User Comments - barryb
barryb
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 14, 2008 at 4:55 PMI think a collocation is words that are often found together. E.g. dismal failure great guy slap-up meal You could say "wonderful guy" or "huge meal", but you're much more likely to use the above. Almost like cliches? Of course, I could have got the "wrong end of the stick". Would any linguists like to comment?
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 14, 2008 at 11:36 AMAcronyms are a good mnemonic technique (Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain). Turning Pinyin into English acronyms is awkward because of all the Zs and Qs, but there are a few. 礼物 - li3wu4 - gift: "Life's Impossible Without U" (nice thing to write on a gift-tag). 送 - song4 - to deliver: "Send Out for Nice Grub" (I know this word from the "Having Food Delivered Lesson"). 约会 - yue1hui4 - date: "YU Eat, He's Uncomfortable and Incoherent". (Not very snappy, but unforgettable after some of my dates.)
Posted on: The Fourth Tone
February 7, 2008 at 1:20 PMStamp your foot as you say the 4th tone. You WILL(4) get it right!
Posted on: Is someone in here?
January 20, 2008 at 12:05 PMWasn't "toilet" originally a euphemism? It's from the French "toilette"= "little towel", referring to washing, putting on make-up etc. Ironic that we can now be embarrassed by a euphemism!
Posted on: Is someone in here?
January 19, 2008 at 4:27 PMA Chinese friend says penalties for fouling the pavement can be heavy and city dwellers train their little dogs to use the toilet. They need some human help, of course, but know what to do when held over the pan. Has anyone else heard of this? Not nice for the dog-owner, but better than poop-scooping, surely? The UK would be pleasanter if dog owners here did this, too. The dog(?) in the picture must have taken the training a step further and gone solo!
Posted on: Bumming a Smoke
January 14, 2008 at 5:47 PMSlang is so slippery and ephemeral! According to the OED, using "to bum" to mean "to beg" is an Americanism, yet Americans here have never heard of it and think it's British. Chinesepod is the best resource I've ever found for learning a language, I think it's a triumph. I realise you're using slang to try to reach a wide audience, but wouldn't it be sad if future learners were pushed away because they find it old-fashioned? That's what'll happen. Why not keep to standard English in the dialogues (standard American's fine) and create something that will last much longer? It can still be fun and colloquial. Alright (all right?!), I know it's impossible to define what's "standard English", but you usually know when something isn't.
Posted on: The Non-Chinese Speaking Tourist and Toilets
January 13, 2008 at 7:35 PMHi, Auntie Sue. I once spent several months with a group of UK students in a squat-toilet country. One girl found she was unable to aim and would wet her shoes. In town, she used restaurant sit-toilets, but in the student hostel she wore wellies (is that a UK-only word? I mean knee-length rubber boots like farm-workers wear). Let's not discuss possible causes of her problem or this conversation will get TOO intimate! Others copied her as a way of dealing with foul toilet floors. Are wellies available in China?
Posted on: Turn on the Light, Turn off the Light
January 1, 2008 at 1:49 PMKen, don't worry about it, mate. I'd use nuclear weapons.
Posted on: New Year's Song
December 31, 2007 at 2:50 PMPlastic bats? Maybe a Vampire cult is taking hold in China. Cheap and hygienic. 祝贺大家新年好！
Posted on: Valentine's Day
February 14, 2008 at 6:31 PMRe. collocation. Got it, I think, thanks to the BBC. Words which are collocated are words which "go together". Native English speakers might say "mild weather", "mild cigarette" or "mild cheese". However, we're very unlikely to say "mild tea". We'd say "weak tea" but not "weak weather". Why not? We just don't. Learning these high-frequency collocations is one of the keys to sounding natural in a language.