User Comments - xiaophil

Posted on: Outdoor Survivors (Part 2)

Thanks RJ. I'll give it a shot when I get a chance.

Posted on: Outdoor Survivors (Part 2)

How do we type in 囧? My IME doesn't allow me to input this character. Is the pinyin really 'jiong'?

Posted on: Help at the ATM

That's interesting. Since it is related to your job, do you think it is a somewhat specialized word?

Posted on: Lhasa

On a related note, the only Tibetan word I remember is 'shopta' (干杯)!

Posted on: Lhasa

Wow! 1988? I'm really shocked they let you in back then.

Posted on: Lhasa

I did go. It was beautiful, but I did discover one thing, and that is I am more of a tree guy than open grassy plains guy. All that openness really made me feel lonely even when I was with a group of people.

Posted on: I want coffee!

Last night I remembered the word for Caesar, 凯撒 kǎisǎ. It sounds more like Kaiser than Caesar. I wonder if the original Latin sounds more like the English pronunciation or the German?

Posted on: Festivals, Holidays, Vacations, and Leave

Ah, interesting... I just looked at dictionary.com. There is no entry for Spring Festival. Don't know that means, but there it is.

Posted on: Festivals, Holidays, Vacations, and Leave

I'm not really saying that the English name for any of these holidays should be replaced (although most Americans are familiar with Chinese New Year and not Spring Festival... so perhaps it would be better to go with the more established term??). I really just want to know, why would they choose a translation that is wrong? Is it just poor translating? Or is there some other reason that just slips by me?

By the way, 師范大學 can be justified. There are so-called 'normal' learning institutions in English speaking countries, or at least there used to be. It mostly has fallen into disuse.

Posted on: Festivals, Holidays, Vacations, and Leave

Mr. Thuderbolt, I once again concur. I actually felt that the English speaking world was on the same page on this one. The only confusion that could arise is that you Brits say Summer Holiday when we Americans normally say Summer Vacation (this is what I was talking about above). But still, a special day off that is celebrated by the whole nation is still a holiday and not a festival in all English speaking countries as far as I can see. I wonder if these holidays were translated as festivals because they were once community gatherings? This seems especially likely with Dragon Boat Festival.