English-Chinese Blog 汉英语言博客

"can" 与 "can't" 的发音

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Wed, 16 May 2007 03:04:00 +0000

说普通话为母语的人经常说英文音节尾辅音很不好分别的。特别是can和can't的区别；这两个词的意思区别很大！下面贴了一个比较短的mp3（我自己录音的），还有注音和原文。

录音: can_cant.mp3

原文: "Can. Can't. I can write my name. I can't write my name. I can write my name. I can't write my name. I can go to work tomorrow. I can't go to work tomorrow."

注音还没有完成！

Hello Readers

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:56:00 +0000

Thank you for your comments and support. I have temporarily stopped posting to the blog because I'm so busy with work, but I would encourage everyone to actively use the language exchange forums, which I also check daily. Hope to see you there! 我最近没有时间发新贴，但是我经常参加我们的汉英语言交换论坛。请大家来参加！

Contrasting English Tense and Mandarin Aspect 对照英语的过去时和汉语的‘了’

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 05:01:00 +0000

英语的过去时和普通话的时态很不一样的，都很难学的。请看下面30个列子。

Both English speakers learning Chinese and Chinese learning English often have trouble with tense and aspect. To make things confusing for those learning English, verbs are marked for both tense and aspect, and the two are often conflated in meaning, such as "I ate [last night]" (occurred in the past: tense) and "I have eaten [already, now]" (activity has reached completion: aspect). In Mandarin, only aspect is marked on the verb (with 'le' 了 and other particles), and tense is not marked grammatically. To make things more confusing in Chinese, there is a modal particle 'le' 了 with a rather different meaning.

Students are often confused with these, so rather than give more explanations, I have collected several example sentences in which past tense must be marked in English but 了 should not be used in Chinese, as well as sentences with 了 in Chinese but no past tense marker in English.

In examples 1–15, the verb phrases in red happened in the past, but were not "completed" (or are actions that don't have an endpoint). They are thus marked as past tense in English, but are not marked with an aspect marker (i.e. perfective 'le' 了) in Chinese. The sentences contain a second part "...when V" to give context; such context is required in Chinese for a 'past' interpretation of the red phrases, since tense is not marked. Notice the commonalities in meaning of the red phrases.

1-15里面红色的小句在过去时发生的，但是没有“完成”（或不是有终点线的动作），所以英文要用过去时态，但是中文不需要用‘了’。有错误请帮我纠正一下。

1. She was tired when she got home yesterday evening. 他昨天晚上回到家的时候已经很累。
2. I was taking a shower when you called. 你打电话来的时候我正在洗澡。
3. I met her when I was taking a walk in the park. 我正在公园散步的时候遇见了她。
4. They had already left when I got there. 我到那儿的时候他们已经走了。
5. They were here only a few minutes ago. 几分钟前他们还在这里。
6. Liyou won the award. She worked very hard [last year]. 李友获奖了。[去年]她很用功。
7. (After eating a large meal): I was hungry! (饱餐了一顿后)：我刚才很饿!
8. I was tired yesterday. Today I feel better. 我昨天觉得很累。今天好了一点。
9. There was a restaurant here years ago. 几年前这里有一家餐厅。
10. Very few girls went to school then. 那时几乎没有女孩子去上学。
11. He smoked at that time, but he doesn't now. 当时他抽烟，但是现在不抽了。
12. Nobody liked dancing back then. 那时代没有人喜欢跳舞。
13. Is he really that young? I didn't know! 他真的那么年轻吗？我不知道!
14. I thought you were American. 我以为你是美国人。
15. I haven't seen her again since she moved to China. 自从她赶移到中国之后我就未曾见过她。

In examples 16–20, the verb phrases happened in the past, and have also been completed, so English requires marking past tense, and Chinese requires marking for completed (perfective) aspect with 了 (or 没 in the negative). 16－21在过去时发生的，而是已经完成的。

16. I became a soldier (and still am). 我当了兵。
17. He watched three ballgames this week. 他这个星期看了三场球赛。
18. He drank that cup of tea. 他喝了那杯茶。
19. I have eaten. 我吃饭了。
20. He didn't come to eat. 他没来吃饭。

In 21-25, the red phrases occur in the present or future, but have been completed. Past tense is not marked in English, but perfective aspect is marked in Chinese with 了.

21. Let's talk about it when the movie is over. 电影看完了再说吧。
22. The contract is up, I'm not working any more. 合同已经期满了，我不工作了。
23. We can open it when we find the key! 找到了钥匙就能打开了！
24. Is the test over? 考试考完了没有？
25. We don't have to be nervous any more once we're done writing the thesis. 论文写完了我们就不用紧张了。

Examples 26-28 contain 了 in Chinese，but it marks inceptive mood, not completed aspect.

26. I don't have any money left (now). 我没有钱了。(inceptive mood)
27. It's raining. 下雨了。
28. You're coming, great! 你要来了，太好了！

Finally, here are two examples with perfective aspect that are difficult to translate to English, but I think they really help to illustrate a key difference between English and Chinese: perfective aspect with 了 in Mandarin marks actions that have ceased, but have not necessarily reached their "natural" endpoint as is assumed in English.

29. I started writing a letter yesterday, but didn't finish. 我昨天写了一封信，可是没写完。
(lit. I wrote a letter yesterday, but didn't finish - incorrect in English because "wrote a letter" implies that it was finished)
30. She picked [at] the apple, but didn't pick it [off the tree]. 她摘了苹果，但是没有摘下。

To me, this shows that simple verbs in Chinese (like 写 and 摘) don't imply completion and termination of an action the way English verbs like 'pick (an apple)' do; completion must be explicitly marked by words like 了, 完, 下 etc. This is somewhat similar to how tense must be explicitly marked in English.

If there are any questions or corrections, please leave a comment below!

汉英文写信的格式 Writing a Chinese Friendly Letter

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 17:36:00 +0000

到现在，只有一位网友问英文问题了，问答在下面。谢谢王小狼的问题！

So far (as of December 2nd) I've only received one single question for my English Chinese Q&A, which is posted below with translations:

王小狼问: "我想知道一些关于你们写信时所用的格式(包括信封),经常使用的一些开头语,结束语, 问候语 (只要是用来写给朋友不是写给长辈级人物的就行了),最好能多举几个例子啊。谢谢你哦期待你的回音！"

Wang Xiaolang asks: "I'd like to know some formulas that you guys use in letters (including on the envelope), some commonly used openings, greetings, closings (as long as it's used in letters to friends and not to older people), it would be great if you could provide some examples. Thanks, looking forward to your response!"

解答（关于用英文写信是我写的，关于中文的是王小狼写的）:
Answer (response for English letters by me, for writing Chinese letters by Wang Xiaolang)

[开头语 Opening]:
Dear XX, (英文一般只能用这个开头语，不管是给谁写的)
To whom it may concern, ("有关人物"-如不知道对方的姓名-中文有没有相等的格式?)

敬爱的XX,
尊敬的XX, (Two common openings for Chinese letters)
XX: 你好！ (A common opening for a letter to a friend)

[信内容 Body]

[结束语 Closing]
Yours respectfully, (在正式场合下用)
Sincerely, (最常用的)
Salutations, （比较正式的）
Best wishes, （祝，好）
Yours, （不正式的）
Love, (给对象或家里人)
See you! ( 那么,再见! 很不正式的)
XX

此致敬礼! ("I hereby send my greetings!" - used in formal letters)
祝你(您)天天开心 (happiness every day)
祝你(您) 全家幸福 (happiness for your whole family)
祝你(您) 身体健康 (health)
那么,再见 (So, I'll see you - very informal)
就这样吧 (Alright then - very informal)
XX (Notice that the name is indented in Chinese.)

English Chinese Q&A 英汉问题答疑

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 07:28:00 +0000

欢迎大家参加我新开的汉英语言交换论坛！

到现在（12月2号）只有一位网友问问题了，在本贴最后。

我已经注音完了所接到的录音。常见错误也收集了。我有一个请求，就是如果你有英文语法、词汇、或发音问题，可以发给我，我会把问题和回答贴到博客上。最好是发一句通顺的中文，我就会翻译成英文，把两句都贴上。学中文的和学英文的这样可以同时进步。问题可以发到 questions [@] englishchineseblog [点] com，是我专门开的电子邮箱。谢谢大家！

I've completed phonetic transcriptions for all English recordings submitted by readers learning English, and added to the list of common pronunciation problems. I'm still accepting recordings for both Chinese and English. I'll be able to make a list of common Mandarin pronunciation errors once I have enough samples.

