Mike, Young Joo and Diana's group discussion

mshi1

May 11, 2008, 12:29 PM

Sounds like a good idea, i've been looking over and starting to memorise Zhang Liang's part and ive got some ideas about what we can do for setting out the piece (props and the like). As for the difficult sentences, ive been listening to the dialogues over and over and have been trying to get them that way - ie they don't sound so difficult and foreign once you've heard them 10 times!

I feel like Zhang Liang's part is a bit short though and its probably the easiest in 'The Old Flame', so i'm willing to compensate for that fact somehow! Please mention some way that can happen if you can think of any ideas, eg working out a draft coreography, with props, etc?

Mikey

yoko1

May 12, 2008, 11:39 AM

HAHA 10 times! well that's basically what i've been doing too. i've been listening to the dialogues to memorise. well, since have to act once a female character and then a male character may be i should have some kind of props to make it clear? (so agreeing with what mikey said) also, i find it quite hard to get the tones correct every time but i must pay more attention because i think that's what we are going to be tested mainly.

yj

dtjo

May 14, 2008, 10:15 AM

Hey guys, it’s great that we’ve chosen parts and are really familiar with our two dialogues now. It’s true that the more times you hear the dialogue, the easier and quicker you can grasp the meaning. It also gives you a feel for the special inflections and pauses that a native speaker would use. Anyway, it was good that we read through all the lessons about the stormy love saga as a group in yesterday’s meeting. It was pretty funny, and I loved how we put on those funny voices. You guys are real drama kids. Anyway, like we discussed, we should help each other understand the story in more detail by sharing our understandings of different dialogues.

So I’ll start on the first dialogue, A Fated Meeting. So this is where Zhang Liang and Chen Li are introduced to each other after some sizzling乒乓球 (ping pong) style back and forth communication in an online forum. They meet at a coffee shop and Zhang Liang is late. But Chen Li says 没事 (It doesn’t matter). I thought there was actually an interesting link here between Chinese and English . In English, “matter” can refer to something like a situation or business that needs to be attended to, but it can also mean ‘important or significant’. Similarly in Chinese, 事 can mean a situation or it can also be used in the manner it has been used here to say something like “No matter/It’s not of importance”. That’s just what popped into my head when I saw it, because of that similarity with English, it might just be a helpful way of remembering which “shi” character to use when writing “It doesn’t matter” in Chinese.

Basically our two lovebirds go on to order some drinks and talk about work. Zhang Liang says that when he gets off work he often has nothing to do so he 上上网 (goes online)。 I think this repetition of 上just serves as a reminder of how the Chinese often duplicate a single syllable e.g. with verbs like 试试. It’s little things like this that we must remember if we want to sound natural and authentic in our delivery.

Anyway, please let me know your thoughts on this one!

Diana

mshi1

May 14, 2008, 12:09 PM

Hmmm, an interesting dialogue indeed. I thought the setting was great - a blind date set up from an internet forum. Classy. What will John and Jenny come up with next...? Well, I thought an interesting word that i've seen a few times around now was 本人, meaning 'you'/'this person'. I think that 本 often has the same meaning as 这, which makes me think that the 你本人 is getting at the same meaning as 你这个人. I know that 你这个 + sth. is often used when people want to emphasise that you 'are' something. For example, to say 'you are an idiot' you have to say 你这个笨蛋 (ni zhei ge ben4 dan4), not just 你笨蛋. So i think it's useful to recognise that both 这 and 本 may be used to emphasise the specific thing or person you are talking about.

