User Comments - bababardwan
bababardwan
Posted on: Pre-Marital Health Testing
June 1, 2009 at 9:24 AMshenyajin,
谢谢你。现在我明白"缺胳膊少腿"的意思。...so it can be used on inanimate objects too to mean incomplete.
好的，no exact age implication for 从小，but in my experience once kids reach high school some can be as large/larger than adults so I would be unlikely to refer high school kids as "small" in general whereas in this dialogue it mentions how they went to the same high school together.So I'm just trying to understand whether in this dialogue the implication was that they knew each other before the mentioned high school or not.I would have thought yes,but I'm not clear on this.Obviously this is a work of fiction and it's not important to the dialogues plot,but I'm just wondering if there is a clear language implication here or not;whether they may have just met in highschool for the first time.
Posted on: Pre-Marital Health Testing
June 1, 2009 at 8:55 AMJohn,
Sure,but the way that ended was a classic for how all good series end...hanging and unable to wait for the next instalment.Anyhow,another great lesson mate.:)
Another question this lesson raised for me was the difference between 避孕 和 节育。I realised this was discussed in the podcast but what I got from that was that the former was for contraception and the latter was [while translated as birth control] explained as referring to planned parenthood.I'd be interested in the specifics of the distinction the Chinese draw between these two terms.In the west I would say that birth control is often synonymous with contraception but can be slightly more encompassing to include not only contraception but also abortion;so that birth control and planned parenthood could be seen perhaps as a little euphemistic.Or is there even wider implication with 节育 ？
Posted on: Pre-Marital Health Testing
June 1, 2009 at 6:53 AMCPod,
你们要答应我，以后这个课程是系列。你们应该接下来。。。you can't leave us hanging like that...we have to find out if there is something behind this 难言之隐 and we need to find out what tests are going to be ordered and the 结果。Once again the acting in this lesson was superb.They both deserve a big pat on the back.Great expression.
I take it that 缺胳膊少腿的 refers to more than just missing arms and legs?..a broader term?
Jenny's mention of politically correct terms gave me an idea I'd love to see a lesson on;politically correct language.It has really changed language in the west and I think it'd be very interesting to explore that in Chinese.
Posted on: Pre-Marital Health Testing
June 1, 2009 at 5:02 AMI love this expression :青梅竹马 ..for puppy love.
..being a westerner,I think of a hobby horse as being a toy for a very young child [younger than school age...say a 3 year old].However I found this photo which shows maybe it's not just kids in China who go around on 竹马:
So I'm wondering about the implications here.A says they grew up together ...从小.What is the age implication here? Once again I would have thought it meant from earlier childhood than the highschool that was then mentioned.They have been courting for 7 years.So would it be correct to interpret this dialogue as suggesting they grew up from early childhood together but then years later became romantically involved somewhere in their teens [7 years ago]?
Posted on: Pre-Marital Health Testing
June 1, 2009 at 4:18 AMAlso,in the following line B has been translated as saying:
"And even if something comes up,I'll be on your side.We'll deal with it together."
Is this suggested by 强吧....kinda like...we'll stand firm together no matter what ?
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 11: Wang in the Doghouse
June 1, 2009 at 1:47 AMMark,
lol;very good.I definitely agree that Lao Wang will redeem himself in the end [and I don't see a reconciliation with laopo prior to that],but not without some chaos on the way.I think until that point is reached,Lao Wang's belief in himself will be all he has.Let others cards fall where they will.The naysayers will choke on Lao Wangs fengjiao in the end.Jiayou Lao Wang !
Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 11: Wang in the Doghouse
June 1, 2009 at 1:29 AMxinjiapo2703,
Just curious.Is your username suggesting that you're now on to your 2703rd new housewife,or am I misinterpreting the pinyin? If so,you must be made of strong stuff to survive all the attempted murders etc.Chaoren! :)
Posted on: Welcome to ChinesePod
May 31, 2009 at 1:41 PMmystic,
Changye is the expert on dictionaries and I don't know much about dictionaries you can buy at bookstores,but while in front of a computer I find online dictionaries,esp mdbg extremely useful for my purposes.While you're out and about,Calkins et al recommend purchasing Plecodict if you have a palm or windows mobile.IHTH.
Posted on: Podcast Language 2
May 31, 2009 at 1:27 PMExcellent,highly useful QW;thankyou CPod.Looking forward to the next in the series.I particularly enjoyed:
语法结构通常用来强调
...as in the one sentence it reinforced so much of the lesson to that point;well done.More of the same would be great where possible.
Posted on: Introducing Shen Yajin (Helen)
June 1, 2009 at 11:36 AMI'd like to second the request for a lesson on vaccinations,esp rabies.Hopefully this would be at Intermediate or Upper Intermediate so that much of the relevant specific vocab can be introduced in a lengthy enough dialogue.A doctors consultation would be great rather than just a couple discussing how 怕 they are of 疫苗。也许 going through the standard list of vaccines and other medical advice for travellers as you would get at a travel medicine clinic.
Good on you for sharing that Bodawei.I think many people are either unaware of or blase about rabies [a lethal disease if not treated promptly] until they are confronted with it.