chinese transcripts of fims/tv shows
steve1963
April 29, 2009, 09:59 AM posted in General DiscussionHaving studied Chinese for a year and a half - I visited china for a couple of weeks recently. I found I could easily do "functional" stuff - I could get a wake up call in the hotel - I could sort out a log in problem for my computer - I could buy train tickets. However, I found that I could not participate in genuine chinese conversations - especially if I was in the company of more than one mother tongue chinese person.
I think there are a number of reasons for this
1) my vocabulary is not large enough - therefore I miss a number of words
2) I am used to hearing chinese in a slower form than real chinese is spoken
3) Chinese occasionally is a massively compact language - such that say, english constructions like "on the internet" (5 syllables) get reduced to "wang shang" (2 syllables in chinese).
4) Chinese phonemes aren't as various and their distinctions are subtler(e.g via tones) than English - thus its easier to get the wrong end of the stick ("wang shang" heard quickly might be interpreted as "wan shang")
The only way I think I can address this - is to maybe to progess to the advanced cpod materials (even though I am not advanced elsewhere - and learn the vocab intensively before listening). But I am also wondering, if watching tv and film - but importantly with transcripts alongside - but not real-time subtitles - thats no help - I mean transcripts I can read - and use to prepare before hand).
However, while most CCTV seems to have subtitles - (therefore implying that people are employed subtitling loads of stuff) - I can't seem to come across entire transcripts anywhere on the web.
Does anyone have any ideas of where such material might be found?
Steve
tingyun
April 29, 2009, 11:27 PMThough its a boring answer, I think the best idea would be to just keep slugging through the countless lessons at your level in the archive, then somewhere before you run out you should be ready for the next level, repeat, repeat, all the way to advanced.
I think using cpod lessons along with the transcripts is a very fast way to increase vocab, and the increasing speed of the dialogues will slowly acclimate you to speed as you move up.
I have alot of chinese channels, and though they are fun as a distraction while I run or grab a bite to eat, I don't really make much progress from them. The rare exception might be some of the explicitly learning oriented shows (like with a chinese teacher and a collection of kids in a classroom, or one of the many shows targeted towards foreign learners). Also, if you have a tivo, there's always pausing to look at the subtitles at your own pace. Still, I don't think its a very efficient method of learning.
bababardwan
April 29, 2009, 11:55 PMI would tend to agree with timbendersls.I enjoy watching Chinese DVD's and think it is a good exercise in comprehension,but I don't think it is nearly as efficient as learning on CPod.I see it as more of a guage of where I'm at,what I am able to pick up.I think it also helps reinforce the words you know and helps that you're hearing these words in different contexts and with different voices/accents/speeds.So more of a guaging/consolidating/fun exercise rather than an efficient way to learn new stuff.
henning
April 30, 2009, 05:17 AMHere is a site where you can get movie subtitles:
Just tried it with "Alien" (异形) - and although the site is a bit confusing it eventually worked fine.
And I already learned important vocab:
"Freight spaceship Nostromo" is 宇宙货船诺斯都罗莫号.
jckeith
April 29, 2009, 04:33 PMUnfortunately, I don't know where to obtain transcripts, but I have spent a decent number of hours watching Chinese TV shows with only Hanzi subtitles. I have to say that I've found it more helpful than you may think. I can't read too many Hanzi yet (~200), but reading the subtitles along with the dialogue actually allowed me to pick out words that I couldn't understand through listening alone (because the dialogue was too fast). While this method may not be optimal, I think any exposure to the language helps. This in particular is my attempt to simulate "immersion" because I don't live in China.
Similarly, I've watched many Chinese movies with Chinese dialogue and English subtitles, and I've found that the English subtitles really do help my listening ability when the dialogue is too fast or difficult to hear (most of the movie!)
Finally, you might consider transcribing dialogues yourself to give yourself a bit of practice. Attempting this with English and/or Chinese subtitles ought to give you good hints when the dialogue is too fast.