User Comments - Right-Wingnut
Right-Wingnut
Posted on: Children's Train Ticket
October 31, 2012 at 6:08 AMJohn tells us in a number of Intermediate lessons that in these sentences we have four options:
1. 如果 A 的话, B
2. 如果 A , B
3. A 的话, B
4. A, B
He says that any option can be taken at any time without changing the meaning.
Given this, I can't see why one would distinguish in meaning between 如果 and 的话.
Surely "in the event of blah happening" and "if blah happens" are 100% identical (in English). Of course in the past it would be rendered "in the event blah happened" and "if blah happened", but they still seem identical to me.
Posted on: Children's Train Ticket
October 30, 2012 at 6:57 AMCan you think of an English example where 'if' doesn't mean 'in the event of'.
And if you can, is it incorrect to use 的话 in that situation?
I'm not saying you're wrong - I just can't think of a counterexample myself.
Posted on: Lessons Per Week
October 28, 2012 at 8:35 PMLets make sure we separate the 2 claims here.
I am saying with certainty that Putonghua and Mandarin are not exactly the same thing. Mandarin vs Putonghua is like English vs 'The Queens English'. There are many different Englishes, just as there are many different Mandarins. Here is how one website does the classification:
东北 = Northeast China Mandarin
北京 = Beijing Mandarin
冀鲁 = Ji Lu Mandarin
胶辽 = Jiao Liao Mandarin
中原 = Zhongyuan Mandarin
兰银 = Lan Yin Mandarin
江准 = Jianghuai Mandarin
西南 = Southwestern Mandarin
I recall reading that the tones of the other Mandarin dialects are not the same as Putonghua. For starters, different Mandarin dialects have different numbers of tones - I seem to recall that one dialect has 14 tones, while another has only 3 - and no, I'm not confusing this with dialects of Cantonese. And then the tones themselves can be different. For example, the first tone in Putonghua is high and flat, while the same tone in another dialect is low and flat (or perhaps its middling and flat, I can't recall).
The other thing about whether 汉语 is the same as Mandarin is not a claim made by me. I made it clear I was only quoting Wikipedia. But I'm not saying they're wrong either - just putting it out there.
Posted on: Lessons Per Week
October 28, 2012 at 8:26 AMHi bohan2007,
I think you are confusing 'Mandarin' with 'Putonghua'.
Mandarin is a language that consists of numerous dialects which are divided into 7 or 8 groupings. We are learning 'Standard Mandarin' or 'Putonghua'.
Mandarin is spoken by about 70% of Chinese people in its various dialectal forms. Putonghua is the language you are describing.
According to Wikipedia, 汉语 is broader even that Mandarin, including Cantonese, Wu, etc.
Posted on: Increase and Decrease, Rise and Fall
October 27, 2012 at 1:33 AMAfter a decrease in lesson production last week, CPod has increased its lesson output this week to meet user demand.
Posted on: What's up?
October 21, 2012 at 8:19 PMIs this a generic 'they', or are you speaking about someone in particular?
If you mean ChinesePod, 'they' have lessons on tone changes, so this fact has certainly been mentioned.
Posted on: Pregnancy Series 8: About to Give Birth
October 18, 2012 at 6:23 AMThanks Connie.
Posted on: Pregnancy Series 8: About to Give Birth
October 16, 2012 at 10:48 AMStill not fixed ?
Posted on: Playing the Stock Market
October 14, 2012 at 7:34 AMThe text-only version of the Expansion Sentences has no Pinyin.
Posted on: Lessons Per Week
October 31, 2012 at 7:56 AMYou're correct - Putonghua is not Beijing Mandarin. But it is based on the Beijing dialect.
You might want to read this Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Chinese