<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" 
    xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
<channel>
    <title><![CDATA[Comments on: Li Yan's Diary: Love and Italian Food]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion]]></link>
    <description><![CDATA[Some may deem it 'nosy,' but we prefer the term 'inquisitive.'  This week, we find another diary under the mattress, and this time it's young Yang Jie's rival in love... Li Yan.  Read along with us as she pours out her soon to be not-so-private thoughts to her diary, and to millions of Mandarin Chinese learners everywhere.  (Don't tell her we showed you.)]]></description>
    <pubDate>2007-09-25 18:00:00</pubDate>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: dave]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18854]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[dave]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18854]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[Good one, thanks.]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[Good one, thanks.]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: Lantian]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18858]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[Lantian]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18858]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[A's HAVE IT - I still have a tendency to say a more English-like "a" sound when I read the pinyin for "a" in Chinese. 

For this lesson character's name, "燕" yan4, it definitely sounds more like an English "e" as in "ehh". 

Where is that pinyin guide? Reviewing it now.

So is it the "y" or the fourth tone, that causes this "an" to sound as it does, in contrast to the "an" of Tiananmen? Which to my ear is a definitely more "ahh-nn" sound.

I have this similar question for words like 原来，元. What is the difference in "a" versus "e" in Chinese pinyin? 

And any tips to help my mouth/ears/eyes more clearly distinguish it. You know, like how my mom always used to tell me to say, "li-brrra-ray" in English.]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[A's HAVE IT - I still have a tendency to say a more English-like "a" sound when I read the pinyin for "a" in Chinese. 

For this lesson character's name, "燕" yan4, it definitely sounds more like an English "e" as in "ehh". 

Where is that pinyin guide? Reviewing it now.

So is it the "y" or the fourth tone, that causes this "an" to sound as it does, in contrast to the "an" of Tiananmen? Which to my ear is a definitely more "ahh-nn" sound.

I have this similar question for words like 原来，元. What is the difference in "a" versus "e" in Chinese pinyin? 

And any tips to help my mouth/ears/eyes more clearly distinguish it. You know, like how my mom always used to tell me to say, "li-brrra-ray" in English.]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: changye]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18861]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[changye]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18861]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[Wow, pasta seems to be 
an effective tool when you 
pursue a young lady in China.
Boys, do not ever choose 炸酱面！
]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[Wow, pasta seems to be 
an effective tool when you 
pursue a young lady in China.
Boys, do not ever choose 炸酱面！
]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: changye]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18862]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[changye]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18862]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[Hi Lantian,

A very nice question!
Actually, I’ve been also wondering
how to pronounce those pinyin marks correctly. 
]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[Hi Lantian,

A very nice question!
Actually, I’ve been also wondering
how to pronounce those pinyin marks correctly. 
]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: wildyaks]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18863]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[wildyaks]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18863]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[I wonder if it was the Italian pasta, or just the very fact that she was taken out for a meal.

A friend of mine tells me that this is real important for a Chinese girl - to be given food. ]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[I wonder if it was the Italian pasta, or just the very fact that she was taken out for a meal.

A friend of mine tells me that this is real important for a Chinese girl - to be given food. ]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: Lantian]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18866]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[Lantian]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18866]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[THE BOYS - When I heard "tu", in my mind it brought up the English associations of crass, crude and indolent adolescent boys. 

"Dorky" in my mind conjures up images of being clutsy, wearing round glasses, and wearing plaid pants. These days I think it has also morphed into some positive connotations, much like geek. I don't get the feeling that Li Yan is giving that kind of positive vibe to the other boys in her class.

I could imagine myself yelling at another man on the street and using "tu" to insult him, but I could never do that with "dorky" in English. Can 'tu' be used in this forceful way?

The dictionary suggests "boorish". Is "dorky" really the best translation? 

OTHERS - About "不像班里的其他男生" and specifically "其他", can you talk more about that. It's the first time I've noticed it. I would have instead said something like,

不想别的班里(的)男生

Is "qi2 ta1" high frequency? More prone to being in writing versus speech?

我总是有很多问题。谢谢你们的努力！

And lastly, some have commented to me "你真享受你。" No doubt. :)]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[THE BOYS - When I heard "tu", in my mind it brought up the English associations of crass, crude and indolent adolescent boys. 

