User Comments - BEBC

Posted on: Chinese for Trekkies

denswei:  There's a school af thought which believes that all languages, way back in the mists of time, were originally tonal; that tonality was lost in some languages in favour of stress ( eg ancient greek was tonal, but modern greek is stressed ). I forget the figure, but the number of existing tonal languages was way beyond what I expected - there may be more tonal languages being used today than non-tonal languages ( but don't quote me )

I don't quite believe in a genetic pre-disposition to the grasping of tonality. There are all sorts of nonsensical claims made for genetic predispositions by canny people with vested interests eg, genetic researchers, right-wing psychologists, conservative criminologists and politicians, pharmaceutical companies, socio-biologists etc.  The Nature/Nurture debate swings back and forth between the two poles through various shades of gray, and is a long way from being settled yet. I tend to think that a child of western origins brought up from birth by a chinese family in China would have no tonal disadvantage. At one time it used to be thought that blacks, aborigines, even the Irish ( yes !) could not benefit from education because they simply were naturally .... how to say .... unintelligent. Then, of course, there are those who use the concept of genetic predisposition as an excuse for their personal lack of achievement.

Posted on: Going Dutch

tvan:  I think that the higher you go up the social scale in western societies, the more eating utensils you use - when I was a kid we used to go to my posh aunt's house for sunday dinner, and she used to lay out on the table no end of eating tools....soup spoons, dessert spoons, ordinary knives, fish knives, a couple of different kinds of forks, and some stuff I still can't identify. All this cutlery surrounded each plate. There was hardly room for anything else on the table. You had to know exactly what to use for each food or you were a social misfit. It's a similar situation in posh hotels and restaurants over here.

If anyone is interested, there is an excellent and entertaining book by Norbert Elias titled "The History of Manners" which traces the development of manners and table manners from medieval times to modern times. It is a real eye-opener, and a fascinating read.

Posted on: Going Dutch

She was talking Double-Dutch. No Englishman eats like that. We eat with our fingers.

Posted on: Chinese for Trekkies

My father was a leprechaun.

Posted on: Chinese for Trekkies

a1pi2:  You got my vote. The original series was better than it's successors by light years; there were a lot of charismatic characters on the Enterprise, something that the spin-offs lack. Pity that the lesson will be set at upper intermediate level, as I won't be able to understand much of it.  If there isn't any interplanetary warfare or exploding galaxies I'll be much disappointed.

We still use 'Trekkies' in the UK.

Posted on: How to Say "and" in Chinese

Sebire:      For what it's worth, I also have IE 8 and it's working fine for me; can't be of any more help, being computer-illiterate. Has it anything to do with your PC ? Is it one of those clockwork prototypes ? Gas-powered maybe ?

Posted on: Grammar Lesson

I went to a Grammar School. We had two types of 'O level' English courses: English Litterature and English Language.  The Language course focussed on grammar, and tied in very neatly to the Latin course, which centred around understanding it's grammar. This was a useful approach for students who are not expected to speak the language, just to read and write it. Challenging too, in the way that Maths and Physics are challenging.

Posted on: How to Say "and" in Chinese

No chipmunks in Scunthorpe either. Not even a womble. How much did you drink last night ?

Posted on: How many family members do you have?

gina:   She's gone.  #!%&# !

"I took my buttocks and laughed till they dropped off." - I just love literal translations  :-)

Posted on: How many family members do you have?

Hello there Mary   ;-]

How'd you find me ? Long time no see since those steamy nights in Cairo. You still bringing joy to the British navy ? It's not like you to be shy; come round and deliver that massage yourself. Usual rates apply ??