If English learners would like to ask a question about English grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation, I have created a new email address: questions [at] englishchineseblog [dot] com. I have requested that Chinese speakers submit clear, idiomatic Chinese versions of their question, and will post them for the benefit of those learning Chinese.

常见发音错误 Common Pronunciation Errors

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 21:30:00 +0000

我已经收集了几个人的发音样式，谢谢你们！下面汇集了最常见的英语发音错误。音标里面不同的颜色表示不同的发音难点；每个还有正确的模范录音。如果你还想交自己的录音或想试听别人的录音看音标，参看上次的帖子。录音多了我会再编辑这个帖子，加更多的常见错误。如果你想学到一个更地道的英语口音但是不想给别人听，我还推荐你自己录音，自己听。我还没有注音完中文学生的录音，有没有人会国际音标能帮忙？汉语录音也在上次的帖子中。谢谢你们的参加和意见！

After collecting a number of pronunciation samples from learners of English, I have compiled a list of common pronunciation errors (samples from Mandarin learners are forthcoming). The errors are color-coded by the English sound that causes difficulties. IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcriptions are included. If you would still like to submit a sample, directions are in the previous post. If you would like to reduce your accent but don't wand to submit a sample, I still recommend recording yourself and listening to it. I would appreciate any questions or comments (click on Comments below). Thank you to all participants!

Difficult English Vowels 英语元音难点:

English sound (IPA) 英文语音 (国际音标): ʌ

Example words 例词: Sun one up other was

Model pronunciation 例词模范读录音: OpenMidBack.mp3

English sound 英文语音 (国际音标): ɪ

Example words 例词: wind arguing which in his considered him admit

Model pronunciation 例词模范读录音: NearCloseNearFront.mp3

English sound 英文语音 (国际音标): æ

Example words 例词: traveler wrapped that at last began

Model pronunciation 例词模范读录音: NearOpenFront.mp3

Difficult English Consonants 英语辅音难点:

English sound 英文语音 (国际音标): w

Example words 例词: wind were one which was when warm would away

Model pronunciation 例词模范读录音: LabialVelarApproximant.mp3

English sound 英文语音 (国际音标): ð θ

Example words 例词: the North them that then

Model pronunciation 例词模范读录音: DentalFricative.mp3

English sound 英文语音 (国际音标): final obstruents p t k b d g

Example words 例词: Wind about wrapped up coat that could make would considered last hot took had admit

Model pronunciation 例词模范读录音: FinalObstruents.mp3

学习发音 Studying Pronunciation

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 05:59:00 +0000

我希望这个试验对大家有用，希望更多人能参加！

I would like to try an experiment to help with learning pronunciation. The experiment is to have language learners (of both Chinese and English) submit a sample of their pronunciation, and compare it with those of native speakers. I have posted several recordings, along with IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcriptions. If you are learning English or Mandarin and would like to participate, email a recording of yourself reading the paragraph below to pronunciation_recording at yahoo dot com. I would prefer .wav or .mp3 files. Please write your nickname, native language (or dialect), and the region where you grew up. I am very much open to corrections or questions on the IPA transcriptions. Everyone is welcome to participate!

我想做一个试验帮助大家提高发音。学习英语或普通话的可以自己录音，贴到这个博客上。我已经贴了我自己的录音，还有另外一个美国人的(Brandon)。到现在只有一个中国人参加！国际音标的注音也贴了，可以做对照。如果你是英文或中文学生，请录音下面的例文，然后发到pronunciation_recording 在 yahoo 点 com (在 = '@', 点 = '.')。比较好的是.wav或.mp3。Windows操作系统的多媒体附件有一个“Windows录音机”，如果你的电脑有耳麦的话，可以启动（windows XP系统）开始-〉所有程序-〉附件-〉娱乐-〉录音机，
这样就可以开始录音了，然后把文件上传就好了。不用其他的什么软件。请写你的昵称、母语（方言还要写）、和你长大的地区。参加的英文水平不一定需要很高的，初级的也可以！

English Text: The North Wind an the Sun

The North Wind and the Sun were arguing one day about which of them was stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped up in a warm coat. They agreed that the one who could make the traveler take his coat off would be considered stronger than the other one.

Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the harder he blew, the tighter the traveler wrapped his coat around him; and at last the North Wind gave up trying.

Then the Sun began to shine hot , and right away the traveler took his coat off. And so the North Wind had to admit that the Sun was stronger than he was.

汉语列文:太阳跟北风

有一次，北风跟太阳争论谁的本事大。争来争去就是分不出高低来。这时候，过来了个路过的人，他身上穿着件厚大衣。他们俩就说，谁能先叫这个路过的脱下他的厚大衣，就算谁的本事大。

北风就使劲儿地刮起来了，不过他越是刮得厉害，那个路过的越是裹得紧。后来北风没法儿了，就只好算了。

过了一会儿，太阳出来了。他火辣辣地一晒，那个路过的马上就把那件厚大衣脱下来了。这下北风只好承认，还是太阳的本事大。

English Audio Samples with Phonetic Transcriptions
(common errors are color coded, see the next post for explanation and list of common errors)
英语录音、注音 (颜色的意思和常见发音错误在下次的帖子中说明)

File (录音文件): CraigEnglish.mp3 Language (录音语言): English Nickname (昵称):Craig
Native Language (母语): English, Massachusetts, USA

ðə ˈnɔɹθ wɪnd ən̪ ðə ˈsʌn wɚ ˈɑɹgjuɪŋ wʌn deɪ əbaʊt˺ ˈwɪtʃ əv ðəm wəz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ , wɛn ə ˈtɹævl̩ɚ kem əˈlɑŋ ˈɹæpt ʌp ɪn ə ˈwɑɹm kot˺ . ðe əˈgɹid̪ ðæt̪ ðə ˈwʌn hu kʊd mek ðə ˈtɹævl̩ɚ tek ɪz ˈkoʊt ɑf wʊd bi kənˈsɪɾɚd ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðən ði ˈʌðɚ wʌn . ˈðɛn ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˈblu əz ˈhɑɹɾ əz hi ˈkʊd , bʌt̪ ðə ˈhɑɹɾɝ hi ˈblʊu , ðə ˈtaɪɾɝ ðə ˈtɹævl̩ɚ ˈɹæpt ɪz ˈkoʊɪ əˈɹaʊnd ɪm ; ˌæn əʔ ˈlæst ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˈgev ʌp tɹaɪŋ . ˈðɛn ðə ˈsʌn bəgeən tə ʃaɪn ˈhɑt , ən ˈɹaɪɾ əˈwe ðə ˈtɹævlɚ tʊk ɪz ˈkoɾ ɔf . ən so ðə ˈnɔɹθ wɪnd ˈhæd tu ədˈmɪt ðæt̪ ðə sʌn wəz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðən ˈhi wəz .

File: BrandonEnglish.mp3 Language: English Nickname: Brandon
Native Language: English, Washington DC, USA

ðə ˈnɔɹθ wɪnd ən̪ ðə ˈsʌn wɚ ˈɑɹgjuɪŋ wʌn deɪ əbaʊt˺ ˈwɪtʃ əv ðɪm wəz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ , wɛn ə ˈtɹævl̩ɚ kem əˈlɑŋ ˈɹæpt ʌp ɪn ə ˈwɑɹm kɵot˺ . ðe əˈgɹid̪ ðæt̪ ðə ˈwʌn hɵu kʊd mek ðə ˈtɹævl̩ɚ tek hɪz ˈkoʊt ɑf wʊd bi kənˈsɪɾɚd ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðən ði ˈaðɚ wʌn . ˈ ðɛn ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˈblu əz ˈhɑɹɾ əz hi ˈkʊd , bʌt̪ ðə ˈhɑɹɾɝ hi ˈblʊu , ðə ˈtaɪɾɝ ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈɹæpt hɪz ˈkɵoɾ əˈɹaʊnd hɪm ; ˌæn əʔ ˈlæst ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪnd ˈgev ʌp tɹaɪŋ . ˈðɛn ðə ˈsʌn bigæn tə ʃaɪn ˈhɑt , ən ˈɹaɪɾ əˈwe ðə ˈtɹævlɚ tʊk ɪz ˈkɵoɾ ɔf . ən so ðə ˈnɔɹθ wɪnd ˈhæd tu ədˈmɪt ðə sʌn wəz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðən ˈhi wʌz .

