to order a hum bao from a bakery, and they looked at me like I was insane. Chinese people have told me that hum bao literally means "salt bag". Filled Chinese pastries are called bao or baozi, but hum means "salty". However, when it's opposed with sweet, it has more of the connotation of "savory". So I guess some Chinese people in Seattle must have started selling sweet and savory bakery items, but this was misunderstood. Instead of realizing that cha siu bao (a sort of bbq pork roll) was in the category of savory rolls (hum bao), they thought it was actually specifically called "hum bao". And now in Seattle if you order a hum bao, you get a cha siu bao. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_siu_baoBoth spelled out pronounciations are in Cantonese. Most of us can get by on our basic Cantonese but I had to think about hum bao. |
|
|
|
Post by ironhammer on Apr 24, 2019 10:16:18 GMT -5
Here in Seattle, what are called cha siu bao in most places in the world are called hum bao. One time I was in Amsterdam and I tried to order a hum bao from a bakery, and they looked at me like I was insane. Chinese people have told me that hum bao literally means "salt bag". Filled Chinese pastries are called bao or baozi, but hum means "salty". However, when it's opposed with sweet, it has more of the connotation of "savory". So I guess some Chinese people in Seattle must have started selling sweet and savory bakery items, but this was misunderstood. Instead of realizing that cha siu bao (a sort of bbq pork roll) was in the category of savory rolls (hum bao), they thought it was actually specifically called "hum bao". And now in Seattle if you order a hum bao, you get a cha siu bao. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_siu_baoBoth spelled out pronounciations are in Cantonese. Most of us can get by on our basic Cantonese but I had to think about hum bao. Cantonese is even harder to learn than Mandarin. In fact, I think it is the hardest language or dialect to learn. And it's mutually non-intelligble between the two. |
|
|
|
Post by Phaedrus on Apr 24, 2019 10:28:44 GMT -5
Both spelled out pronounciations are in Cantonese. Most of us can get by on our basic Cantonese but I had to think about hum bao. Cantonese is even harder to learn than Mandarin. In fact, I think it is the hardest language or dialect to learn. And it's mutually non-intelligble between the two. I think Shanghaiese is harder. Tai-shan is more difficult also. Cantonese from Guangzhou is relatively easy to understand and easier to fake than the ones I mentioned. |
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Apr 24, 2019 13:17:01 GMT -5
Found an awesome children's book. It comes in multiple volumes. The volume I got is about Chinese folk stories. It contains:
- The folk story written in Chinese on the left facing page
- BoPoMoFo pronunciation guides next to each Chinese character
- English translation on the right facing page
- list of new vocabulary on the bottom of the right facing page
- illustration on every page
|
|
|
|
Post by ironhammer on Apr 24, 2019 21:58:37 GMT -5
Cantonese is even harder to learn than Mandarin. In fact, I think it is the hardest language or dialect to learn. And it's mutually non-intelligble between the two. I think Shanghaiese is harder. Tai-shan is more difficult also. Cantonese from Guangzhou is relatively easy to understand and easier to fake than the ones I mentioned. Maybe. All the local Chinese dialects/languages are hard. |
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Apr 25, 2019 17:53:25 GMT -5
I’ve been going to places frequented by local Chinese and eavesdropping. I’ve been able to catch words here and there, which is very empowering and boosts my confidence. But I’ve only been able to recognize a mere 1% of what I’m hearing. Some things are confusing because I assume they’re incorporating figures of speech or adding unnecessary words in their sentences.