mshi1

May 14, 2008, 12:25 PM

Well, a dialogue that I had a look at and thought was interesting was "Lover's Spat". Basically, Zhang Liang and Lili are out shopping for clothes (well, really, Lili is shopping for clothes and Zhang Liang is tagging along and not being very enthusiastic about it). Lili asks for an opinion on some clothes and Zhang Liang replies that Lili should just try them on otherwise she won't be able to see the full picture/effect/look of the clothes. She gets a little anooyed at this and says they need to stroll more and look at more clothes before they can decide on what the best ones are. Zhang Liang doesn't seem to get the way females think in a shopping situation (they really just want to look at everything) and so he keeps suggesting that Lili try on the clothes instead of just looking at them. Lili takes this to mean that Zhang Liang doesn't want to accompany her shopping and is bored. Of course, thats not what he means and he gives a soppy 我每天最开心的时候就是和你在一起 (the happiest part of my day everyday is just being with you). But this is not enough to console Lili who is now annoyed realising that Zhang Liang wants a quick exit, 你说谎 (you're lying!). One particularly interesting point i noticed was where Zhang Liang said 买衣服是要多看多比较 where 比较 is being used as a verb meaning 'to compare', i believe. So i think this phrase means, to buy clothes, you need to look and compare lots of things. This is just interesting because i didn't know 比较 could be used as a verb! Oh the wonders of ChinesePod. Also, i thought another word for 'otherwise' was one we should remember because it seems to come up alot: 否则 (fou3ze4). It has the same meaning as 要不然, John and Jenny informed me.

Let me know what u guys reckon was interesting about this one.

Mikey

mshi1

May 14, 2008, 01:12 PM

Hey guys, I've also been looking at "Love letter". Basically, the story goes like this: Lili is a bit late Meeting the other guy in the dialogue (Zhang Liang?) because of traffic 车实在太多了. Here the use of 实在 (shi2zai4) emphasises that there was lots of trafic, kind of like saying 'there really/definitely were too many cars'. Zhang Liang then agrees that there was too much traffic. Lili then comments that Zhang Liang has been working overtime alot and should eat more vitamins, 多吃点维生素 (duo chi dianr wei2sheng1su4 - vitamins). This is where it gets interesting. Zhang Liang says that Lili is precisely his best kind of vitamin....No...but seriously, he does: 你就是我最好的维生素. He continues to praise and sweet talk her (although he isn't very good at it) saying that when he ses her he is filled with excitement and concludes by saying that 所有的辛苦都没了 or ' there is no bitterness at all' (suo you de xin1 ku3 dou mei le). A Romeo in the making? I think not. Lili is not too sure about all the stuff that has been saying, and mentions to Zhang Liang that she's heard it all before in the love letter he gave her, especially the sentence about being Zhang Liang's best vitamin. Zhang Liang replies that it was his first go at a love letter and that he wasn't sure how to express himself. Lili replies that she actully likes his honesty (其实我就喜欢你这样实在). Here, 实在 means 'honesty'. Zhang Liang is relieved and gives another soppy line 我心里只有你一个人 ( there is only you in my heart - emphasised by the 你一个人). Lili feels this has gone quite far enough and says that if he keeps talking like this she won't listen to him: 再说我就不理你了. Here, 不理你了 means something like won't listen to you any more, the 了 not being a past tense particle, but just saying that the situation will change. Ie, she will stop listening if he keeps talking. Sounds like he got told! I thought a good phrase was 你真了解我 (you really understand me - ni zhen liao3 jie3 wo). The word 了解 is another way of saying 'know'-知道 or 'to be acquainted with' - 熟悉. An example of where you might use the word, i found out from some dictionary searches is 我完全了解你 ( I understand you perfectly).

So, just throwing some ideas around. Thoughts guys? Mikey

|sth.+ 有什么好？"

yoko1

May 15, 2008, 12:27 PM

Hey guys thank you for your detailed analysises of the dialogues. It made more sense after I read what you guys have pointed out.

Well, I just get this feeling that Lili doesn't really believe what Zhang Liang says/does. eg from 'Lover's Spat', why is she acting so weird while Zhang Liang is just trying to be more realistic in choosing clothes? I don't understand how she thinks if a guy keeps making her to try clothes on means the guy's bored. Also, 'Love Letter' she doesn't like it when Zhang Liang goes 'I LOVE YOU!!' as if any girl wouldn't like to hear 'you're my one and only vitamin'!! Hmm hopefully I'm not getting too personal here..hoho ANYWAY I felt sorry for Zhang Liang somehow..poor guy whatever he tries to impress his girl friend doesn't seem to work.. :(