File: CindyEnglish.mp3 Language: English Nickname: Cindy
Native Language: Mandarin Chinese, Shandong, China

ðə ˈnɔθ wɛnd ən ðə saʊn wə ˈɑgiŋ wɑn de əˈbaʊts witʃ əv ðɛm wəz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ , veɪ˜ ə tɹɛvəlɚ kɛm əlɚ ˈɹɛpt ɑp in ə ˈwoɹm kots . ðe əˈgɹed ðɛæts ði ˈvɑn ˈhu kʊd mek ðə ˈtɹævəlɚ tʊk ɪz ˈkots ʊf wʊd bi kʌnˈsɪɹʐ ˈtɹɑŋgɚ ðæn ði ˈɑðɚ wæn . ðɛi˜ ðə ˈnɔs ˌvɛn ˈblu æz ˈhɑd həz ˈkuʊt , bɑt ðəʃ ˈhɑɹd i blu , ð ˈtaɹ ðə ˈtɹævɚlɚ ɹɛptə hɪz ˈkots əˈɹaʊnt hem ; ænd ɛt ˈlɑst ðə ˈnɔs ˌwɛndz ˌgev ʌp ˈtɹanin . ðɛi˜ ðə ˈsʌn bəgeən tə ˈʃaɪ˜ hɔts , ən ɹaɪts əvei ðə ˈtɹævɚlɚ tʊ hɪz ˈkots ʌf . ənd soʊ ðə ˈnɔθ wɛnd hæd tsu ədˈmɪt ðæ ˈsaʊn wʊ˞ stɹɑŋgɚ ðæn hə ˈwɚs .

File: LiyuanEnglish.mp3 Language: English Nickname: Li Yuan 李媛
Native Language: Mandarin Chinese, Inner Mongolia, China

ðə ˈnaʊs wɛntə aʊn̪ ðə ˈsaʊn wɚ ˈɑgjuɪŋ aʊnə ˈdeɪ baʊt ˈwɪtʃ əv zəm wəz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ,ˈwɛn ˈtɹævlɚ ˈkem əlˈaʊ˜ ˈɹɛpɚt ɑp ˈin ə ˈwɑɹm kot . ðe ˈɑgyut ˈðæt̪ ðə ˈwʌ˜ ˈhu kʊd mek ðə ˈtɹævlɚ ˈtekə hɪz ˈkoʊt ʌf wʊd bi kənˈsɪdɚt ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðɛn ðə ˈaðɚ wʌn . ðɛn ðə ˈnaʊs ˌwaɪnd ˈbloʊd æzə ˈhɑɹdɚ æz xe ˈkud , bʌt̪ ðə ˈhɑɹdɝ xe bloʊ , ðə ˈtaɹðɝ ðə ˈtɹævəlɚ ˈɹæptə xɪz kot əˈɹaʊnd hɛm ; ˌɛnd ˈæt ðə ˈlæst ðə nɔs wɛnd gew ɑp ˈtɹai . ðə˜ ðə ˈsaʊn bəˈgɪn tu ˈʃæ˜ haʊtʰ , ə˜ ɹaɪt əwe zə ˈtɹævɚ ˈtʊkʰɔ hɪz ˈkotʰ ɔf . ən ˈso ðə ˈnɔɹs waɪnd hæd ˈtʰu ədˈmet ðæt ðə ˈsaʊn wə ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðæn ˈxe wɔ .

File: BlackCottonCandyEnglish.mp3 Language: English Nickname: Black Cotton Candy 黑色棉花糖
Native Language: Mandarin and Minnan Chinese, Xiamen, Fujian, China

ðə ˈnɔs wind ən̪ ðə ˈsaʊn wʊ ˈɑgjuɪŋ wʌn ˈde aˈbaʊ wɪtʃ əv ðɛm wəz ˈsɹɑŋgɚ , wə˜n ə ˈtɹɛvɚlɚ ˈkɛm əˈloŋ ɹɛpt ɑp in ə ˈwɔɹm ko . ðə ˈgɹid̪ ðæt̪ ðə ˈwʌn hu kʊd ˈmɛ˜ ðə ˈtɹævɚlə tɛk hɪz ˈkoʊt ɑf ʊ bi kənˈsɪdɚ stɹɑŋgɚ ðən ði ˈɑdə wɑn . ðɛn ðə ˈnɔs ˌwɪn ˈbɹʊ əz hɑd əz he kʊd , bʌt̪ ðə ˈhɑɹtɝ hi bɹu , ðə ˈtaɪdɝ ðə ˈtɹəvɚ ˈɹæpt hɪz ˈkoʊʔ əˈɹaʊ˜ him ; ˌæn əʔ læst ðə ˈnɔɹθ ˌwɪn ˈgɛʔ aʔ tɹanin . ðɛn ðə ˈsɑn bəgɛ tu ˈʃaɪ hɔt , ənd ɹaɪd əwɛ ðə ˈtɹævɚ ˈtʊ hɪz ˈkot ɔf . ən ˈso ðə ˈnɔs wɪnd hæd tu əˈmɪn ðæt̪ ðə saʊn wəz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðɛn hi wʊs .

File: RichEnglish.mp3 Language: English Nickname: Rich
Native Language: Chinese, Guangdong, China

zə ˈnɔɹs vɪnd ən̪ ðə ˈsan wɚ ˈɑgyɪn wʌn deɪ əbɑt ˈwetʃ əv ðəm wʌz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ , wən ə ˈtɹavlɚ kɛm ɚˈlɑŋ ɹæpt ˈʌp ɪn ə wʊm ˈkot . ðe əˈgɹidə ðæt ðə ˈwʌn hu kʊdə mek ðə ˈtɹavlɚ tek hɪz ˈkoʊt ɑf wʊtə bi kənˈsitɚtə ˈstɹɑŋkuɹ ðæn zi ˈazɚ wʌn . zɛ˜ ˈnɔɹsə ˌvendə ˈblu æzə ˈhɑt æzə˜ hi ˈkʊd , bʌt̪ ðə ˈhɑdɝ hi ˈblu , sə ˈtaɪtʰɝ ˈtɹavlɚ ˈɹæpt hɪz ˈkoʊd əˈɹaʊnd hɪm ; æn əðə ˈlɑst ðə ˈnɔɹs ˌuɪnd ˈgev ʌp ˈtɹaɪn . ðə˜ ˈsan bigeən tə ʃaɪ˜ ˈhɑt , əndə ˈɹaɪd əˈwe zə ˈtɹævlɚ tʊk hɪz ˈkot ɔf . ænə so ðə ˈnɔɹs uend ˈhæd tu ədˈmɪt ðæt ðə san wʌz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðə˜ ˈhə wʌz .

File: JenniferEnglish.mp3 Language: English Nickname: 小J
Native Language: Chinese, Jiangxi, China

ðə ˈnɔs wɪʔ ən ðə ˈsaʊ˜ wə ˈɑɹgjɚɪŋ wʌn ˈde əbaʊt˺ wɪtʃʰ ɔv ðəm wəz ˈstɹɑŋgɚ , wɛn ə ˈtɹævəlɚ ˈkɛm əˈlɔɑŋ ˈɹæpt˺ ap ɪn ə ˈwɑɹn kot . de əˈgɹed dæt də ˈwa˜ hu kʊd mek ðə ˈtɹævəlɚ tek hɪz ˈkoʊɾ ɑf wʊdə bi kənˈsɪdɚ ˈstɹɑŋgɚ ðən ði ˈaðɚ wʌn . ˈðɛn ðə ˈnɔɹs ˌwɪnd ˈblu az ˈhɑɹɾə as hi ˈkʊt , bʌt d̪ə ˈhɑdɝ hi ˈbɝlu , də ˈtaɪə də ˈtɹavəlɚ ˈɹæp hɪz ˈkoʊd əˈɹaənd hɪm ; ɛnd ət ˈlast ðə ˈnɔɹs ˌwɪnd ˈgev ʌp ˈtɹaɪŋ . ˈðɛn ðə ˈsan bəgæn tu ˈʃaɪ˜ hɑt , əndə ˈɹaɪɾ əˈwe ðə ˈtɹævəlɚ tʊk ɪz ˈkoɾ ɔf . ændə ˈso də ˈnɔɹs wɪnd ˈhædə ædˈmɪt dæt də ˈsaʊ˜ wʌz ˈstɹɑŋguɚ ðən ˈhi wɔz .

Mandarin Chinese Audio Samples
汉语录音

File: SmallwormChinese.mp3 Language: Mandarin Chinese Nickname: Smallworm
Native Language: Mandarin Chinese, Shaanxi, China

注音中! Phonetic transcription in progress!

File: CraigChinese.mp3 Language: Mandarin Chinese Nickname: Craig
Native Language: English, Massachusetts, USA

注音中! Phonetic transcription in progress!

