User Comments - starky

Posted on: Dart Match

Thanks, Tal! I can't criticise my 中国人朋友 or 中国的教育系统 too much ... I looked up "metaphrase" at dict.org and it is in fact a bona fide English word. According to The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48, it means

1. A verbal translation; a version or translation from one

language into another, word for word; a literal

translation; -- opposed to paraphrase. --Dryden.

[1913 Webster]

2. An answering phrase; repartee. --Mrs. Browning.

[1913 Webster]

每一天我学到新事！

Posted on: On a Wok-About

Is the sentiment "用铝锅烧菜容易中毒" common in China, or just a bit of colour for the dialogue?  还没听说过这样的见解。

Posted on: Dart Match

On a somewhat related note, I've had a hard time figuring out how to say "word for word translation." (That is, a translation such as when 这回 is translated as "to return" or 很不好意思 is translated as "very not good meaning.") My dictionary translates 直译 as "literal translation" (Google Translate translates it as "Metaphrase" ... I didn't even know that was an English word) but when I show “直译” to 中国人朋友 in the dictionary, I'm told it's not right.

However, I can't get a consistent answer as to how to say "word-for-word translation" that everyone seems to understand. To paraphrase Winston Churchill's commentary on the economist John Maynard Keynes, 如果我问两个中国人朋友的话，我接收三个意见。

Posted on: Firing the Ayi

Although this is a bit off topic, I'm not sure what the most appropriate forum is for requesting a lesson topic.

Many 外国人 who come to China have problems with internet connectivity for any of a variety of reasons; e.g., the connection in their hotel is spotty or slow, or because they have to deal with the complexity of ordering or having maintenance done on the internet connection for their apartment.  Many technology terms like "wireless," "router," and "The Great Firewall" would be helpful in a variety of contexts.

Generally speaking, I think a course on technology topics would be a welcome addition to the list of courses available on ChinesePod.  Given your recent series on the life of a programmer, you already have some content that could contribute to the course.

Posted on: Donation Dilemma

Anything that gets people more involved in charitable giving, either through donations of money or time, is welcome in China and elsewhere. 

In the U.S., some web sites have become an important part of the charity ecosystem which rate charitable organizations based on the proportion of their budget is devoted to fundraising, salaries, and other overhead (e.g., as opposed to helping people), the organizations' transparency with their accounting and other reporting standards, etc.  One example is Charity Navigator.  Is there anything like that in China?

Posted on: Fast Cars and Shallow Women

In a nod to Scandinavian sensibilities, which tend to be a bit less tolerant of such behaviour, when one of the two princes of Denmark crashed his car while engaging in tomfoolery, his mother (the Queen of Denmark) made him go on national television in a public service announcement and apologize to the country.

Posted on: Help at the ATM

Although "advice" is industry jargon (e.g., in the fields of payroll and accounting) in every English speaking country, I believe that it was more frequently used colloquially in the past.

Posted on: Catching a Train

Does "怎么叫不同种的..." translate correctly and/or is it 地道的中文? It seems to be a literal translation of English to Chinese.

Posted on: A Tour of Xi'an

There are a couple of reasons. One officially cited reason is that they do not feel they have the means to properly secure and excavate a site of that size and complexity. I understand it is also believed that a massive amount of liquid mercury was buried with the emperor, a belief that has been bolstered by testing of the surrounding area, and that opening the tomb without having environmental mitigation plans in place may prove a massive biohazard.

They will doubtless open it eventually, as the potential for tourism revenues and to make the careers of dozens of archeologists and academics is simply too much to resist indefinitely.

Posted on: Discussing Contract Renewal

A related question would be what do expats who work at firms similar to ChinesePod do about insurance when they go home, e.g., to visit family? When I taught at a Chinese university, they provided me with 10,000 RMB health coverage. While you could practically get open heart surgery for that price (this was in a Western province, far from Beijing), you might not want to. On the other hand, at an American hospital, you could go through the equivalent of 10,000 RMB in under an hour.