For example, I heard a guy tell his wife/girlfriend, “hĕn máng de.” This means, essentially, “I’m (or I’ve been) busy.” I don’t know what the “de” is for at the end of the sentence. I just assumed it’s one of those fluff fillers that don’t mean anything, kind of like the way some English-speaking people might say, “right-o” or “I’ve been super b-b-busy,” to be cute or for extra emphasis.
|
|
|
|
Post by XAsstCoach on Apr 25, 2019 22:34:29 GMT -5
I’ve been going to places frequented by local Chinese and eavesdropping. I’ve been able to catch words here and there, which is very empowering and boosts my confidence. But I’ve only been able to recognize a mere 1% of what I’m hearing. Some things are confusing because I assume they’re incorporating figures of speech or adding unnecessary words in their sentences. For example, I heard a guy tell his wife/girlfriend, “ hĕn máng de.” This means, essentially, “I’m (or I’ve been) busy.” I don’t know what the “de” is for at the end of the sentence. I just assumed it’s one of those fluff fillers that don’t mean anything, kind of like the way some English-speaking people might say, “right-o” or “I’ve been super b-b-busy,” to be cute or for extra emphasis. Yup, just an emphasis...like he is very busy. He could have said it 很忙哦 or 很忙啊. In regards to dialect, walking around with wifey in the farmers market and she could hear her own hometown's dialect. Sounds all the same to me...just figured they're saying words I didn't understand but turned out to be a different dialect. On a different note, for some reason Japanese sounds pleasant to my ears. |
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Apr 27, 2019 20:46:37 GMT -5
On YouTube, there are a number of channels where some westerner (e.g., American, German, Canadian) host lives in Taiwan and talks (in Mandarin) about various aspects of the island nation, from sightseeing to food to culture to lots of random Taiwan crap. There are Chinese subtitles and sometimes, English subtitles. I usually just “read” the Chinese subtitles and by “read,” I mean I can catch maybe 3-4 characters per subtitle line. They talk so fast that it goes by fast but it’s really helping me read faster — or I like to think so. By watching these Chinese programs, I feel like this activity is simulating immersion, like I’m kind of living in Taiwan. Also, just watching and listening to these white people speak perfect Mandarin is kind of inspirational.
|
|
|
|
Post by Wolfgang on Apr 27, 2019 20:48:26 GMT -5
I’ve been going to places frequented by local Chinese and eavesdropping. I’ve been able to catch words here and there, which is very empowering and boosts my confidence. But I’ve only been able to recognize a mere 1% of what I’m hearing. Some things are confusing because I assume they’re incorporating figures of speech or adding unnecessary words in their sentences. For example, I heard a guy tell his wife/girlfriend, “ hĕn máng de.” This means, essentially, “I’m (or I’ve been) busy.” I don’t know what the “de” is for at the end of the sentence. I just assumed it’s one of those fluff fillers that don’t mean anything, kind of like the way some English-speaking people might say, “right-o” or “I’ve been super b-b-busy,” to be cute or for extra emphasis. Yup, just an emphasis...like he is very busy. He could have said it 很忙哦 or 很忙啊. In regards to dialect, walking around with wifey in the farmers market and she could hear her own hometown's dialect. Sounds all the same to me...just figured they're saying words I didn't understand but turned out to be a different dialect. On a different note, for some reason Japanese sounds pleasant to my ears. Well, French sounds pleasant to me, but I have a stronger desire to learn Arabic, which sounds kind of harsh to me. |
|
|
|
Post by XAsstCoach on Apr 27, 2019 21:54:19 GMT -5
Well, French sounds pleasant to me, but I have a stronger desire to learn Arabic, which sounds kind of harsh to me. Ah, French is very pleasant no matter who speaks it. Though I do wonder if a Chinese speaking French has an accent like they would speaking English. I can sit all day just listening to Japanese spoken by women. Granted I would have no idea what they're saying, but its music to my ears. |
|
|
|
Post by Phaedrus on Apr 28, 2019 7:28:38 GMT -5
When I first went to Georgis Tech, I hung out with some undergrads from Georgia. ABCs, American Born Chinese. One kid just blew my mind. He grew up in Augusta and spoke no Chinese, but he had a deep southern drawl. I'm looking at his face but hearing this drawl. I kind of freaked.
|
|
