A fundamental question about Chinese Pod

pearltowerpete

January 22, 2009, 11:22 PM

Hi nial

All the scripts for every level are written in Chinese, and then translated (since Sept 08, by me). This is for educational purposes. Much as I resist the militarization of language, maybe we can see this as a simile: the actual words, phrases and structures used in a conversation are like its tactics. The actual flow of the conversation, the changes of topic, etc. are like its strategy.

I can attest that conversations just seem to flow differently over here-- someone more knowledgeable than me like John might be able to explain why.People bring up and change topics differently (to me, it sometimes seems random) and leave different things unsaid.

By having everything conceived and written in Chinese, we are trying to give you tactically and strategically authentic Chinese.

I don't know if that makes sense. If not, please ask again.

Purrfecdizzo

January 23, 2009, 03:58 AM

I was reading this, and I don't quite grasp what you mean. Would you please take a moment to explain it differently?

thanks

pearltowerpete

January 23, 2009, 04:15 AM

Hi amesburygeorge

We brainstorm with the writers, and they get assigned a general topic. But how they play with it and develop it is basically up to them. If we first wrote the dialogues in English, and then had them translated into Chinese, the final product would be very different.

For example, if I had written the new pregnancy lesson and then given it to a Chinese staff person for translation, you would have missed the interesting stuff about lipstick and radioactivity, because I didn't know that Chinese think about that stuff.

Writing the dialogues in Chinese allows us to get a Chinese perspective in terms of what to talk about, and how a conversation should "flow."

 

Purrfecdizzo

January 23, 2009, 04:26 AM

oh ok thanks

moogii100

January 23, 2009, 04:39 AM

大家好，是说我真不明白，你说什么，我要该做什么？我只有希望听中文对话

RJ

January 23, 2009, 01:39 PM

Pete,

You said:

"People bring up and change topics differently (to me, it sometimes seems random) and leave different things unsaid."

 

I have also noticed this and you have scratched the surface of a topic that fascinates me for some reason. I would love to understand it better. By all means, if you can get John to expound, please do.

 

 

nial

January 23, 2009, 06:18 PM

Yeah, it's like Pete said... sometimes Chinese can seem redundant, when we have to repeat things.  Other times it sounds like a commercial.  For instance, in Chinese we might hear:

＂我们上届课上得很精彩，很活泼！＂

In English, I don't know if I'd ever hear someone say "Wow, the class we just had was very wonderful and lively!"

We'd probably just say "That was a good class!"

So there's the difference between Pete handing them a script on class with the sentence "That was a good class" and him being handed a script with the above Chinese sentence and asked to translate to English.  In both scenarios, English -> Chinese or Chinese -> English, the end scripts would be quite different.

It's really obvious on some scripts that it was translated from Chinese to English (see: lipstick and radiation), but on others it's harder for me to tell. 

In any case, it's encouraging to know it's all (or is it just what Pete's in charge of?) Chinese first, then English.  Because to speak Chinese, you kinda gotta think Chinese too.

I could be wrong, just my 2 cents :)

pearltowerpete

January 24, 2009, 01:31 AM

Hi Nial,

All lessons (Newbie through Media) are written in Chinese. Qing Wen, and the other series, of course, are planned in English, and ad-libbed to a greater or lesser degree.

Hi rjberki

I agree, this is a fascinating area. One reason for the weird conversations that we have as foreigners has to be the fact that it's rare for most ordinary people to encounter a foreigner they can speak Chinese with, and they will make the most of it. So in the forty-five minutes it takes to get from the airport to downtown, the cabbie will pick your brain for everything from "how much do you make," to "do you have a gun" and "does New York City have elevated highways?"

But that's a sort of weird exception. Peoples' motivations ("face" is a good example) also affect the way they speak. Finally, there are unwritten rules against talking about certain sensitive topics such as government (although I've had more than one taxi driver lecture me about the failings of Communism).

These are just my quick impressions. I agree that this topic deserves more exploration.