User Comments - tvan
tvan
Posted on: 重走丝绸之路
December 30, 2008 at 2:22 PMalang, IMO there is no such thing as "standard Mandarin" any more than there is such a thing as "standard English." Every region has its own non-standard nuances in pronouncing Mandarin.
An excellent example is the 儿 suffix often added by people native to Beijing.
Posted on: Not So Silent Night
December 25, 2008 at 7:57 PMProbably the closest you'll get to Santa Claus and reindeer, at least in China, here is a link with a brief description of the Ewenki/鄂温克 reindeer herders of North Mongolia. They're even wearing red.
Though the tribe I saw in a documentary had recently (i.e. 80 years ago) crossed into China, the article indicates that they have been in the northern China/Mongolian region for much longer.
Posted on: #44
December 25, 2008 at 7:45 PMKemu, I believe there is no transcript for anything other than lessons. Other posts include a PDF link, but it's empty.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hangzhou
December 25, 2008 at 3:08 PMxinjiapo2703, that's a good question. I can't speak for worldwide frequency. However, I think all three terms are widely used. That said, I seem to hear the first two more commonly in conversation.
In U.S. overseas communities, cāntīng/餐厅 is widely used on signs/ads.
Posted on: Not So Silent Night
December 25, 2008 at 2:49 PMdunderlumpken, there are indeed reindeer/caribou in Northern China. I once saw a (depressing) documentary about one of China's minorities, a group that fled into Inner Mongolia from Siberia during Stalin's purges.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hangzhou
December 25, 2008 at 2:34 PMbababardwarn, no idea what the soup is, but it obviously has rice noodles.
第一次我去过杭州说实在我一点失望了. 因为我听说西湖的风景那么美丽, 但我觉得很多四川和天山的湖比较漂亮. 不过杭州的鱼特别好吃.
总我第一次去过杭州是要看它的山水,可是我回去的时候是要吃它的鱼跟喝它的龙井茶!
Posted on: Welcome to ChinesePod
December 25, 2008 at 2:00 PMWelcome to Cpod luisafernandarlara aka ye of the long handle.
To update your avatar go to your profile (either at the bottom of the page or by clicking on the "Profile" tab in the "Me" section). There is a button near the bottom that says "Update your Profile." You have to look closely, but under the "Public Profile" section there is a section to update your avatar.
Posted on: Not So Silent Night
December 25, 2008 at 5:35 AMChangye, when we have our Newbie lesson on 甲骨文, you and your dictionaries will be in much demand.
Posted on: Pregnancy Series 1: Officially Pregnant
December 24, 2008 at 5:05 AMWhen I first read the English translation of the second sentence, "Before I see you, go get some blood taken for testing," I thought that I'd just come up against a new and unusual brush-off line. However, the actual sentence, "你先去抽血化验，我才能给你看病" cleared that up.
Posted on: All the Things You Can Hit: 打 (dǎ)
January 5, 2009 at 1:31 AMWhen used in the hitting sense, a common, never-enforced threat to a child is, "我打死你/Wǒ dǎsǐ nǐ/I'll beat you to death."
In Cantonese 打 translates to a much more violent-yet-satisfying-sounding "bòk."