User Comments - changye

changye

Posted on: Suffix Magic

May 2, 2010 at 1:56 PM

HI martubhelou

I'm afraid I only have a source written in Japanese (PDF file), which is the paper titled "Influence of Japanese language on modern Chinese and Korean" written by a Korean-Chinese researcher.

You can find some lists of Japan-made Chinese words starting at page 3, and lists of Japan-made Korean words starting at page 11. I think they are worth glancing at even if you can't read Japanese.

http://www.nsu.ac.jp/nsu_j/kikan/lab/e-asia/17-5.pdf

As you know, modern Korean contain tons of words and phrases which were borrowed not only from ancient Chinese but also from modern Japanese, mainly because Korea was under Japanese rule in the first half of the 20th century.

Actually, Korean people can't communicate anymore without using those Japan-made words, and similarly, we Japanese also can't communicate without using words borrowed from Chinese and some European languages, mainly English and German.

PS 可能性(가능성) is also one of those words borrowed from Japanese.

Posted on: What do Foreigners Like?

May 2, 2010 at 11:49 AM

Hi tal

> life is a coin with 3 sides

That's very clever. Please allow me to 现学现卖 the phrase to my children, although I personally prefer a simple life that has only one side. A life with three sides is too much for me, hehe.

Posted on: What do Foreigners Like?

May 2, 2010 at 9:23 AM

Hi tal

> What I do find annoying (and frequently offensive), is the attitude many Chinese people have towards foreigners, an attitude that usually goes together with use of these terms.

Yeah, I think I can see your point. The "annoying attitude" is another story, of course. The words themselves are innocent. That being said, I'd like to recommend you look at the bright side. Some European people can enjoy an advantage in exchange for being treated like a panda when they try to find a job as a language teacher in China, especially in rural regions.

In general, European teachers are better paid than Korean and Japanese teachers, who are usually not counted as 老外 here, good or bad. "Being a native English speaker" is an advantage in finding a job in China. After all, you can't get the best of both worlds. "Advantage" and "panda syndrome" are the two sides of the same coin. You guys have to learn to live with that.

Posted on: What do Foreigners Like?

May 2, 2010 at 2:05 AM

Hi guys

To be honest, I half expected your responses, because I've read many similar comments, including both pros and cons, here in Chinesepod forums so far. Looks like it's purely a matter of culture, but not a matter of language.

In any case, some European ways of thinking don't work in some Asian countries, such as China, Korea and Japan. The whole world doesn't revolve around European people, but revolves around “中华” at least here in the China, hehe.

Recently a lot of Japanese learners of English know that using the English word "foreigner" can be very impolite, as the "warning" is often seen in textbooks and dictionaries published in Japan. So I don't use the word before English-speaking people.

However, don't worry, you can use the Chinese word “外国人” without offending people in China, (while the word 老外 is a little bit difficult to properly use ), only if European people learn the truth "In Rome do as the Romans do".

Posted on: An Introduction!

May 1, 2010 at 3:16 PM

Hi henning

The name “吴语” just reminds me of “吴音” (or 呉音, ごおん, go-on) in Japanese, which is the name of a type of readings of Japanese Kanji (Chinese character).

For example, the Kanji “馬” (马，horse) has four readings, namely "me", "ba", "ma", and "u-ma", and the first one "me" is categorized as "呉音", because the reading is said to have been imported from 吴-region in ancient China, say more than one thousand and several hundred years ago.

So it makes sense that some people say Shanghainese sounds like Japanese. And, of course, the name “吴语” is originated in the regional name “吴地” in ancient China.