File: BrandonChinese.mp3 Language: Mandarin Chinese Nickname: Brandon
Native Language: English, Washington DC, USA

注音中! Phonetic transcription in progress!

学习语言的几点建议

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:34:00 +0000

English speakers: the previous post is the English version of this post, "Language Study Tips".

我在中国的时候，经常有人问我，“我想提高我的英文水平，应该怎么学习？” 我就想，为什么要问一个美国人怎么学习语言？很多人批评美国的外语教育。会说一口流利的外语的美国人确实很少；可能是因为你们外国人都学过英文，所以美国人觉得学外语没用了！可是我自己不是这么想的，我从小爱学语言。我从高中开始学了八年多法语，我中文是从大二开始学的。因为学外语和语言学是我的爱好，我对学外语可能会有些有益的建议。这是我的学习方式：

一。学地道的语言材料。说英语为母语的人说、写的最好。有人想学中文，你不会让他看我写的烂中文，对不对？网上可以找到各种题目、水平的文章和广播。看不懂比较难的文章，那就搜索"children's literature" (儿童文学）吧。我在中国见过很多"English Magazine"(英文杂志）之类的，有的是骗人的，全都写的不对。

二。因特网可以做一个良好的语言环境。学外语，最好是去那个国家，但是很多人没有机会出国。我14岁的时候开始学法语，但上大学时才有个法国的教授，22岁才有机会出国了。我上学的时候很想提高我的口语水平，但是没有法国朋友和我交谈。我们家曾经买了电脑；我用法语在网上搜索“论坛”和“声音交谈节目”，就有了良好的语言环境。如果想提高你的口语水平，读书不一定好。学自然的交谈才能学会口语。

三。用课本和老师为指南。最好的模范是地道的材料；但是你最少需要词典。小孩儿习得他母语的时候不需要指导，但是咱们不是小孩了，学语言没他们容易。我最喜欢的学习方式是自己看文章、广播；看不懂就参考课本，问老师。这样也很好: 把课本里面的句子做网络搜索，找自然的范例。

四。学习语言学。语言学是学语言的科学，它是一个很有效的工具。你会用词典里的音标就不一定需要听生词，查词典就知道了。语言学家还能用专业名词描述你的发音、语法错误。

五。努力的学习。这可能是很明显的，但是很多人以为学语言有一个手法。每天好好学习几个小时，两三年以后能进步的很多。你不一定要学很高级的词汇、读很难的文学品。学外语，连最简单的语法也不可能学得完美好，那一直学简单的语法并不是浪费时间。有人学了五、十年就认为学语法和发音没用了。我有很多外国朋友已经读到英文博士了，但简单的英文语法还是他们最大的缺欠。

如果你还想建议一个学习方式或批评上面的建议，请在下面的"Comments"写一下。下面还有我用英文写的“学习语言的劝告” (Language Study Tips)。

Language Study Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 00:31:00 +0000

When I was in China, people often asked me, "I want to improve my English, how should I study?" I thought, why would you ask an American how to study languages? People often criticize American foreign language education. There actually do seem to be very few Americans who can speak a foreign language fluently. Maybe it's because most foreigners have studied English, so Americans think there's no point to studying a foreign language! That's not my thinking though. I've always loved studying languages. Starting in middle school, I studied eight years of French, and starting studying Chinese my sophomore year of college. Since I've always loved studying languages, I think I might have some useful suggestions for language learning. This is my method:

1. Study authentic language materials. The writing and speech of native speakers are best. If you want to learn Chinese, I would advise you not to take my bad writing in Chinese as a model (though the Chinese learning materials I post on this site are always checked by native speakers). On the Internet, you can find articles and broadcasts of any level on any topic, in almost any language. If you can't understand harder texts, search for 儿童文学 (Children's Literature), for example. In China I saw several "English Magazine" type publications, filled with bad English. Why study these when so many authentic materials are available on the Internet and elsewhere?

2. The Internet can be a good language environment. It's best to go to a country when you're studying its language, but many people don't have this opportunity. I started studying French when I was 14, only had a French teacher from France in college, and went to France for the first time at 22. When I was in school I wanted to improve my spoken French, but didn't know any French friends to talk with. Once my family bought a computer; I searched for "forum" and "talk radio program", and this became my language environment. If you want to study the spoken language, reading books isn't necessarily best. You can only learn the spoken language by studying natural conversation.

3. Use a textbook and teacher as guides. The best model is authentic language materials, but you at least need a dictionary. Children don't need a guide to learn their mother tongue, but we're not kids, studying languages isn't as natural for us. My favorite way to study is to read and listen on my own, and for parts I don't understand, consult a textbook or ask my teacher. This also works: do a web search for the sentences in your textbook—you'll find plenty of natural examples in context.

4. Study linguistics. Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It's a very useful tool. Once you know the phonetic transcription used in your dictionary (Pinyin is good for Chinese), you don't need to hear a new word to know its pronunciation, you just need to look it up. Linguists can also use linguistic terminology to accurately describe your pronunciation and grammar errors.

5. Study hard. This might seem obvious, but some people seem to think there's some trick to learning languages. Study for a few hours every day, and after a few years you'll make great improvements.

If you'd like to suggest another way of studying or criticize the ones above, feel free to respond in the "Comments" section below. The post above is my Chinese translation of this post.

常用英语口语第六 Everyday Chinese Vocabulary 6

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 06:33:00 +0000

A reader of last time's Everyday Chinese Vocabulary requested that I make a post on work-related vocabulary. Here it is! If you have any comments or suggestions, there is a "comments" link below each post. I hope this is useful for those learning Chinese.

今天的"常用英语口语"是关于工作的词汇。上次的生词一位读者请我都贴点工作的词汇。如有中文错误或想请求下次的内容请留言(点Comments, 然后点Anonymous就不用注册了)。谢谢各位网友给我QQ留言，我还没有给每个人回信－很抱歉！

1. 老板 lǎobǎn boss
2. 同事 tóngshì coworker(s)
3. 顾客 gùkè customer, client
4. 雇员 gùyuán employee
5. 雇用 gùyòng to hire
6. 开除 kāichú to fire
7. 电脑 diànnǎo computer
8. 打印机 dǎyìnjī printer
9. 发电子邮件 fā diànzi yóujiàn to send an e-mail
10. 复印机 fùyìnjī copy machine
11. 订书机 dìngshūjī stapler
12. 纸夹 zhǐjiā paper clip
13. 工资 gōngzī salary
14. 增加工资 zēngjiā gōngzī to get a raise
15. 辞去 cíqù to quit

Travel China by Train

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 05:48:00 +0000

Before traveling in China, I thought that traveling by train was an expensive, inconvenient, slow way to travel. Well, in China, trains are definitely not expensive, compared with the US. Also, a long trip in a sleeper car is really much more comfortable than sitting on a bus all day, and is definitely more convenient than driving cross-country as Americans often do. Though not as fast as flying, an overnight ride in a sleeper can leave you feeling rested, instead of feeling groggy like I do after overnight flights. The best part about trains in China is that it's like a big party. If you are studying the Chinese language, this is the place to learn. The passengers always meet each other, talk, eat together, play cards, and make friends. I have, however, had some horrible train experiences in China, but they were avoidable for the most part. I'll give some advice on which train tickets to by, how much they cost, and what you need to take with you on a long train trip.

Taking the train in China is very different from the Massachusetts commuter trains I grew up riding. Chinese people seem to prefer taking the train for long trips, which often means sleeping on the train. The sleeper cars are designed to squeeze the maximum number of passengers into a small space. All sleeper cars have berths arranged in cabins, with two rows of bunks facing each other. There are two types of sleeper cars, 软卧 (ruǎnwò, soft sleeper) and 硬卧 (yìngwò, hard sleeper). 硬卧 yìngwò is the cheaper option, and the beds aren't actually any "softer" than 软卧 ruǎnwò, which is more expensive. The only difference is that the soft sleepers are in private cabins with only four berths each, two high bunks (上铺, shàngpù) and two low (下铺, xiàpù), with a sliding door for the cabin and doilies and a vase of plastic flowers on the table (see picture). A person brings you hot water for tea, instead of having to get it yourself. The "hard sleepers" are stacked three bunks high; the middle bunk is called 中铺 (zhōngpù, middle berth). Our favorite is the highest "hard sleeper" bunk, which is over eight feet (2.5m) from the ground, well above the hustle-bustle in the aisle and below, and also the cheapest sleeper. There's just enough headroom to recline and read. You get a pillow and warm blanket, and the bed is long enough for anyone (I'm 5'11" and have about two extra feet of bed). Brandon always gets the high 上铺 berth across from me so we can talk. For shorter trips (preferably not overnight), there are 硬座 (yìngzùo, hard seat) and 软座 (ruǎnzùo, soft seat) tickets, which are even cheaper. Both have pairs of cushioned benches or seats facing each other and a table in the middle, usually with a bit more legroom than airplanes.

