User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: A Chinese Take on Language Learning

'I think he means the word " the" , but I'm not sure'

Clever.

Posted on: A Chinese Take on Language Learning

' I know a few Kiwis now,'

We actually have a Kiwi cafe in our street; how cool is that. They do take some liberties, pretending Aussie food is Kiwi food with vague descriptions like 'it comes from down under'.

'Flight of the Concords'

That show is great ..

Actually, you know ANZAC Day is around the corner?

Posted on: A Chinese Take on Language Learning

All Australians say 'zed' except those whose parents use Sesame Street as a baby-sitter. :)

Posted on: Satellites, DVDs and ABCs

'Brammo's first product to be exported to China is the Enertia, an electric motorcycle built in Ashland, Oregon. The Enertia has a top speed of over 60 miles per hour (95 km/h), a range of 42 miles (68 kilometers) and a charging time of about 4 hours. The award winning Enertia is currently in trial use with the Hong Kong Police and the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department.' [From Baba's link above.]

This could be a challenge for regulators on the mainland if it catches on. They haven't managed yet to convince the public for any need for rider training, rider licences, helmets, headlights/taillights at night etc. These might finally challenge the assumption that a 电动车 is actually a bicycle. Although if they could get that top speed up to around 220, 230 kph or so it would be more persuasive - I might even take it for a spin.

Posted on: A Chinese Take on Language Learning

It is not a Kiwi accent - but maybe it could be described as Trans-Tasman.

Nice anyway; I get excited when I hear Chinese people speaking with an Aussie accent. Just for a change you understand, they are a tiny minority.

I just love it when a Chinese person does not say zeeee. I compliment them on their accent, and good education. :)

For what it is worth I feel the same way with Europeans (I'm not biased.)

Posted on: Car Crash

:)...

Why do I get the feeling that everything I say is taken down and used in evidence .. ?

Oh, I have had two more (so far unreported) bad taxi experiences since that. And 'bad Chinese' made me think about it. One was not long ago in a tourist town. I jumped in and announced confidently where I wanted to go and the driver looked at me as though I was an alien, which I am I guess (he was half-terrified, half aggressive.) I named a well known street and he said 'I don't know it'. He said 'I can't take you. I don't know this street'. And looked around, past me, for a Chinese client. So I said cheerfully 'don't worry, I'll show you the way' .. well I said 我带一下 [.. hoping we got that right.] He blinked and drove off, taking me to the destination - fortunately I didn't actually have to show him the way.

Posted on: Satellites, DVDs and ABCs

Speaking of accents (BST) - 'bormy'? In Australia we say 'barmy' - barmy Army de barmy.

But anyway, to business, guys, check your facts on satellites.I don't want to be the one to keep reminding you that the world outside Shanghai exists (well - I'm hoping it does). Satellite TV is not only legal in China but heavily subsidised by the taxpayer. If you live outside the city limits you pay 100 RMB (one hundred yuan) for your dish and then you get free access to channels from all over China. So I'm guessing that about 60% of the population has access to legal subsidized satellite TV. Let's say roughly 800 million people. I guess you might have been referring to foreign stations .. but you need to be specific.

As I think you also said there is an active satellite TV user base in cities - there are dishes 'everywhere' and I am told that you buy cards at the market for using satellite services. I think you have the choice of Chinese satellites (free use) and foreign satellites, and it depends where you point the dish what you can pick up.

Incidentally there is also growing mobile digital TV service - currently about 12 stations are available in my city. Plus about 100 cable channels for less than US$3 a month.

I know next to zilch about it really. (I should know more; I do have satellite TV - I don't pay for it, but it still mysteriously gives me just two German stations) .. hopefully someone more knowlegable than me will jump in and give us the facts on satellite TV.

Oh.. motorbikes, Catherine, I don't know what you meant by that comment either.

Posted on: A Chinese Take on Language Learning

Well everyone has an accent but this one was hard to detect. I heard a beautifully clear English then a beautifully clear Chinese. She has a Chinese accent when speaking English, fair enough. I tried hard to find a Kiwi accent - couldn't get anything. I listened closely to those vowels and I would never have picked her from New Zealand. My guess is that she mixed with a crowd there that frowns on accents. I would have liked to hear Ivy's views on gumboot throwing. Give us that in Chinese?

Note for Jason: to demonstrate a Kiwi accent you should have asked Ivy to count to 10. Or just 6. :)

Posted on: Car Crash

'You mean some hotel staff are given uniforms that could make them look to visitors like police officers?'

Particularly those who are 保安. They may patrol the vicinity or let the cars go in and out. When I first came to China I think I was confused about whether people in uniform were police officers or not. Now I can tell the difference most of the time. There are a number of different types of police in China to learn to recognise. The 特警 are impressive looking with their big sticks - I saw them once at the airport; they arrived in armoured vehicles for crowd control when some VIP was arriving. But it was a fizzer - they had to wait so long they ended up hanging around looking bored just like everyone else. They eventually crawled back into their vehicles and sat there looking conspicuously un-required.

Thanks for your observations - nicely told. Maybe the US is like Australia - there is constant pressure from the public for police to be 'seen'. We are always announcing reassurances to the public about extending local patrols. In China there are notices everywhere with a photo of the boss of the local command, and sometimes photos of the other police offices, and their mobile phone numbers! (This would never happen in Australia.)

This is I think the great un-told story (although I give it a push every now and again): how China miraculously created a reasonably good modern police force in such a short time in their history. On my fairly frequent visits to the local police station I always marvel at how good they are, considering.

Posted on: Car Crash

The taxi case: so I was talking about the same event as zhong_bide (I was a foreign passenger in a taxi driven by a Chinese person, and the other car was also driven by a Chinese person.) I DID originally think that zhong_bide's case involved a foreign driver of one of the cars; I can't see how a passenger could be blamed for an accident. Maybe distracting the driver with bad Chinese. :)

'police in uniform are usually quite conspicuous'

This makes me think of another possible explanation for zhong_bide's comment. It seems lots of people in China love a uniform, or at least are given a uniform in their jobs - security, drivers, hotel staff etc. (recall my fourteen year-old bao an dressed in uniform complete with epaulettes and night-stick). Most of these are not police, but a visitor (I assume zhong_bide is a visitor - I don't think they live here) assumes that they are police. I see old men (long-retired) wearing uniforms - maybe it is part of the retirement package that you can keep the uniform. You do see local police sitting under Coca-cola-sponsored awnings playing computer games - no pretence at looking busy is required. I also love the way police cluster round like other interested on-lookers when there is an altercation in the street (they are hoping that things will be sorted out without intervention). They sometimes have to be pushed into taking any action.