"Dorky" in my mind conjures up images of being clutsy, wearing round glasses, and wearing plaid pants. These days I think it has also morphed into some positive connotations, much like geek. I don't get the feeling that Li Yan is giving that kind of positive vibe to the other boys in her class.

I could imagine myself yelling at another man on the street and using "tu" to insult him, but I could never do that with "dorky" in English. Can 'tu' be used in this forceful way?

The dictionary suggests "boorish". Is "dorky" really the best translation? 

OTHERS - About "不像班里的其他男生" and specifically "其他", can you talk more about that. It's the first time I've noticed it. I would have instead said something like,

不想别的班里(的)男生

Is "qi2 ta1" high frequency? More prone to being in writing versus speech?

我总是有很多问题。谢谢你们的努力！

And lastly, some have commented to me "你真享受你。" No doubt. :)]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: man2toe]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18867]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[man2toe]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18867]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[炸醬麵ｉｓ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｍｙ　ｆａｖｏｒｉｔｅｓ　Ｃｈａｎｇｙｅ！]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[炸醬麵ｉｓ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｍｙ　ｆａｖｏｒｉｔｅｓ　Ｃｈａｎｇｙｅ！]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: wildyaks]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18868]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[wildyaks]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18868]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[I come across and use 其他 a lot. I think there might be a subtle difference in use between 其他 and 别的. Can't come up with an explanation, though, that satisfies me and would like to hear how other (其他? 别的?) Cpodders and Cpod staff explain it.

]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[I come across and use 其他 a lot. I think there might be a subtle difference in use between 其他 and 别的. Can't come up with an explanation, though, that satisfies me and would like to hear how other (其他? 别的?) Cpodders and Cpod staff explain it.

]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: amber]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18869]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[amber]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18869]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[hi Lantian,

其他 (qítā) isn't particularly for written Chinese.  It is used pretty much interchangeably with  别的 (biéde).

The meaning of your sentence is different than the one in the dialogue.  Your sentence:

不想别的班里(的)男生 
(Bù xiǎng bié de bān lǐ(de)nánshēng)

means:  Not like the boys in the other classes.
as opposed to:

不像班里的其他男生
(Bù xiàng bān lǐ de qítā nánshēng)
Not like the other boys in the class.]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[hi Lantian,

其他 (qítā) isn't particularly for written Chinese.  It is used pretty much interchangeably with  别的 (biéde).

The meaning of your sentence is different than the one in the dialogue.  Your sentence:

不想别的班里(的)男生 
(Bù xiǎng bié de bān lǐ(de)nánshēng)

means:  Not like the boys in the other classes.
as opposed to:

不像班里的其他男生
(Bù xiàng bān lǐ de qítā nánshēng)
Not like the other boys in the class.]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[By: Lantian]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://chinesepod.com/lessons/li-yans-diary-love-and-italian-food/discussion#comment-18870]]></link>
        <author><![CDATA[Lantian]]></author>
        <pubDate></pubDate>
        <guid><![CDATA[#comment-18870]]></guid>
        <description><![CDATA[EXPANSION - Some questions.

1. 他升职了，所以最近心情特别好。
(She got promoted, )

Can that "ta/他" also be used to indicate a "she". Or is that "Pat"?

2. 我还想看看其他东西。
(I still would like to look at other things.)

Can it also be "qi ta/ 其它" and if so, is that more appropriate in this case with "things?"

In this sentence, any thoughts on the difference between saying "我要看其他的东西 versus 我要看别的东西？”Is "de/的" more typically left out when using 其他？
]]></description>
        <content:encoded><![CDATA[EXPANSION - Some questions.

1. 他升职了，所以最近心情特别好。
(She got promoted, )

Can that "ta/他" also be used to indicate a "she". Or is that "Pat"?

2. 我还想看看其他东西。
(I still would like to look at other things.)

Can it also be "qi ta/ 其它" and if so, is that more appropriate in this case with "things?"

In this sentence, any thoughts on the difference between saying "我要看其他的东西 versus 我要看别的东西？”Is "de/的" more typically left out when using 其他？
]]></content:encoded>
    </item>
</channel>
</rss>