The fun part about the train is talking to people. On sleeper cars, the very bottom bunk is often taken by older people who don't want to climb, and they'll usually invite everyone else down to sit on their bed and chat. The bottom bunk is the only one with enough room to sit up completely, and across from it is a little table with two fold-up chairs by the window. Everyone first needs to ask where the other people are from, what they do for work, how old they are, whether they are married or have a girlfriend or boyfriend, and how much money they make. Even elderly people get asked their age. The customary food to bring is 瓜子 (guāzi, melon seeds) or peanuts for a snack, and ramen noodles (方便面) for meals, and there is a large variety of foods available from snack carts that come by every few minutes. Hot water from the boiler at the end of each car is used to make tea or ramen noodles. Games of cards can last for hours, though the lights are turned out around 11. The whole train is filled with snoring at night. If you can't tolerate noise, don't expect to sleep in too late unless you have the high bunk—people usually get up early or start shuffling around luggage when the train gets to their stop. Sometimes the speakers start blasting annoying music in the middle of the night, if a stop is approaching. The one time we rode "soft sleeper", the elderly woman below us woke up at 6AM and turned on the lights to read her Buddhist prayers out loud (that's the picture above of the woman with the book).

One of our worst experiences on the train was going from Beijing to Xi'an with 无坐 (wúzùo, "no seat") tickets. This is the cheapest way to travel, but it's really not worth it unless the trip is under an hour long. We had bought sleeper tickets, but missed our train, and there was no extra fee if we were willing to take the "no seat" tickets. There were no sleeper tickets left anyway. The train left at 6PM and arrived the next day at 1PM. It was 19 hours of hell. With no seats, we were crammed into the aisles standing up with our bags, and when I say "crammed" I mean that so many people are stuffed in the aisles that it takes about 1/2 hour to push and shove from one end of a train car to the other. People formed a ramen brigade to get hot water from the other end of the train for their noodles. At about 5AM I broke down and slept in the peanut shell and spilled-ramen strewn aisle, exhausted, and was woken up every few minutes by someone making their way to the bathroom stepping on my hand or head. I don't even want to think about what was on their shoes after using the squat toilets (with hole open to the tracks below), but I had footprints all over my hands and face by the morning. So remember not to miss your train.

Ticket prices are usually quite cheap by American standards. For example, we went from Shanghai to Kunming, a 48 hour trip across most of the country, for 530RMB (about US$70) each, in "hard sleeper" high bunks. The same trip by plane cost 980RMB (about $125), which was actually an extremely good deal on plane tickets. "Hard seat" tickets for the same trip cost about 300RMB ($40). A sleeper car ticket is really cheaper than most hotels in the US, and you do save a night's hotel fare. If you want to see the country and meet the people without spending too much, China by train is the way to go.

常用英语口语第五 Everyday Chinese Vocabulary 5

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:47:00 +0000

I thought I'd try something slightly different this time for "Everyday Chinese Vocabulary". I took ten sentences from actual online conversations with Chinese people, and tried to give natural translations into English. These are all sentences that you migh hear in everyday spoken Mandarin. Click on "comments" below if you have any suggestions or requests for next time. You might like to read the previous Everyday Chinese Vocabulary.

今天的“常用英语口语”我想试试点新的内容。下面十句是从我的QQ纪录引来的，我把它们翻译成语气和意思相同的十句英语。用()和[]的小句是为了阐明给学中文的读者，而不一定要说的。上次的在这儿。如有中文错误或想请求下次的内容请留言(点Comments, 然后点Anonymous就不用注册了)。谢谢各位网友给我QQ留言，从我上个星期把QQ号码贴到这个博客上，还没有给每个人回信－很抱歉！

1. 你一直说谢谢我会很不自在的。 Nǐ yìzhí shuō xièxie wǒ huì hěn bù zìzai de.
I get uncomfortable when you keep saying "thank you".
2. 难道你不担心嘛? Nándào nǐ bù dānxīn ma?
Aren't you worried [about it]?
3. 我想和一个不认识的人聊天。Wǒ xiǎng hé yígè bù rènshi de rén liáotiān.
I want to talk to someone I've never met.
4. 怎么不理我啊？Zěnme bù lǐ wǒ a?
How come you're not paying attention to me?
5. 我期待你的来信。Wǒ qīdài nǐ de láixìn.
I'm looking forward to your letter.
6. 我还有十几分钟就下咯。 Wǒ hái yǒu shí jǐ fēnzhōng jiù xià lo.
I'm gonna sign off [the internet] in ten minutes or so.
7. 我应该怎么称呼你？Wǒ yīnggāi zěnme chēnghu nǐ?
What should I call you? (How should I address you?)
8. 为什么我在的时候你就不在啊?
Wèishénme wǒ zài de shíhou nǐ jiù bú zài a?
Why are you never here when I am? (online, or in the real world)
9. 我以为他是你弟弟。Wǒ yǐwéi tā shì nǐ dìdi.
I thought he was your younger brother. (but actually he's older, or not your brother)
10. 你也是在上通宵吧？Nǐ yě shì zài shàng tōngxiāo ba?
You're staying on [the internet] all night too?

Shaanxi Opera 秦腔 Qínqiāng

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 23:46:00 +0000

One day, as we were climbing a mountain near our house in Baoji, we heard a peculiar singing on the trail ahead. This was one of those times I realized I was very far from home. I had never heard that type of singing before. The melody, the voice quality, the words of course—all quite distant from any song I had ever heard. We caught up to the woman, and asked her what she was singing. It was 秦腔 (Qínqiāng), she said, the local style of Chinese opera. She sang for us as we climbed the mountain.

If you've never heard Chinese opera, it's hard to describe what Qinqiang sounds like, so here's a recording Brandon took of some people playing outside the Baoji train station. There are usually several stringed instruments and various percussion accompanying them. It is often very dramatic. It is also performed on stage, in full costume (sorry, the picture above is actually of 昆剧 Kunju, another style of Chinese opera we saw in Shanghai). People usually agree that Qínqiāng is louder than most other types of Chinese opera, and even some locals sometimes say it's noisy. Indeed, the singing could be considered to be a sort of yelling, but so could Western opera, each having very different ways of projecting a big sound from the human voice. Sometimes, it sounds like screaming. It takes some getting used to.

The local following tends to be among older and middle-aged people. Our apartment complex's guard 阿姨 Āyí (Aunty) listens to it all the time in her guard shack, often singing along. Brandon enjoys watching the Qínqiāng marathons on TV. It sometimes airs on several stations at the same time. He also sings along. I like it when there are people playing on the street, at the train station, or on the mountain. Sometimes people hire a band for funerals, which are sometimes held outside in the front yard. Many young people say they like Chinese pop music better, just as many youngsters in the West feel about Western opera, but I think that Qínqiāng has real character and deserves appreciation.

常用英语口语第四 Everyday Chinese Vocabulary 4

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 22:53:00 +0000

Today's "Everyday Chinese Vocabulary" is below. You can find yesterday's special Halloween entry here. Thanks for everyone's comments, if you have any suggestions be sure to click the "Comments" link below!

下面是今天的"常用英语口语"。昨天的在这儿。如有中文错误或想请求下次的句子请留言(点Comments, 然后点Anonymous就不用注册)。

1. 我终于找到你了。Wǒ zhōngyu zhǎodào nǐ le. I finally got ahold of you.
2. 今天我不能去看你。Jīntiān wǒ bù néng qù kàn nǐ. I can't come see you today.
3. 我俩喝完了一瓶酒。 Wǒliǎ hēwánle yì píng jiǔ. We finished a bottle of wine between us.
4. 你可以随时来见我。Nǐ kěyǐ suíshí lái jiàn wǒ. You can come see me whenever you want.
5. 你能到我的住处来接我吗? Nǐ néng dào wǒ de zhùchu lái jiē wǒ ma? Can you come pick me up at my place?
6. 我宁愿独自呆在家。Wǒ nìngyuàn dúzì dāi zài jiā. I'd rather stay home by myself.
7. 你必须有自己的主见。Nǐ bìxū yǒu zìji de zhǔjiàn. You have to think for yourself.
8. 不论我说什么他都不同意。Búlùn wǒ shuō shénme tā dōu bù tóngyì. He disagrees with everything I say.
9. 你欠我一个人情。Nǐ qiàn wǒ yígè rénqíng. You owe me one.
10. 克制一下! Kèzhi yíxià! Control yourself！

Chinese Medicine Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 21:16:00 +0000

A common question I get from home is, "Have you ever felt in danger while you're in China?" No, not until my experience with Chinese medicine. Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Chinese medicine in general, I take 双黄连口服液 (Coptis chinesis) whenever I'm feeling under the weather, and 正红花油 (red flower oil, see picture) is great after a long train ride. I do, however, have a problem with having Chinese medicine injected in me without permission! Next time I'll go to a reputable doctor of Chinese medicine, who doesn't give a liter of salt water and penicillin for a cold.