Ok, I also have looked and listened to the dialogues I need to analyse. The first one is 'A Guy's Advice on Women'. This one takes place right after our 'An Old Flame' It's about Zhang Liang worrying about Lili after finding out her ex-boyfriend Liu Xiang, is a 30 year old internet millionaire. Zhang Liang is pretty stressed so he decides to call one of his close friends Zhen Hua. Zhen Hua is very talkative and he jokes around a lot. BUT this guy is a little more experienced than Zhang Liang in having a relationship. He once had his girl friend cheat on him(oh no)! You probably want to note this word 花心(hua1xin1), a flower and a heart make a 'player'(the translation was 'to be promiscuous..). Well, Zhen Hua advises Zhang Liang that he cannot even be compared to Liu Xiang(ouch! thought it was a bit harsh to say to a close friend)because women like men who can drive a sports car(new word! 跑车pao3che1)，drinks red wine(红酒 hong2jiu3) and gives them diamonds(钻石zuan4shi2), although Zhang Liang keeps saying that Lili is different from all the other women. I thought these new words are quite fun to learn:) Also I found the term 钻石王老五(zuan4shi2wang2lao3wu3):great catch, interesting. Literally it means, Diamond+King+Old+Five Jenny said it's a reasonable new term and that old bachelors are now 'desirable' since they have 'Diamond'(ie money I would assume). Well, consequently Zhen Hua's advice only makes Zhang Liang worried even more(again poor guy his confidence is going down now).

Hang on guys I haven't finished yet, the analysis of the second dialogue will continue below. YJ

yoko1

May 15, 2008, 02:31 PM

The second dialogue I looked at was 'Scheming Girls' which is followed by 'A Guy's Advice on Women'. This time it's the girls talking about the guys. It's a conversation between Lili's jealous friend Chen Jing and her friend Fei Fei.

Basically Chen Jing finds out that Fei Fei has a crush on someone from her new work place. However, it was Zhang Liang who Fei Fei likes(DRAMA!!). Ok, back to the analysis, in Chinese you say A和B是一对 to mean A and B are a couple.

I'll edit this bit later again!

dtjo

May 17, 2008, 03:23 AM

Hey guys,

Great analysis of the rest of the story! Mike, good work picking up on the use of 本人, I hadn't noticed that and I didn't know how to say "You are an idiot" in Chinese either...something I'm sure will come in handy one day haha.

In 'Love Letter', Zhang Liang certainly does come up with some interesting compliments/comments about Lili like 你就是我最好的维生素. I've noticed that in some other dialogues too, like the second one 'Growing Affections'. Let me first just give you a rundown of what happens in this dialogue...well, as the title suggests, the feelings between the lovebirds are really starting to grow. Zhang Liang uses the old “Oh no, it’s getting late, I better walk you home!” protective spiel on Lili. I think perhaps this indicates that Zhang Liang thinks of himself as quite a strong, masculine guy. So Mikey and YJ, when you play Zhang Liang I think you should definitely use a strut when you walk, put those big bulky Zhang Liang shoulders back, haha! Anyway, a golden compliment he comes up with is “Your eyelashes are so pretty!” Eyelashes? Usually people say eyes...but I guess Zhang Liang is a true individual. It's funny though, because Lili responds by saying "That's because I used mascara!"

YJ, I love all those insights you gave us into how the meanings of words are fused together to form new words (e.g. how flower and heart together becomes a player 花心).

Anyway, it was great that we had another meeting yesterday. It's good that we discussed thoroughly what each sentence means. In the Jealous Friend, it really does look like Zhang Liang is trying to make it up to Chen Jing by buying the lobster, he seems to be keeping the peace. Poor Lili and Chen Jing are at such loggerheads. And in An Old Flame, Lili seems genuinely excited to see Liu Xiang (but like we said, there is definitely some room here for Mikey as Liu Xiang to show that he too, is overly excited to bump into Lili). I like how we've blocked out our two scenes and come up with some props to make it interesting. I think the audience will really like how we are going to use coffee cups, a newspaper, a clock and other items in hilarious ways. And it's great that we are starting to experiment with our tone of voice to express our emotions in Chinese.

Diana