User Comments - bababardwan

bababardwan

Posted on: Let's Just Be Friends

March 10, 2010 at 7:00 AM

You're right zhen,"let's still be friends" is a nice thing to say and it's very nice if it turns out that way.There's usually no reason that it shouldn't,and that's why I only used the word "potentially".It's just that in such a situation,as tal has hinted at,sometimes things end amicably but the friendship doesn't really continue...that is that they no longer see each other..perhaps it is too painful for one and too awkward for both,or one needs to learn to let go so that he/she can in time pursue other romantic interests.So I think that sometimes the continuation of a friendship is at risk [and sometimes there would be an unspoken realisation of that risk].But yeah,you can definitely read to much into these things.Also I tend to think of striking out/or crashing and burning more in the sense that the latter was used in Top Gun...where someone asks a relative stranger [or at least one with whom there has not been a significant established friendship] out on a date and gets turned down],so perhaps it wasn't the best choice of words.

Posted on: Let's Just Be Friends

March 10, 2010 at 5:02 AM

hehe,yeah,the "still" is really an acknowledgement that the relationship is potentially doomed after crashing and burning,and a plea to continue on as before [or at least a polite wish...or in some cases maybe just a platitude]

yeah,interesting discussion...thanks guys for your insights into the clearness of meaning in the Chinese.

Posted on: The Shanghai Literary Festival

March 9, 2010 at 1:36 PM

This was great;thanks Jenny.As someone not living in China,it is so interesting to hear what's going on there,and even little incidental things thrown into the conversation can give insights.The festival sounds wonderful.Does FT stand for Financial Times? I wonder if they make it as fun as some of the televised debates I've seen here.JFK Miller sounds Aussie...and I also wonder about his initials...a coincidence or a link to JF Kennedy?

Posted on: Flying a Kite

March 9, 2010 at 12:50 PM

呵呵，感谢你的关心我的朋友：）

Posted on: Flying a Kite

March 9, 2010 at 5:07 AM

thanks.Maybe it depends how high you can fly your kite [perhaps a modern stunt kite could even take on a third tone] :)

Posted on: Can't Get to Sleep

March 9, 2010 at 4:56 AM

go manly,

I completely missed this question and though I'm sure you'll want an authoritative answer on it,as you did address it to me I don't shy away from stuff so I'll give it a shot...at least how I'd interpret it.

别担心，我是大人了

...kinda reminds me of what an older sibling of say 18 might say to a younger sibling when alone together at night or something.While the younger sibling for most of his/her life may have looked up to the older sibling,it may have still been as an older kid.Sure one doesn't turn into an adult overnight,but I'm not aware of a rule that says a change of state has to be sudden.So in this situation [in this example context] it would be like reassuring the younger frightened sibling that they are under the care of an adult [one who is asserting/reassuring their relatively new state of being an adult].I think teenagers are particularly prone to making such statements in English...reminding others of how old they are now.[Reminds me of Frank Spencer...I'm a man Betty..stating the obvious...or in some cases the slightly contentious].Just the way I'd look at it mate.Let's hope you do get that answer.I think questions on le seem to be one of the most common things we all struggle with in Chinese so I'm sure we'll all be interested in an answer.