User Comments - BillJefferys
BillJefferys
Posted on: Upset
March 24, 2008 at 6:49 PMI had understood when I was learning Chinese (~30 yrs ago, how time flies) that 别...了 when used in the sense "don't ..." etymologically comes from 不要, "don't want", as a contraction. Thus (it was explained to me) something like "别 verb 了" derives from a construction like "[I] don't want [you to] verb". Ken, who is a linguist by training (or so I understand) may be able to shed more light on this (or even refute my understanding if it is wrong). If this is true, then this sense of 别 is unrelated to its other main use, "other," as in 别的东西.
Posted on: Chinese Green Eggs and Ham
March 5, 2008 at 1:32 AMWo! Once when I was in China my host and I were stuck at the airport (due to getting in late, missing our flight, and having to stay overnight). Restaurants closed. My host scored a can of Chinese Spam and something else...I did not know that this was 火腿! I had always thought that this meant "ham" in the American sense. That it really meant "Spam" is a surprise! 朱勇谋
Posted on: London
February 26, 2008 at 11:58 PMMore on Beijing er3hua4 (儿话) The dialog begins with 伦敦好玩吗？(which is how it is given in the text that comes with the dialog) but it is read as 伦敦好玩儿吗？(hao3war2 rather than hao3wan2) Just another plug for mentioning regional variations in Jenny and John's (or Jenny and Ken's) discussion of the dialogs, when appropriate. I think that this would have been an ideal place to do this.
Posted on: Hot Soup
February 19, 2008 at 2:17 PMThe discussion might well have mentioned the 'er3hua4' that is common in Beijing speech but not in the south. The last two characters of the dialog, "点儿“ dianr3 are an example. Jenny: It might be useful to have a lesson describing how speech patterns like this one and others (like 'shi'-->'si' from Beijing to south China) vary regionally. This last one is particularly difficult for non-Chinese speakers who are of course taught Beijing hua, when they start to speak with people from south China. Pointing it out explicitly would be useful (if it has not already been done in another of your nearly 800 lessons!) 朱勇谋
Posted on: The Neutral Tone
February 19, 2008 at 4:23 AMOops. I wrote In her explanation of another point, Jenny used the name of the popular Chinese dumpling, 'jiaozi' （饺子). Now, I had always thought that these two characters were third tone-third tone, which with tone sandhi would be pronounced fourth tone-third tone. But Jenny's pronunciation was very clear: she pronounced it third tone-fifth tone. And this pronunciation is confirmed by the MDBG online dictionary. I meant to say "which with tone sandhi would be pronounced second tone-third tone." I can hear the tones in my head, but sometimes can't transcribe them accurately to electronic paper! 朱勇谋
Posted on: The Neutral Tone
February 19, 2008 at 4:00 AMA comment on ratjetoe73's comment: 你 妈妈 有 马 吗? (ni3 mama1 you3 ma3 ma) The extreme example of this sort of thing is Yuan-ren Chao's "Lion-eating Poet in the Stone Den," every character of which is pronounced 'shi' (with different tones). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-Eating_Poet_in_the_Stone_Den Because of its structure and history, Chinese lends itself particularly well to puns and other clever alliterations. 朱勇谋
Posted on: The Neutral Tone
February 19, 2008 at 3:38 AMI learned something new listening to the Intermediate lesson "Chinese New Year Plans" today. In her explanation of another point, Jenny used the name of the popular Chinese dumpling, 'jiaozi' （饺子). Now, I had always thought that these two characters were third tone-third tone, which with tone sandhi would be pronounced fourth tone-third tone. But Jenny's pronunciation was very clear: she pronounced it third tone-fifth tone. And this pronunciation is confirmed by the MDBG online dictionary. So, this shows that you can always learn new things even when listening to the most elementary lessons on chinesepod.com. And, I think this lesson on neutral tone was extremely useful. 朱勇谋
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 14, 2008 at 4:57 PMThe online etymology dictionary says about "cheapskate": "miserly person," 1896, from cheap (q.v.), second element perhaps from Amer.Eng. slang skate "worn-out horse" (1894), of uncertain origin. It was useful to learn about the other uses of 鬼 that Jenny mentioned, e.g., 酒鬼，烟鬼. Thanks!
Posted on: Trip to the Chinese Doctor and a Special Guest
January 5, 2008 at 9:34 PMI enjoyed the discussion with Prof. Kelm. His comment about how little Chinese one has to say to be complimented on your knowledge of Chinese reminded me of a story my late Chinese professor at the University of Texas told me many years ago. She was Canadian (Hi Amber) and was studying in Taiwan. One day, she got into an elevator which was crammed with people (人山人海). As the elevator was going up, someone accidentally jabbed her in the ribs, and she automatically said "哎哟！" (āi yōu = ouch!). Behind her, one of the Chinese people remarked to her friend, "她中文说的非常好！“ (She speaks Chinese very well!) Probably everyone who's spent any significant amount of time in China has a similar story. 朱勇谋
Posted on: Tattoos, TV and the Stock Market
March 28, 2008 at 2:18 PMOn Beijing Opera, I agree. I went to 京剧 in 1982. The theater was crowded and the atmosphere very excited, but frankly I didn't enjoy the music much as it was pretty screechy. On the other hand, in 1988 I went to a presentation of a Shaoxing opera (绍兴剧) in Shanghai and enjoyed it very much. I found it quite melodious, and the onstage acrobatics were very engaging.