After not getting over a cold for three days or so, I decided to ask my boss for the day off work. They insisted I had to go to the doctor first (they really meant "instead"). They were sure that a shot of penicillin would make my cold go away, but I was sure that that wasn't what doctors in the US usually do for colds. Well, I agreed to go to their doctor and have the penicillin shot - boy was that a mistake! I should've known that my boss would take me to the cheap doctor, not the good one.

The doctor's office was in a building you wouldn't expect, right next to a restaurant. They sold medicine at the front counter. The doctor agreed that penicillin was the cure. He told me that no, there wasn't a pink syrup version like I remembered having as a kid, it had to be administered through IV. He really wanted to practice his English on me, but I kept to Chinese, knowing that it would be easier to get straight answers that way, and I just wasn't in the mood. He insisted the whole time that I looked like an Englishman, not an American.

I had to go and lay down in the back room to have the IV administered. It was full of people, including a crying little girl with her grandma yelling at her because she was crying from her shot. Of course, everyone watched the foreigner get his IV put in, and had something to say about it. There was a nice pregnant woman across from me, but she fell asleep after we introduced ourselves.

They told me the IV would take two hours. "What exactly is in it?" "Well, this one is just salt water," the nurse told me. Why did I need to sit for an hour to get a liter of salt water put in my blood? They said the second one would be the medicine.

After the saline solution was done dripping, I realized that I really had to go to the bathroom. Great. One hour to go. Now there was an old man moaning next to me, and the pregnant lady's husband came and started cooing and fawning over her. I pretended to sleep, but really I was just waiting to pee and get the needle out of my hand.

Finally, it was done, but someone was in the bathroom! It sounded like they were washing something. Yes, there was a washing machine in the bathroom, and they had been washing their lab coat. The bathroom was dirty, not a good sign in a doctor's office. After my urgent matter was taken care of, I noticed a strange burning sweaty sensation all over my body. I went and asked the doctor, who said it was the bad 气 (qì) being released or something. "What was in the IV?" I asked. "Penicillin...and Chinese medicine". "Um...what Chinese medicine? Why didn't you ask me first?" He then told me the name of the medicine, but of course I didn't know it in Chinese, and he didn't know it in English. The whole ordeal cost 50RMB ($6). Thanks alot, doc. At least the cold went away.

常用英语口语第三 Everyday Chinese Vocabulary 3

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 23:00:00 +0000

Today's "Everyday Chinese Vocabulary" actually isn't very "everyday": it's Halloween vocabulary, so you won't hear it every day in China! However, many of these words are not found in common dictionaries, so they can be useful for explaining Halloween to people in China, should the need arise. We learned them during our English school's Halloween party for the kids (the picture is of their jack-o-lanterns). You can still see the last "Everyday Chinese Vocabulary". Questions and comments are welcome in the "Comments" section below each post!

今天的“常用英语口语”其实不是很经常用的，因为是万圣节的词汇，只有这一天说！你还能看上次的常用英语口语。谢谢你们已经提过的意见！如有中文错误或想请求下次的句子请留言(点Comments, 然后点Anonymous就不用注册了)。

1. 万圣节(夕) Wànshèngjié Halloween
2. 南瓜灯 nánguā dēng jack-o-lantern
3. 南瓜 nánguā pumpkin
4. 鬼魂 guǐhún ghost
5. 吸血鬼 xīxuèguǐ vampire
6. 鬼屋 guǐwū haunted house
7. (对某个人施) 诡计 (duì mǒuge rén shī) guǐjì (to play a) trick (on someone)
8. 糖果 tángguo candy
9. 服饰 fúshi costume
10. 墓碑 mùpái gravestone

Being a Minority in China

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:19:00 +0000

In the course of our travels in China, we have met all sorts of minorities with interesting stories to tell. Of course, as a white and a black person from America we are minorities ourselves. The picture to the left is of a house in a Muslim area of Baoji. Notice the Arabic writing over the door. Muslims (called 回族, huízú in Chinese) are the most widely distributed of China's 55 "official" ethnic minorities, with a population of about ten million, and Baoji, where we live, has a sizable population. They are distinguished from other Chinese mainly by their practice of Islam, including cultural differences like wearing headscarves and caps and not eating pork, the most common meat in Chinese food. Muslims in Shaanxi are well-known for their 羊肉泡馍 (yángròu pàomo), a noodle soup with broken up 馍 (mó, a type of bread), mutton, 糖蒜 (tángsuàn, garlic pickled in sugar and vinegar), cilantro, hots, and sometimes pieces of sheep blood. It's really good!

Of course, being a minority in China is not all about wearing exotic clothes and doing traditional dances, despite the government propaganda to that effect. I won't talk about the government to avoid the "net nanny" catching this site, but minorities we've met have said some interesting things about life in China in general. Keep in mind that we view these through American eyes, with our own concepts of race, prejudice, discrimination, etc. that Chinese don't tend to see in exactly the same way.

Muslims have not always had smooth relations with the 汉 (Hàn Chinese, the majority), sometimes including violent conflicts, despite centuries of living together. Some people will say something like "Oh, they're not civilized" as soon as you bring up Chinese Muslims, but stereotypes like that tend to be rattled off at will here. There is definitely not very much regard for "political correctness". The first Chinese Muslim I met was in a restaurant we go to often, a boy of about 12 helping mom and dad take orders and clean up. He wanted to know where we were from, and how come we like eating 牛肉拉面 with chopsticks even though we're foreigners. We asked him what his white cap was for, and he said it's because his family is Muslim. He said that they speak Mandarin just like everyone else, and didn't seem to like my idea that they might speak another language. I asked if he liked working in the restaurant, and he said yes because he gets to help mom and dad and talk to people. He said that other kids sometimes made fun of him for being Huizu, but not his friends. I asked if most of his friends were Muslim too, and he said no they're mostly Han. He said he loved basketball (most Chinese boys do these days).

While we were in Hangzhou, we met a girl from Inner Mongolia who worked in a hotel. She sympathized with us, because Chinese was also a second language for her, her first language being Mongolian. She said that she left Mongolia because of economic conditions, and because of work discrimination against Mongolians there. From childhood, she had wanted to be in politics, but said that ethnic minorities are often turned down from careers in politics, including several of her Mongolian friends.

We shared a car on the train to Shanghai with a whole family of Mongolians, and they let us try some of their special alcohol and Mongolian snacks. They said that Mongolian culture is considered to be the foundation of Chinese culture, as well as Japanese and Korean culture, which he said both speak a variety of Mongolian (linguistic research has not yet come to the same conclusion ;-). Once drunk, they sang some traditional Mongolian songs for us. They seemed to be fairly wealthy, and were traveling around the country.

As foreigners, we are subject to some of the strongest stereotypes, but we've learned to roll with the punches. Of course, we are from a rich country, and so it's not quite the same as being a Chinese ethnic minority, among other reasons. The first thing to get used to as a foreigner is constant staring and yells of "Hello! Hello! 老外! 外国人！". In Beijing we made friends with some guys at a college who seemed pretty cool. One day though, we were in the elevator, and one of them started making the motion of dribbling a basketball and shooting towards Brandon, who is black. I thought, "I hope he doesn't mean what I think he does...", but he then said to Brandon "I think you're good at basketball". Brandon said, "Um no, actually I'm not," but they all insisted that he was. We couldn't convince them otherwise. He's shorter than me! Since then he's gotten hundreds of basketball-gesturers, along with usual calls of "African! African!" in Chinese to accompany the normal "Foreigner! Foreigner!" that I hear as I walk down the street. People also tend to insist that he isn't American, despite that they claim to know all about American culture (everyone knows that all Americans are from England). The most common reaction when people meet us together is "你们不是一个国家的。You're not from the same country", and they can be pretty persistent on that. Of course, I'm always told that I'm a rich American businessman. "Oh, I think you definitely are," they always say. Chinese ethnic minorities have actually been the only ones to ask us, "Are you Chinese?" upon hearing us speak Mandarin, quite a refreshing reaction. Well, how do you think most Americans would react if a Muslim said they were Chinese? How about a white person of European descent who grew up in China (which we have also met)? In Shanghai we even met an African-American couple who were raising their two sons there. The times they are a'changing.

