User Comments - barryb
barryb
Posted on: What's up?
February 28, 2008 at 3:36 AMInteresting. In the podcast Ken warns us about inapproriate language. Isn't it all about a) making others feel comfortable b) making sure others can understand you (especially when you're running an international website), and c) showing respect? I wouldn't talk to my grandmother the way I talk to my friends in the pub. My grandmother and I use Northern English dialect words that I would never use with a foreigner. We would all of us alter our language at a job interview. Anyway, I'm breaking a) by being a pompous middle-aged Englishman, so I'll shut up.
Posted on: London
February 26, 2008 at 9:15 PMGo to London and you'll notice people whizzing around on mopeds with clipboards. They're "doing the knowledge" - so they can pass the taxi-driver exam. Looks like the key is practice, practice, practice...
Posted on: London
February 26, 2008 at 9:04 PMStudies have shown that qualified London taxi drivers have an enlarged posterior hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory (esp. spacial) . They have to learn every street, institution, hotel etc. and the best routes between them. The good news is that the longer they've been working the bigger the hippocampus. So it's not just talent. And this is happening in the adult brain! So, hopefully, we're growing our brains every time we use ChinesePod. I know, it's a big jump from learning street layouts to learning languages. But maybe driving a taxi on thousands of set routes is like drawing huge characters?
Posted on: Hot Soup
February 23, 2008 at 7:23 PMHi, Nicolas. Thanks for those mnemonics, I found them very useful. Yes, visualisation helps, and I think the image is made even more memorable by movement e.g. child's arm reaching up for sweets - tang2. I think grouping them, listing the different tones for one sound is very useful as it helps me remember words I don't know so well alongside those I do. I can learn new words, too! John suggested remembering tang1 - soup by picturing the soup's level surface and I thought, isn't it handy that the bowl is shaped "U" like a tone 3 and 碗 - wan is tone 3. I started looking for other happy coincidences. Here are some for tone3 (U-shaped, up and down, swaying): gou3 - dog - think of its tail wagging nao3 - brain - wrinkled surface (a nasty mnemonic) nai3 - milk - shape （and motion!) of a breast (a nice mnemonic) deng3 - to wait - pacing up and down ma3 - horse - U-shaped back and saddle bi3 - pen - pen-top moves up and down as you write guo3 - fruit - swaying in the breeze in the trees jiu3 - wine - swaying drunkard walking down the road There are lots! Do you have more mnemonics? What about other people? I think we should put them in one place. In an 88 Group, perhaps?
Posted on: The Non-Chinese Speaking Tourist and Toilets
February 19, 2008 at 12:30 AMEver one of the gentlemen, I thought I'd pass on the good news to you ladies worried about squat-toilets. This charming device, available for GBP5.95 (about USD12), is called the SheWee (n.b. wee is a British synonym for pee). It should solve any problems. Have a look at your convenience: http://www.shop.edirectory.co.uk:80/presentfinder/1306/default/d/gifts+for+girls/mt/c/rid/15336/pn/D So, how do I know about it? Well, it's UK Mothers' Day on 2nd March, and this was suggested as a present in an email from a UK retailer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's the educational bit: what would this be called in Mandarin? 女小便机 - nu3 xiao3 bian4 ji1? By the way, it's not a spoof, I've seen the inventor promoting it on British TV. I do not want to know if it works.
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 16, 2008 at 12:20 PMHi, Nicolas. I'm not surprised! I just wanted to point out the technique. I used to post lots of mnemonics, but I've stopped because my way of thinking seems to be too odd. (For me, the more bizarre, the better.) It seems mnemonics work much better when you make up your own. Even if you can't find one, you juggle the words around in your head and make connections.
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 11:21 AMThanks for the advice, auntie. I'll be careful. I once took Chinese people to an English castle and the guide joked about executions hundreds of years ago. The British laughed but the Chinese were genuinely shocked.
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 2:02 AMLicha, as Ken says, it's all about making connections, isn't it? E.g. Auntie's comments led to questions about WW1/WW2 which reminded me of 世界 - shi4 jie4 - world, which we had in a previous lesson. Anyway, here's some Chinese for you. Not quite on topic, but elementary (my level): Crocodile Dundee 过世吗? - guo4 shi4 ma? - "passed world" - has passed away？ How do you say "in heaven" in Chinese? 天里 tian1 li3？ Would Chinese people say they're "in heaven" when they're very happy e.g. in love?
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 15, 2008 at 12:07 AMBazza, I know you don't believe in God, but why don't you go to church and meet some nice girls? There seem to be a lot in my local Evangelical congregation and they smile at me when I walk past. At me! They're brave or foolhardy or desparate to save my soul. I haven't got a soul because I'm just an 鳄鱼, an e4 yu2, an "eat you", a crocodile, but you've got one. You'll find their love, or God's love, or both! You can't lose. What do you think, Rich?
Posted on: What's up?
March 1, 2008 at 12:46 AMHi, Clay. I've been thinking about your intro. Sorry if I've been out of order criticising your English: sometimes I'm one of those grumpy British people who gets annoyed by American English. It must be irritating when all you're trying to do is be friendly and help people. It's no excuse, but I'll try to explain. Today, on UK terrestrial TV , all the films are American. At my local cinema, 7 out of 9 films are American. Most of the voiceovers on TV ads are in an American accent. Most pop music is American or sung in an American accent... etc. etc. Even our politics is Americanised - think of Tony Blair's smile (but not his teeth)! Sometimes, it feels like a cultural siege. So, it's nice to learn Chinese. Then I come to ChinesePod and feel it's Americanised. Of course, I'm being silly: the mild American flavour has never hindered my learning in any way and most of Chinespod's users are from North America, so it would be stupid of you not to look after them. So, thanks and keep on producing the best language resource I've ever found! You're doing a great job!