User Comments - andrew_c
andrew_c
Posted on: 会 (Huì) and 能 (Néng) Face-off
August 25, 2008 at 12:11 AMI didn't make a statement and wasn't trying to make a point. I merely asked two innocent questions, which have remained unsatisfactorily answered throughout my life.
I was never taught precisely what constitutes correct English in school. Beginning sometime in middle school, I was all of a sudden expected to just already know it. Whenever I tried to ask on what basis something I had written was marked wrong, the instructor was unable to refer me to an authoratitive and consistent definition of correct English which addressed the writing in question. This has led me to the impression that what such a standard does not exist. I have been growing more and more convinced that what constitutes correct English is simply based on a consensual understanding, which is open to interpretation and one's personal tastes (unless of course one is a student, in which case it is the tastes/whims of the instructor for that semester).
If such a standard exists, then please refer me to it, and I will study it and henceforth write and speak flawless English.
If not, I will question people on what basis they claim that a certain instance of English is wrong, despite it being in common usage and sounding entirely natural to the ears of most native speakers.
Posted on: 会 (Huì) and 能 (Néng) Face-off
August 24, 2008 at 1:52 AMConnie，Amber，和JP很会教中文。
Just wondering Laodie, if most English speakers use the word "can" incorrectly, isn't it then by definition correct? What else is there to decide what's correct other than consensus?
¡Hasta luego!
Posted on: Here she comes
August 20, 2008 at 2:25 PMTo add to what Chris said, I think that the "Using Chinesepod" intermediate lesson is another essential one.
Posted on: Here she comes
August 20, 2008 at 1:57 AMTime to watch some teenage drama shows! By the way, it says that Ken, not John, is the host.
Posted on: Booking a Plane Ticket
August 18, 2008 at 11:40 AMActually, in addition to the "this" vs. "this time" literal translation of 本次 issue, I just realized that I don't really understand why 本次 should be idiomatically translated as "upcoming". The more examples of its usage that I read, the less I get the feeling that it refers to "upcoming".
It sounds to me that the Chinese sentence could, for example, be talking about a President who is currently on a trip to China, and for security reasons won't announce what his itinerary was until after he gets back. So that 月底将公布他本次访华的具体行程 could be translated as "The travel itinerary of his trip to China will be publicly announced at the end of the month".
If the intended meaning is really "upcoming trip to China" I would have written the Chinese as 月底将公布他下次访华的具体行程。
Posted on: Booking a Plane Ticket
August 18, 2008 at 10:47 AMThanks. I see now that it refers to an upcoming trip.
But, Amber, where are you getting "this time's trip" from? The notion of "time" is nowhere to be found in the literal translation since the tooltip only translates 本次 as "this" and not "this time".
Posted on: Booking a Plane Ticket
August 17, 2008 at 3:37 PMI am totally confused by the word 本次 in the expansion sentence "The specific itinerary of his upcoming trip to China will be announced at the end end of the month".
Why is it just translated as "this" and not "this time"?
Posted on: Measure Words for Counting People
August 17, 2008 at 3:03 AMI haven't listened yet, but I was recently studying the expansion sentence: 这个职位的人数已经超过两千人了. Is 数 a fifth way?
Posted on: What's Your Name?
August 25, 2008 at 11:09 PMHi Scott,
I agree, that's why I made the program WeLoveChinesePod. It doesn't do the extended vocabulary (it's on my todo list), but it does take care of the expansion sentences.