常用英语口语第二 Everyday Chinese Vocabulary 2

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 06:23:00 +0000

Here's today's "Everyday Chinese Vocabulary" for those of you learning Chinese. The last one is here. I hope these are useful for learning spoken Mandarin, feel free to leave any comments or requests for the next one!

今天的“常用英语口语”只有十一句，但是我觉得是比较重要的句子。你还能看上次的。这真的是我们美国人经常用的说法，希望对学习英文的会有用的，提高你的口语水平。如有中文错误或想请求下次的句子请留言(点Comments, 然后点Anonymous就不用注册)。

1. 说来话长。Shuō lái huà cháng. It's a long story.
2. 少来这套! Shǎo lái zhètào! Don't give me that! I don't want to hear it!
3. 让开! Ràngkāi! Move! Move out [of] the way!
4. 保持联络。Bǎochí liánluò. Keep in touch.
5. 你在开玩笑吧! Nǐ zài kāiwánxiào ba! You're kidding!
6. 当心! Dāngxīn! Look out!
7. 别紧张。Bié jǐnzhāng. Take it easy. Relax! (stop being nervous!)
8. 再试试。Zài shìshi. Try again.
9. 我烦透了这份工作。Wǒ fántòule zhèi fen gōngzuò. I'm fed up with this job. I'm sick of it.
10. 洋腔 yángqiāng foreign accent (when speaking Chinese)
11. 好主意! Hǎo zhǔyi! Good idea!

Shaanxi's Noodles 陕西的面条

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 00:59:00 +0000

Well, as I said in my earlier post "A Day In The Life", the noodles here in Shaanxi are the best thing since bread and butter. We have them almost every day. They're always hand-made, fresh on the spot just before cooking, or fresh noodles can be bought on street markets ready to cook. Like most food here, the noodles are flavorful, with lots of garlic, cilantro, fresh vegetables, vinegar, hot peppers, and 花椒 (huājiāo, which we apparently call "Sichuan peppercorns" in English, though they're not your grandma's pepper, unless she's from Sichuan). Many noodle places will have 10 or 20 varieties posted. (The picture to the left is actually not of a local variety (it's 牛肉拉面), it's good too though!)

My favorite kind is biángbiáng noodles, which actually remind me of Italian noodles. They are wide, flat noodles, about an inch wide, and they usually put four things on top: meaty gravy, spinach and beansprouts, little pieces of fat, and 西红柿炒鸡蛋 (scrambled eggs and tomatoes). There are many variations, including a meat-only version. They bring the bowl of noodles out with the stuff on top un-mixed, and most people add some 辣子 (hots, mashed jalapeños in oil) and maybe some salt. There is no broth, you just mix everything together with your chopsticks. It's good stuff, but alittle slippery to grab with chopsticks! These two pictures really don't do it justice. The name "biang biang" sounds really funny in Chinese too, it's supposed to sound like the noodles being made as they're stretched and slapped together, I think you could say it's Shaanxi dialect onomatopoeia ("translated" to standard Mandarin). The character for biáng is actually a local curiosity, it has over 50 strokes and is not part of Unicode (it's not really a "standard" character). The picture to the left is of "biáng" written in calligraphy, from a local restaurant (sorry about the reflection). There's a whole story that helps you remember how to write it, depicted below the character and reproduced at the end of this post (with my attempt at a translation). I haven't yet learned to write it by heart.

My other favorite noodles are sàozi noodles (臊子面). They are thinner, curly noodles, with vinegary broth. They're rather spicy. The broth is really the best part. Our friend Jolin, who is from Baoji, taught us how to make them (pictures courtesy of Brandon). First you chop up the vegetables, usually 红萝卜 (hóngluóbo, Chinese carrots), 白萝卜 (báiluóbo, turnips), 葱 (spring onions), 白菜 (bái cài, bak choy), garlic, and tofu. Then, you heat up some oil in a pan until it's almost smoking (be careful, no fires!), and pour it over dried jalapeños to make 辣子 (làzi, hots as we call it where I live). Mince some meat and cook it in oil, for flavor. Cook the noodles, add vinegar to the broth, and add the other stuff. Cook, enjoy. People always say that in standard Mandarin it should be called "shàozi" noodles not "sàozi", but after consulting the dictionary I have my doubts about that. Anyway, give it a try! If it's good, be sure to leave some feedback in the comments. My next post will be more Chinese vocabulary, if anyone has suggestions or requests please comment! I can talk about more local foods and recipes if anyone's interested.

Poem for writing the character biáng, with my "translation":
一点飞上大， A dot flying up to the sky 丶,
黄河两边弯； the Yellow River with bends at both ends 冖;
八字大张口， an "8" character 八, mouth opened wide 丷,
言字往里走， with a "speech" character 言 going in,
左一幺，右一幺； a "yāo" 幺 to the left, a "yāo" 幺 to the right;
你一长，我一长， a "cháng" 長 for you, a "cháng" 長 for me,
中间夹个马大王； between them a horse 馬 king;
月字旁，心字底， a "moon" 月 side radical, a "heart" 心 radical beneath
火镰勾搭挂麻苍； ?
坐个车车逛咸阳。 riding a cart around Xianyang.

常用英语口语 Everyday Chinese Vocabulary

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:37:00 +0000

I'll take a break from telling about China and introduce some everyday Chinese vocabulary. I actually took much of it from various emails and discussion forums that have been floating around in China for people learning English, but the English in the emails is usually error-filled, so I corrected it hoping that this could also be of help to some Chinese learners of English. Maybe I'll make this into a regular feature if anyone's interested.

下面的词汇是我从网上论坛收集的，我把英语错误都改好了。这些真的是我们美国人经常用的说法。你看网上的“50句必备英语口语”之类的一定要看是谁写的哦！我见过的大多数有很多英文错误，翻译错误，或是老式的说法。如果有人感兴趣那我下次多贴点。如果汉语翻译得不对请告诉我，谢谢！参见：通过QQ提高你的英文，交外国朋友

Beginner 初级

1. "你好"用英语(汉语)怎么说？"Nǐhǎo" yòng Yīngyǔ (Hànyǔ) zěnme shuō?
How do you say "hello" in English (Chinese)?
2. 请问这个单词怎么读？Qǐng wèn, zhèige dāncí zěnme dú?
How do you say this word? (pointing to a written word)
3. 你是做什么工作的呢？Nǐ shì zuò shénme gōngzuò de ne?
What do you do for work?
4. 我不干了! Wǒ bú gàn le! I quit! I'm done with this. (angrily)
5. 安静点! Ānjìng diǎn! Quiet down!
6. 我饱了。Wǒ bǎo le. I'm full. (after eating)
7. 我迷路了。Wǒ mílù le. I'm lost. (walking, driving)
8. 我请客。Wǒ qǐngkè. It's on me. (paying)
9. 放手! Fàngshǒu! Let go (of me)!
10. 您先。Nín xiān. You first. After you.
11. 跟我来。Gēn wǒ lái. Follow me.
12. 当然了! Dāngrán le! Of course!
13. 猜猜看? Cāicāi kàn? Guess what?
14. 单身贵族。Dānshēn guìzú. I'm single.
15. 算上我。Suànshàng wǒ. Count me in.
16. 他和我同岁。Tā hé wǒ tóngsuì. He's the same age as me.
17. 帮个忙，好吗? Bāng ge máng, hǎo ma? Could you do me a favor?
18. 上车了。Shàng chē le. Get in the car. Get on the bus.
19. 下车了。Xià chē le. Get out of the car. Get off the bus.

Intermediate 中级

1. 明天我有事情要做。I have stuff to do tomorrow.
2. 我想我不行。I don't think I can.
3. 你愿意参加我们的晚会吗？Wanna come to our party?
4. 我没有经验。I don't know much about that (area of knowledge).
5. 养成Verb的习惯 Get into the habit of Verb+ing.
6. 我在大学里学到了许多知识。I learned alot in college.
7. 请快点走，否则我们会迟到的。 Walk faster, or we'll be late!
8. 难怪! No wonder!
9. 你真了不起。 You're really something! (can be sarcastic)
10. 没门！ No way!

