User Comments - RJ

Posted on: Big Darn Crabs

btw- these translations are helpful David. Thank you.

Posted on: Big Darn Crabs

I have really enjoyed Daini's foray into the world of Chinese Pod. I think we should keep her.:-)

Posted on: Food Flavors, Shanghai Style

A precious peek into the world of Shanghainese, but for me this stuff is crazy hard. It seems to me, to be to Mandarin what ebonics or cockney are to English. Maybe a little different, but its the best analogy I have. The International phonetic alphabet (IPA) is pretty much useless for me. This is like pinyin on steriods and it would take months of study to render it useful in understanding the pronunciation of any language. I do however understand the predicament here. Pinyin falls short and any made-up phonetic attempts would surely be met with varied criticisms. Anyway, if what I have said sounds critical it wasn't meant to. I have enjoyed the series very much. My thanks to the brave people who made the effort.

Posted on: Mother's Day

I think we sometimes underestimate the strength and understanding that children have. This kind of teasing can also communicate love, when done against a backdrop of continuous love and caring. Especially in a culture where it is common. My parents occasionally said such things to me and I always knew they were kidding, even at a very young age. I never said such things to my children but I think we have gotten way too PC. I dont think you can so narrowly define "abuse". There is a lot more to consider here than the literal meaning of the words.

Posted on: Stop Speeding!

jiangcheng,

dont mind bodawei, he is from Australia, they dont like any word they cant cut in half and add a y to. (Im joking). Your english is great but bodawei is right, these "A list" type words are usually used only in written articles. I will correct something that will help you though.

you said:

"the truth is that they never proofreading what they posted. "

this should be:

"the truth is that they never proofread what they post"

And you are correct. They dont. Why? I dont know. It is a language learning site after all. Not in the budget I guess.

take care.

Posted on: Upcoming lessons, lots of Chinese and a "jia you!"

I watched the amazing race last night. They were in Shanghai actually and their main obstacle was communicating with cab drivers. I had to laugh when (armed with horrible pronunciation), one of the contestants declared "these people don't even understand their own language!". Ive never heard the term barracking before, but count me in. Ill stop short of sounding like a novice "try hard", so no "J.Y." from me. :-)

Posted on: Dashboard Updates and a Visit from a User

Charm, no, but he did have a horse named "Pokey" and a dog named "Nopey"

Posted on: A Month in Recovery and Being Civilized

XL

well it comes close at times, but getting a cab in the rain will always be blood sport in China.

Posted on: Haggling Like a Local

Jason, will there likely be a gap between Shanghainese and Cantonese or will one directly follow the other?

Posted on: Haggling Like a Local

Yes It is. Thank you.