User Comments - mark
mark
Posted on: Custom-Made Shoes
November 15, 2012 at 7:36 PMHere 来 is used somewhat like the English "to" in, "I stopped drinking to improve my health".
Posted on: Custom-Made Shoes
November 14, 2012 at 6:52 AMI had a jacket made for me when I was in Shanghai last spring. It came out pretty well and was kind of fun to do, but might get tiresome to do for all my clothes. There were some fancy taylor shops that wanted more than I can see paying for something I wear, except maybe a spacesuit. However, the prices at the fabric market were pretty ok, and negotiating what I wanted was good language practice. I'm not sure the fabric is exactly what it was claimed to be, but I don't really care. The receipt had a card with a Web site stappled to it. So, I imagine you could skip the plane fare, and do something similar from the comfort of your home.
Posted on: American TV Shows in China
November 10, 2012 at 5:22 AMI have to admit, I haven't watched TV in twenty five years. So, many of the English names of the shows are as mysterious to me as the Chinese ones.
Posted on: Interviews: Obama or Romney?
November 10, 2012 at 4:44 AMI haven't seen any analysis of what I think is an interesting trend. If you look at county by county results of the election, it is pretty clear Democrats won in the cities and Republicans won in the countryside. This goes a long way to explaining the results of the Presidential, Senate and Congressional races. If the district was big enough to include some large cities, a Democratic candidate probably won.
Posted on: Interviews: Obama or Romney?
November 9, 2012 at 5:42 AMThere isn't a new Golden Gate Bridge. You might be thinking of the Bay Bridge.
Posted on: Interviews: Obama or Romney?
November 9, 2012 at 5:01 AMI think the stickers are printed in California, because a state government program pays for election costs. Also, they are likely a small cost compared to printing ballots, running polling stations, and counting the votes. I don't begrudge the fraction of a cent of tax I paid for mine. I like it.
Posted on: Interviews: Obama or Romney?
November 8, 2012 at 5:29 AMImmigrants who have become citizens have had to demonstrate English proficiency during their citizenship test, but English is still a second language for them. So, it is easier for them to understand what they are voting for, if the arguments for and against are in their native language. I can sympathize, because although I can read Chinese, English is still a lot easier and quicker for me to read. Reasoning and knowing one's interest isn't language specific, at all.
Their children, that are born and raised here, will speak English better than their parents' native language. Their grandchildren won't speak the mother tongue at all.
So, I don't think the native language voting materials is the least bit ridiculous.
I too, am descended from immigrants, just my ancestors immigrated in the 1600's.
Posted on: Interviews: Obama or Romney?
November 8, 2012 at 4:59 AM Half of the poll workers in my precinct were Chinese speaking. So, I got to grab this sticker to let other people know that I voted. (California requires that election materials be provided in the native language of the area's residents, which drives Tea Party types bezerk, but they are nut cases anyway, and I like my sticker.)
In case the image doesn't show https://docs.google.com/open?id=0By3w7iAth8-AT0xOM0lobVVueGM
Posted on: Interviews: Obama or Romney?
November 6, 2012 at 5:15 AMStop the trash talk! Obama is the best President ever!
Posted on: Custom-Made Shoes
November 15, 2012 at 10:17 PMWhen you perform one action to facilitate another in English, English often uses "to" to introduce the verb of the facilitated action. Chinese uses 来 similarly. Although, the grammar is not the same, I think this is a useful observation about one of the meanings of 来。