"Adult" “成人区”
If anyone's interested I could post some more Chinese swears, insults, and other vulgarities. View at your own risk. 会介意的请不要看！有人感兴趣我可以多贴几句“脏话”。

1. 闭嘴! Shut up! Shut your mouth!
2. 屁话! Bullshit! (literally "Fart talk!")
3. 到底他妈的怎么回事? What the fuck is going on? What the hell happened?
4. 你很垃圾。You suck. (lit. "You're trash")
5. 被坑了！We're fucked! I'm fucked! (lit. "[We're buried] in a hole")

A Day In The Life

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:18:00 +0000

"Is the Red Army mobilizing?" I wonder, as an authoritative Chinese voice booms commands over a megaphone. A chorus of a thousand voices hurls back responses in unison. Oh no, it sounds like they're right outside the door! "I'm not a capitalist, I swear! I'm just teaching English to the People's children," I would declare once they broke down the door. Monday, 7:00AM on my first morning off since starting my English teaching job in Shaanxi, China. I peeped through the window in the kitchen to see how many there were.

Well, little did I know, the middle school next door to us does "drills" outdoors for an hour every Monday morning at 7:00, a sort of Orwellian slogan-shouting (similar to the Pledge of Allegiance in American schools). It sometimes also includes exercises, or even practicing English vocabulary words. I tried and failed to sleep awhile longer, and ended up showering while learning about our harmonious Socialist future.

Breakfast is the only meal that I really needed time to "get used to" here. I still won't really eat the traditional 粥 (zhōu, a thin unsalted unsweetened porridge) with salty pickled vegetables. I would prefer to have something sweet, but that would be un-Chinese. Just to be sure, I waited for the drills to end, then went out to get a dozen 包子 (bāozi, steamed buns with meat or vegetable filling) and some grilled sweet potatoes. I love being able to get a fresh-cooked breakfast right around the corner (for less than US$1)!

After breakfast, Brandon and I decided we would go for a bike ride up the mountain. I love my shiny new 飞鸽 (Flying Pigeon, China's heavy-duty utility bicycle). I can carry a passenger on the back seat, cargo on the front bracket, or use the tow attachment to tow a trailer! Bikes are really the way to get around Baoji. They're the most common vehicle for commuting, and parents often use them to take kids to school. You commonly see both parents and one kid on a single bike, the father merrily peddling along! Alot of middle-class families have electric scooters instead, with their obnoxious horns and screeching brakes.

We ride through downtown Baoji, with the normal throngs of people turning their heads to watch the foreign spectacle, even though most of them have probably already seen or met us by now. Every minute or so there is a call of "看！两个老外骑车！老外，Hallo! Hallo Foreigner!" in our direction. We finally get to the part where the road starts to climb, and the people start to thin out; we walk our bikes. There are old ladies hanging jalapeños to dry, or knitting in front of their houses. Those crazy one-cylinder 3-wheeled chinese vehicles occasionally putter past, packed to the brim with cargo. A 10 year old boy carrying chicken cages catches up with us and strikes up a conversation. I'm always happy when people talk to us like normal people, wondering what we're doing and where we're going instead of pointing and staring or yelling something in English. That's one thing I like about living in a smaller city, there seem to be less English-crazed people hunting us down (though we get our fair share).

As we come around a bend we hear the sound of 秦腔 (Qínqiāng, also known as Shaanxi Opera), and I see that we're coming upon a temple. There is a 阴阳图 (Yin-yang) on the top of the arch, so I suppose it's Daoist. As we approach the inside of the temple, we come across a scene that is completely foreign to our American eyes and ears: a small Qinqiang group in the middle plays boisterous music on stringed instruments and various drums and gongs. Fires are lit in clay furnaces. A pack of Pekingese dogs "attacks" us with ferocious yelping, sending us back onto the road. Brandon caught it all on video with his digital camera. We decide it's time to go back down the mountain to get some lunch.

Of course, we'll have noodles for lunch. The noodles in Shaanxi are the best thing since sliced bread. They make them fresh right before cooking them, and there are many varieties. I get 哨子面(sàozi miàn), wiggly noodles in a vinegary, spicy, meaty broth with vegetables. Brandon gets 八宝面 (bābǎo miàn, same noodles but different ingredients, see picture). Two large bowls, 5RMB ($0.63). We both finish all the broth, and head off to work.

We get to work early, and work on our lesson plans. I only have 2 classes that day, a nice break from the 10 I have on Sunday. As usual, a few kids come an hour early, their parents hoping for extra English interaction with the foreign teachers. I talk to a few about their day at school, until they start messing with other teachers' stuff and I send them out to the play area. Our boss comes into the "teacher's lounge" to remind us to put on our "uniforms" while at work, a white sweatshirt stained with the various things that kids age 3-12 like to throw/drool on you, especially whiteboard pen ink. As the trickle of students grows we need to have one person guard the door and window to our lounge from prying hands. I ink up my whiteboard markers, get together my flashcards, take a breath, and face the horde.

Class goes fairly well, though they don't like my new story-writing and illustration activity. They were supposed to ask a partner what they did today, write about it and illustrate, then read it to the class, but they ended up all drawing pictures of each other as pigs for some reason with English stories to go along. Whatever, as long as they are practicing English. We give out stickers for good work in class, pass back homework, and tell the parents how class went (though the foreign teacher is "not allowed" to even let the parents know that we speak and understand Chinese, we're supposed to speak through a translator). One of my kindergartners gives me a delicious meat jerky snack that he apparently had in his mouth for the whole class, which I profusely thank him for, and promptly throw away once he's gone. It's 6:00. We plan dinner with the Chinese teachers, and head out.

火锅 (Hot pot) is Brandon's favorite part about China. I have to admit, it's pretty good. An expert chef makes this delicious broth, sets it on your table over a flame, and you order raw stuff and cook it yourself. I'll talk more about the food here next time.

We talk and eat with our Chinese coworkers for about an hour, and walk home together along the river since we live in the same area. I have to say, those are my favorite things about living here, friends and food. We've made some great friends at work, and the food here is like nothing I've had, and very inexpensive. The whole hotpot dinner cost 100RMB, only $12 for 4 people. Living here is no hardship.

通过QQ提高你的英文水平，交外国朋友

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 01:57:00 +0000

"Improve your English and meet foreign friends with QQ"

Non-Chinese speakers: this post is intended to give Chinese speakers some information on finding English-speaking language partners on QQ, like my previous post for Chinese learners, Learning Chinese by IM using QQ.

[2007年4月28号: 因为想互相学习的人很多，我就开了一个汉英语言论坛。大家来参加吧，互相进步！]

大家好！这是我第一次用中文写博客。我写中文写得很不好，请见谅！（想改个错误谢谢您在下面的 Comments 里写一下！)。我在中国的时候认识到很多中国朋友想知道怎么样可以提高他们英文水平，我就想，美国人也有很多想学习中文，不过没有机会和中国人练习。我去中国之前下载了QQ这个软件，“地方”写了“国外”，立刻有好几十个人想和我聊！下面的英文项目 “Learning Chinese by IM using QQ” （“通过QQ聊天软件学习中文”）是给说英语为母语的人介绍一下QQ软件。这条中文项目是为了给中方同样的资料。

外国人想上QQ最困难的是申请号码。申请号码对我们来说很不容易，因为腾讯的网站全部都是写中文的。如果你能帮一个外国朋友申请号码，我觉得他/她会很感谢你，这样你们可以开始互相学习语言。我们美国年轻人用的聊天软件最普遍的叫AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)，但是它没有QQ的搜索特征，你必须知道对方的号码才能聊天。还有MSN软件，这好像在中国也普遍使用。

怎么样能找到想做中英文語言交换的外国人呢？你可以在下面的Comments贴上你的请求。还有一个网站叫Learning Chinese using QQ，上面的Forum就是讲这些的。

你想打个招呼，该说什么呢？"Hi! 你好啊!" 应该行吧。我开始用QQ的时候，一个问题是没有人相信我是外国人！虽然我写的错误多的很，但是对方以为我在开玩笑呢。学习中文的外国人真的满多的呀！还有一个意见：想为了学习语言聊，那应该互相学习吧，我上QQ很多人都是这样：

中国人："Hello, are you American?"
美国人："Yes, where are you from?"
中国人："China"
美国人："Nice to meet you. 你住在中国哪里？"
中国人："Oh, you wrote Chinese! I from Fujian. I speak good English."

为什么没有用中文回答用中文写的问题呢? 我觉得最好是早点示范两方要平等的交流。做了朋友以后可以随便聊天。我知道很多中国人不会象上面一样的对话，但是QQ上一定有的！我希望这些资料和意见会有用的。你有什么意见请联系我，我可以把它贴到这个播客上。我的QQ号：646468786