User Comments - auntie68
auntie68
Posted on: Flowers and Bugs
March 12, 2008 at 11:18 AMP/s: When I am labouring away at the challenge of trying to read a Thai word, I am often reminded of the "Atevi" language in the universe of CJ Cherryh's "Foreigner" novel series, which is very difficult for earthlings to learn because part of your brain has to do maths all the time.
Posted on: Flowers and Bugs
March 12, 2008 at 11:15 AMfudapeng! My Thai is pretty dreadful. Speaking -- not a serious problem, coming from a tonal language background. And the way Thai syntax works is surprisingly close to Chinese, even if the vocabulary has nothing in common (except for food terms; yum!!!). But the reading and writing! Aarrghhh! 46 consonants, 32 vowels, and a hellish (irregular) system of spelling based on: consonant class (low, middle, high); whether syllables are "live" or "dead", open or closed; vowel length (long or short), vowels which are written before, above, below, or after consonants, and spelling quirks which preserve the original Sanskrit spelling of words borrowed indic words etc etc. Even the "tone marks" don't mean the same thing from one consonant class to another! Guess that is to be expected when a tonal language is written using a Brahmic script which is closely related to Devanagri, and -- on top of that -- the language has substantial borrowings from Sanskrit and Pali. But I can't say that I don't love it... even if it means that I am still reading incredibly slowly three years after beginning to learn the script. Still, I've got my Thai "Tintin" books now, and we also have good Thai family friends whom we see nearly every month. I'll just keep plugging away at it. All the best --
Posted on: Embrace your Fears! 怕 (pà)...Adj
March 12, 2008 at 6:43 AMDear wolson, don't you let "the look" worry you. But as somebody who has lost more "face" than she ever knew she had, due to her willingness to try and learn foreign languages, I sympathize with you. It's unnerving! At least you get a "look". Many years, ago when I was a university student in the UK, my then-boyfriend and I came across, in the underground, an elderly Japanese lady who had become separated from her tour-group. She didn't speak any English, and was very distressed. My boyfriend spoke excellent Japanese (he had spent most of his teens in Kobe), but he was also... obviously European. He used very soothing, polite Japanese to find out where the lady was supposed to be, so that we could help her find her friends. I'll never forget this "conversation"; the person doing the speaking was my (very white) boyfriend, not me, but the lady kept her face fixed on mine as if I were talking, and all her answers were directed at... me. There was one insane moment, I remember, when I wondered whether she thought I was some kind of ventriloquist, and that poor bf was some kind of Edgar Bergen dummy through whom I was speaking to her. Somehow I managed to concentrate on looking reassuring, nodding, and bowing slightly, just like the female Japanese friends whom I had made through that bf. Wolson, I hope this makes you feel better in some way! Bf was cool about being "invisible"; he had no problems being understood on the phone (he used to bow when he was talking, even though the person he was speaking to couldn't see him) by Japanese people. But face-to-face, sometimes even a simple request to buy a pack of cigarettes would be met with "the look". He was used to it, though...
Posted on: Flowers and Bugs
March 12, 2008 at 3:13 AMcasie - just re-sent. Take care.
Posted on: Flowers and Bugs
March 12, 2008 at 3:13 AMThanks, changye! I think it's time I bought an English-Chinese dictionary...
Posted on: Flowers and Bugs
March 12, 2008 at 2:54 AMc.v. = curriculum vitae (a latin language expression that is now widely used and understood in English)
Posted on: Flowers and Bugs
March 12, 2008 at 2:52 AMOh no, casie, a "c.v." is a resume, the list of your academic and professional achievements which you submit to prospective employers when you apply for a job. I didn't know that you didn't understand that expression when I used it in my e-mail to you. ;-)
Posted on: Flowers and Bugs
March 12, 2008 at 1:39 AMDear casie, how I agree with you: That the more we do this (that is, just "use and practice!"), the better our Chinese will be. I hope your final exams went smoothly. For what it's worth, your English-language posts are clear evidence that practice does indeed "make perfect". Btw, please don't be shy about my "c.v. proposal", okay?
Posted on: Flowers and Bugs
March 12, 2008 at 12:55 AMfudapeng, I think you inadvertently typed 次 (ci4) instead of 词 (ci2) or -- even better -- 词语 (ci2yu3)? And I think you might be able to omit the 的 after the "practice makes perfect" because 这个 already fills that "syntactical gap". But I understood your post perfectly; how I wish I didn't have this total phobia about posting in Chinese characters! Hope this post was okay with you...
Posted on: 精神污染
March 13, 2008 at 5:48 AMHello. I'd like to echo xiaohu and goulniky's praise for 娇杰's first podcast as a teacher. I found her explanations very clear and helpful, and the chemistry between her and our amazing Jenny was delightful. Thank you! Hope to enjoy more lessons from our new teacher 娇杰!