User Comments - daixiong
daixiong
Posted on: Sydney, Australia
March 9, 2008 at 4:19 PMDon't know if anyone will read this... I'm kicking myself that I missed this lesson about my 老家. I already knew that Jenny had lived in Sydney and studied at my uni. Whereabouts did you live, 朱琦？Near one of the 华人地区 like Haymarket's 华埠， Ashfield's 小沪 or off elsewhere? Having lived in Taipei and Kunming and known many Chinese international students in Sydney, I understand why they find it boring or quiet, whereas I find big Chinese cities too crowded - just what people are used to I guess. I certainly experienced culture shock coming home after a year in Taiwan. Shops closing at 5pm? Shit public transport? No convenience stores every 100m? But I do appreciate the climate, the great sun, sky and air we enjoy that's hard to find in more populated China. I'm surprised you guys didn't cover famous landmarks like the Harbour Bridge 港湾大桥 or Opera House 歌剧院. As to people being more friendly, that's only true to a degree. I think it's more true outside of big cities in Australia. Living most of my life in the inner suburbs of Sydney, I try and say 'Afternoon, or good morning to people I meet out walking -sometimes they respond with a smile, othertimes they're shocked, or glare like you'd insulted them. Probably more open than China though. Animals: Well... we don't exactly have kangaroos wandering the streets, you make it sound like 到处都能看得到。其实， 只能说到处能买得到袋鼠的肉， 非常好吃啦！In Sydney you'll only find live kangaroos at the zoo, unless you head to a National Park. We eat most of our famous native animals, you know: kangaroo, emu 鸸鹋（鵝鶓 in Taiwan）and crocs 鳄鱼. We don't eat koalas, but's that only 'cause they taste bad :op It's the diet of eucalyptus (桉树)， makes their pee stink too. Small Question: My dictionary gives the 中国大陆 translation of koala as 树袋熊, whereas in Taiwan they use 无尾熊. I have only ever seen 考拉 once in a local newspaper. Do you know how common it's usage is? 袋熊 Wombat- Stocky, grumpy Australian mammal
Posted on: 河莉秀
March 5, 2008 at 4:11 AMAuntySue, 你不要写“苏阿姨”呢？
Posted on: 河莉秀
March 4, 2008 at 2:13 PM谢谢windwalker 我要问中文播课（或者博客， 我不记得）： 我们能有汉字用户名吗？
Posted on: 河莉秀
March 4, 2008 at 12:59 AM我认识一些变性人，又称跨性别（学术语）及人妖（歧视俚语），男变女，女变男， 都有。他们开手术之前，他们有很多心理问题，但人人感觉他们的外表与内心不配， 承认已经像异性。变性之后，他们的生活逐渐变好了。那我也认识几个不愿意用莫个固定的标签来形容自己的性别身份 （偶尔会用跨性别transgender那个词）。 每个人能拥有自己的意见，我不会要求人迫改其天性，而不管我们自己觉得如何，还应尊重及平等对待各个人。
Posted on: 简体字与繁体字
February 22, 2008 at 8:12 AMThen you have to recognise when they're using 漢字 to write Bân-lâm-gú (閩南語, or 台語 as they like to call it). Sometimes they're just really weird characters that are obviously not Mandarin, other times they're using 漢字 almost phonetically.
Posted on: 简体字与繁体字
February 22, 2008 at 8:06 AMTrue... they will sometimes use simplified characters in Taiwan in handwriting or other non-official situations, like cartoons or shop signs, but not always the same as the PRC system, instead they'll use ancient simplified forms or even some Japanese 漢字, even some Japanese kana eg replacing 的 with の, 楽 instead of 乐 for 樂
Posted on: 简体字与繁体字
February 19, 2008 at 4:03 PMLocal time 03:03
Posted on: 简体字与繁体字
February 19, 2008 at 4:02 PMAah, I'm monologuing because I can't sleep. Need to turn this laptop off.
Posted on: 简体字与繁体字
February 19, 2008 at 3:58 PMI do wish people could let go of the politics around the issue. I did find it interesting that students in China are usually required to have at least a large reading knowledge of traditional characters, even if they can't write many, while in Taiwan the opposite is not the case, though I think they're introducing study of simplified in primary, whoops, sorry, "elementary" schools 國小 (They use American English terms for everything, even to the extent of talking about "American" or 美語 as a language - couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry, should be 美式英語) I re-read that and laugh at myself for telling people to let go of the politics of language then getting myself worked up over the spread of American cultural imperialism :oP
Posted on: Choosing a Chinese Name and Safety
March 9, 2008 at 4:35 PMA long time ago when I has first started to learn Chinese, a Malaysian Chinese girl I was working with at my local supermarket suggested 傅语恒 to me; 傅 for the first syllable of my surname (Falkinder), and 语恒 because I'm into studying languages, so she said 你永恒会学语言 and also because their was some 大臣 called 傅恒. I kept it for a few years, later saying the meaning was 要当语言师傅，能有恒心, but all the Chinese I met remarked on the literary nature of the name, said I sounded like a professor. I grew irritated with that and felt I couldn't live up to such a pretentious name, so tried to find a phonetic transliteration of my surname that would sound more like a normal Chinese name, and came up with 傅景德. Unfortunately all my documents from Taiwan have the older Chinese name on it, but then I think requiring foreigners to use Chinese names is pretty stupid.