User Comments - tvan

Posted on: Pageant Final Episode

rash, thanks for the link.  One of the interesting trends is a 1+2+1 program.  Basically, students go for their first year at their home school, two years at the US school, and graduate back in China.  At the conclusion they receive a degree from both colleges.

The point seems to be to give Chinese students an international education, while making sure that they return to China.  Otherwise, if they graduate in the US, they can receive a "F" training Visa for one year, move on to an H-1B for 3-6 years, and then to a Green Card.

Also, interestingly, students studying business pay their own fees; students studying environmental engineering are supported by the government

I know, what does this have to do with a beauty pageant.

Posted on: Taipei

I've heard that bopomofo is better for pronounciation as well.  I have no idea regarding the truth of the statement, but the general idea is that westerners sometimes let preconceived ideas of pronunciation creep into a phonetic system based upon their own alphabet.

I believe that the Taiwan government wants to phase out bopomofo, but there is both institutional and cultural resistance.

Posted on: Chinatomy: Medical Treatments and Marriage Registration

light487, my understanding of the dividing line between North and South is that everything south of the Yellow River excluding the big bend is South China; everything north of the Yellow River, including the big bend is Northern China.  Personally, the Yangtze would make a more logical dividing line to me; but then again, I ain't Chinese.  

I believe the distinction has historical roots going back a couple thousand years.

Posted on: Taipei

Just playing around with the video tool.

Great, that saves me having to dust off my HTML or whatever alphabet-soup codes are used nowadays.  I noticed that there were a number of different video player protocols available  (e.g. flash, Quicktime, etc.).  Which one is best or does it matter?

Posted on: Taipei

I can't say that I ever noticed the betel nut girls before. Turns out that a search on YouTube (naturally) turns up all sorts of stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJo7ZkLwkng

Posted on: Gifts Chinese People Like and 'Chinatomy' Premiere!

bento, I'd go with something from your home country, especially your locality. Make sure they drink it though.

Posted on: Regional Accents Part II

badfish3885, I think Beijing always claims it's standard, but they have their own dialect as well.

Posted on: Taipei

user29943, I presume you only mean Chinese-speaking cities, not Chinese speaking with a Detroit accent. ;-) Seriously, the only problem I have with the local accent issue is that in many cities, if you want a true feel for how the locals speak, in manuy cities you need to mix the local dialect in with "standard" Mandarin. Even a small amount becomes confusing fast. I'm not against the idea per se, but I'm also have questions about its application in a learning setting.

Posted on: Gifts Chinese People Like and 'Chinatomy' Premiere!

At the risk of sounding ethnocentric, do Chinese need good razors? The only Chinese I see with heavy beards are those Chinese Kung Fu masters.

Posted on: Taipei

chiongzibide, I'm no grammar expert, but I think I can answer this one. "起来“ is a verb suffix that, according to my dictionary means "to raise up" or "begin to do". This works for 站起来/zhànqǐlái (stand up). However, 看起来/kànqǐlái means more, "It looks as if". The subject of verb suffixes (i.e. resultative suffixes) goes beyond the pale of a single post. However, generally speaking, I you pair an action verb (e.g. 站/Zhàn/Stand) with a suffix (e.g. 起来/qǐlái/raise up) to arrive at a completed meaning. Maybe somebody else can add to that.