User Comments - John
John
Posted on: Funny Business 5
September 27, 2009 at 2:08 AMPDF/HTML file updates!
Calicartel & simongrant,
Numbered PDFs is a good suggestion. I will have this added to a list of upcoming PDF tweaks that the tech team will be doing.
tgif,
The HTML (text) version of the PDF is now complete.
pchenery,
The 面谈 inaccuracy has been fixed.
Sorry for the hassle, guys!
Posted on: Fruit Basket of Cause-Effect
September 27, 2009 at 1:43 AMlìwěi,
True!
That kind of "fruit" is 成果 (chéngguǒ) in Chinese. There are also others, like 后果 (hòuguǒ), 果然 (guǒrán), etc., which might lead you to think that the Chinese are really fruit-obsessed, but those words weren't common enough to include them all in this lesson.
Posted on: Fruit Basket of Cause-Effect
September 26, 2009 at 4:09 PMkimiik,
There should be no drop in sound quality. Did anyone else notice this? We'll look into it ASAP.
Posted on: Pinyin The Final R Sound
September 25, 2009 at 6:58 AMlight487,
The basic rule is that (1) er-hua is typically added to nouns (e.g. 画画儿 but not 画儿画, because the first 画 is a verb and the second 画 is a noun), occasionally measure words (e.g. 本儿、瓶儿), and usually not other parts of speech, and (2) it's applied as a result of custom/convention, so you just need to get used to what words have it and what words don't.
No, I don't think in pinyin. It's a tool that you will always have at your disposal and it will frequently come in handy throughout your studies, but you won't need it very often eventually.
Posted on: Pinyin The Final R Sound
September 25, 2009 at 6:53 AMMark,
Maybe "silent e's" are ninjafied? :)
Posted on: Pinyin The Final R Sound
September 25, 2009 at 6:50 AMorangina,
I checked with Wikipedia to confirm my answer to your question (Wikipedia's linguistic info is quite good), and I'll just quote them on your answer:
The "r" final must be distinguished from the retroflex consonant written <ri> in pinyin and [ʐ] in IPA. "The star rode a donkey" in some rhotic English accents, and 我女兒入醫院/我女儿入医院 Wǒ nǚ'ér rù yīyuàn "My daughter entered the hospital" in standard Mandarin, both have a first r pronounced with a relatively lax tongue, whereas the second /r/ sounds involves an active retraction of the tongue and contact with the top of the mouth.
I hope that clears it up.
Posted on: Funny Business 5
September 24, 2009 at 3:38 AMBut not before getting out a few poignant statements on the human condition with their dying breaths, right?? :)
Posted on: Pinyin Section 9
September 23, 2009 at 4:12 AMkujira and jwhitson,
Sorry, your comments somehow got missed. I was referring to the tendency of many of China's regions to mix up (techincally, it's "fail to distinguish") certain consonants.
You can see a list of these sounds here.
Posted on: Pinyin The Final R Sound
September 23, 2009 at 4:10 AMorangina,
That was the hardest sound for me to get a hang of, as well. You can't really get around the word for "Japan," though. I recommend tackling it head-on!
Our Pronunciation Guide covers "ri", and you may want to review these Pinyin Program episodes: Section 4: R, and Section 9.
Once you understand it intellectually, there's nothing left to do but practice, practice, and practice some more!
Posted on: Happy Birthday China
September 27, 2009 at 2:18 AMjames,
The audio is OK now.
Tone marks above characters?? Let's not talk crazy now. :P