User Comments - Purrfecdizzo

Posted on: Studying Chinese

I think attitude is SO important when learning, especially when learning a language. Good luck to your daughter.

George

Posted on: Mainland & Taiwan Lingo: Transportation

Hi Trendy,

I am guessing that the left is United States English, and the right is British English.. Thanks for posting these. To me, this is an interesting topic, and I enjoy reading the differences. I do have some questions...

Besides China, where is the term Zebra crossing used? I remember encountering it when I was in Pingyao and thought it was funny, and I know that some of my students will also use this word. If it were me, I would simply use the word 'crosswalk'.

What are crisps?

George

Posted on: Fast Cars and Shallow Women

Oh 别提了。。 Makes me depressed when I think about it... =/

Posted on: Fast Cars and Shallow Women

I don't think it is flamebaiting at all. You are simply offering a perpective, and I think this is a good thing.

Posted on: Mainland & Taiwan Lingo: Transportation

Hey guys,

I am not trying to be difficult or disrespectful when I say this, but I think that it is important to point out that there are differences in how things are expressed in different locations in the English speaking world. I find that this is particularly true in the realm of transportation, education, and sports (not to imply that I am an expert on this topic). For example, in some areas, the place on the roadway that people are supposed to walk would be referred to as a sidewalk, and in other areas, pavement.

Thats all I got on this. May seem like a minor point, but one worth mentioning.

Peace

George

Posted on: Mainland & Taiwan Lingo: Transportation

Hey guys,

I was curious about the 大拐/小拐 mentioned in this lesson. I don't think I have ever heard these phrases used, so I guess I want to ask exactly how widespread is their use? Is it something somewhat specific to Shanghai?

Posted on: Dreaming of You

I am not too big on the analysis of dreams in the same way that is described in this lesson, but sleep is an interesting topic. In my classes, I teach a class on sleep, describing the different things that happened to me sometimes when I sleep, i.e., John mentioning how sometimes he dreams he is flying. To me, it is a very interesting topic.

Posted on: Dreaming of You

#2

As it was pointed out in the lesson, 脚下 literally means 'under your feet', but here it means at your feet. What if I do want to mean 'under my feet'. Let take another example, how about a doormat... we could say 'the mat is under my feet' or we could say 'the mat is next to my feet', or 'the mat is nearby'. I hope you get the jest of my meaning.

Sincerely,

George

Posted on: Dreaming of You

#1.

水池 -manmade small pool of water...

As I was listening to this question, I became curious about what we would call 'puddles' in English. I don't suppose that most puddles are manmade, so I guess that puddles would not be a 水池. What would I call puddles?

yours,

George

Posted on: Dreaming of You

Hey guys,

I think that sometimes I am a bit too curious, so this means that sometimes I want to ask questions... I hope I am not too annoying. I will list the two questions separately for the sake of being somewhat organized..