User Comments - thomasf

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thomasf

Posted on: Calligraphy Practice
May 31, 2012 at 5:40 AM

my impression is that there at least three styles of caligraphy, one of which is easier to read as the characters are more like the standard print form, the other style is very cursive and flowing and beatiful in form but i gather much harder to do (i have forgotten the details of the other style)..not sure as to the proportion of educated people who can read the cursive style, one of my friends can read and translate a lot of it but he sometimes is not sure wereas other  friends have no idea, i suspect a lot of younger people cannot read the style..another friend told me that they did teach this at school, the cursive style with all the proper strokes but that was 20 years ago so not sure if it still taught

Posted on: Giving Gifts in China
January 6, 2012 at 6:00 AM

I was told that giving a comb did have a bit more significance. Combing out someones hair is only done with someone your are very familiar with and care for so implies a more intiment contact or close relationship. So you could give a comb to a special friend not necessarily a partner or intended partner. Also it can be a gift for men as I have been given one or two by special friends. The combing of a womens hair is mentioned in the classic books by Cai the Stone series (sorry the title and full name of the author just escapes me). Wine or Baijiu also seems to be a popular gift for men.

Posted on: Adventures in Newbieland
April 26, 2011 at 6:29 AM

One of my Chinese friends told me once that I should say things as quickly as possible and this would lead to more success rather than the blank stares we normally get. My take on this is that if you say things quickly enough the listener gets the context and therefore can happily ingnore the fact that the tones are basically incorrect (I suppose a similar thing happens with the singing). I find it best not to get too hung up on the tones as this tends to overload my poor brain (character, pinyin, meaning and tone is a bridge too far). In some way some of these seem to more naturally with time and I am often surprised at getting something correct but have no idea what the tone should be. I suspect a lot of rapid dialogue between native speakers has little tonal emphasis but is highly context driven. I would love to record people speaking at different speeds to analyse just how much of the tones disappear as the dialogue speeds up. Well this is my theory and gives me some comfort when all the tones go out the window...

Posted on: Why is everyone looking at me?
January 25, 2010 at 5:17 AM

in Chongqing where i was for a year you got stared at all the time, the kids would tug at their parents sleave and piont, often adding laowai..so i adopted the strategy of pointing back and saying laowai zai nar? usually got a laugh..if you said kan shenme kan to everyone you would run of steam all to quickly, now i tend not to notice too much..the naked bellies is a form of cooling down i think, or bad advertising..sounds like John has a mild case of ganmao..hope not..

Posted on: Chinese Idol 2
October 15, 2009 at 4:56 AM

what about the bagpipes where you have to blow and use the fingers?

Posted on: 都......了Already
September 12, 2009 at 3:24 AM

in English if you say 'He is already 20 years old' with the emphasis on already, this implies the same meaning, or alternatively you might say 'he has reached the ripe old age of 20' but this is rather flowery English and not often used, particularly by younger people. i like the lessons as you provide lots of interesting dialogue. Could you do one on dan2hsi2, dan2 and buguo. A friend recently tried to explain the different subtleties but failed.

Posted on: How to Say "and" in Chinese
September 5, 2009 at 1:43 AM

a good lesson, in trying to speak with my friends they often correct me by telling me to leave out 'he' when I use it as 'and' but now perhaps I can add a bit of variety, assuming I can remember all the variations...I know you may have done it already but could you do a lesson on the many uses of jiu, which I find confusing..

Posted on: Going Dutch
March 14, 2008 at 5:27 AM

AA has been resisted by my friends here in CQ and perhaps before Kameineball bags westerners for doing this he should consider why it is sometimes done.As as laowai i always get treated as a guest, therefore my offers to pay for a meal (for all) are refused, they say next time, which like tommorow never comes..i do not feel it fair that my hosts should always pay so AA is a reluctant comprimise. For the locals they dine out so often that over time everyone will have taken their turn to pay for a meal. i would never dine out so often in OZ so splitting th bill is more natural.

Posted on: Yang Jie's Fury
March 1, 2008 at 4:58 AM

in the tone of the lesson, how would you say, 'the green eyed monster' ie jealousy? an all to common problem

Posted on: I Have Class
February 17, 2008 at 7:30 AM

I would also like to know when we can access grammar comments on the site, although confusing at times it does help with some matters. On the topic of lexicon chunks would it be possible to have flash cards with short phrases or sentences? I use the flash cards and think they are very helpful, but short phrases would be even better. Daily conversation is a really challenge, but one of friends, a local, has pointed out to me that it is much better to say things quickly, you are more likely to be understood..I suspect this is because they more quickly get the context of what you are trying to say, if you are too slow they listen to my incorrect use of tones and get confused..so phrases that you learn to repeat very quickly might be very helpful in establishing the context..chillies rule in Chongqing