User Comments - go_manly
go_manly
Posted on: Introduction to Pinyin
June 26, 2009 at 3:27 AMxiaophil
I'm afraid there is more to q and ch than just determining the sound of the following vowel.
These two sounds are spoken with the tongue in entirely different positions inside the mouth.
ch is a 'retroflex' sound, like sh and zh.
q is spoken with the tongue in the same position as for x and j.
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Concerning c, it may be a ts sound, but it is not the same as German z, which is also pronounced ts. I describe the Mandarin sound as "a wet t".
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei
June 19, 2009 at 9:54 AMPete,
I see no point in contributing to what will simply become an academic discussion. We both know that you and Cpod have no interest in changing the way things are done here. Your minds and your methods are too set in concrete.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei
June 19, 2009 at 9:24 AMrjberki,
I've said it before, but the Cpod staff believe they have the only valid learning method. When Pete talks, he is describing how his own mind operates, without any thought that his comments might not apply to everyone. They all fail to recognise the existence of different learning styles, and different learning requirements.
Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Dongbei
June 18, 2009 at 1:07 AMCpod,
To assist you in future lesson planning, here are the characters from the 250 most frequently used characters (according to a list by Jun Da) which have not yet been used in Newbie or Elementary lessons:
yú 于 40.
chéng / chèng 成 59.
bù 部 84.
zhŭ 主 87.
shí 实 100.
yú / yŭ / yù 与 108.
bă / bā 把 110.
cĭ 此 116.
xìng 性 122.
bìng 并 141.
zhàn 战 145.
xiàng 向 146.
zhèng 政 150.
chăn 产 159.
dài 代 174.
rèn 任 186.
yuán 原 193.
dī /tí 提 196.
lì 立 197.
lún / lùn 论 205.
yì 义 208.
rù 入 210.
píng 平 215.
biàn 变 225.
hé 何 229.
liáng / liàng 量 241.
Posted on: Juiced!
June 15, 2009 at 6:17 AMHi bababardwan,
I've actually compiled a character-based dictionary of all words used in the Newbie/Elementary lessons. I just need to add some more complete definitions from my dictionary, then I'll make it available to anyone who cares to send me their email address.
I don't think there is one 'authoritative' list of the most frequently used characters, but I have come across a few online. They differ in the sources they use, and the relative contributions of each source. This choice of sources is, of course, extremely subjective, so it would be difficult to say which list is best. I chose this list because Jun Da is associated with an educational institution (Middle Tennessee State University), the list contains almost 10000 characters, and it includes cumulative frequencies. For example, the first 250 characters constitute just over 60% of all characters sampled.
I haven't seen a list of the most common 'words', and I'm sure this would take much more effort to compile - they would need to write a program to parse a Chinese sentence into its constituent words.
I realise the characters above may not all be suitable for use in Newbie/Elementary lessons. For example, they may be common simply because they are common transliterative particles, or (like no. 110) they might require some complicated grammar. But I haven't really examined them in detail, so I'll leave it to Cpod to make the call (if indeed they want to use this list at all).
By the way, I see you live in Australia too. I hope my ID doesn't offend you! Or do you live in one of the Aerial Pingpong states?
Posted on: Juiced!
June 14, 2009 at 8:30 AMCpod,
To assist you in future lesson planning, here are the characters from the 250 most frequently used characters (according to a list by Jun Da) which have not yet been used in Newbie or Elementary lessons:
yú 于 40.
chéng / chèng 成 59.
bù 部 84.
zhŭ 主 87.
shí 实 100.
yú / yŭ / yù 与 108.
bă / bā 把 110.
cĭ 此 116.
xìng 性 122.
bìng 并 141.
zhàn 战 145.
xiàng 向 146.
zhèng 政 150.
chăn 产 159.
dài 代 174.
rèn 任 186.
yuán 原 193.
dī /tí 提 196.
lì 立 197.
lún / lùn 论 205.
yì 义 208.
rù 入 210.
píng 平 215.
biàn 变 225.
hé 何 229.
liáng / liàng 量 241.
Note: I intend to repost this on the next Elementary board. I hope no-one will have a go at me for double-posting.
Posted on: Podcast Language 2
June 3, 2009 at 7:26 AMMike,
I intend spending this amount of time. But efficiently.
I keep saying it: why spend the extra time when one knows it can be done much more efficiently.
And I also keep saying this: Shouldn't Cpod provide us with a format which allows us to choose the learning method we deem appropriate for ourselves.
I am not asking to be spoon fed. I want to be able to decide for myself when to analyse, and when to listen to natural speach. For me at least, these two learning ideas are mutually exclusive, at least simultaneously. And I choose to analyse.
Bob
Posted on: Podcast Language 2
June 3, 2009 at 6:06 AMtimslsm
Firstly, I have never suggested making the Elementary lessons (dialogs) themselves easier. Its the presentation that is too difficult. I didn't even realise that Jenny was using language-specific vocab on the one hand, and relating stories on the other. That's how little of her language I understand. Clearly you are one of the people I mentioned who have the spare time to break down this vocabulary. Most people don't fit into this category.
Couldn't Cpod either
(a) Throw all of Jenny's stories to the end of each podcast, so that beginners at this level could concentrate on learning the dialog, using the language-specific vocabulary. Those of you who have progressed far enough to understand these stories would then not miss out.
or
(b) Create an entirely new level/series dedicated entirely to this free-language, leaving the Elementary podcasts just for studying the dialog. In fact, I believe this would be the ideal transition-series between levels - natural language discussions using only vocab learned up to that point, in order to practise our listening skills before progressing to the next level.
I'll say it again, because no-one seems to get it, or to want to address it:
Some people have the talent to pick up the language effortlessly. The rest of us/you must spend an inordinate amount of time in order to make progress using the present format. The few people who have this time are lucky, but they are the minority.
Steps can be taken which would satisfy everyone, albeit with some minor concessions. When my maths class does an exam, and half get 90%, half 50%, I would not feel as satisfied as if everyone got 80%.
Posted on: Podcast Language 2
June 2, 2009 at 8:03 AM(timslsm says)
"you're mistaken to think that you don't encounter the vocab she uses in Cpod lessons"
I am almost finished copying and pasting the vocab from all Newbie and Elementary lessons, and arranging it into a dictionary. The Newbie is complete, and I have just finished lessons starting with 'W' in Elementary, so I am almost complete (99%).
Here is the vocab from Connie's list above that does not appear in my dictionary:
语法 yǔfǎ, 基本 jīběn, 中级zhōngjí, 课程kèchéng, 关于guānyú, 课文 kèwén, 内容 nèiróng, 系列 xìliè, 太监tàijiān, 接下来 jiēxiàlái, 对话 duìhuà, 类 lèi, 词语 cíyǔ, 结构 jiégòu, 杀 shā, 句式 jùshì, 否定 fǒudìng, 被动 bèidòng, 疑问 yíwèn, 反问 fǎnwèn, 说法 shuōfǎ, 用来 yònglái, 强调qiángdiào, 语气 yǔqì, 感叹 gǎntàn, 省略 shěnglüè.
Further, Connie's list does not include an English translation. When we start the Intermediate level, how are we meant to understand Jenny with so much vocab that has never been covered before? Perhaps we will learn it in the Intermediate dialogs? If so, I will not understand it because I won't understand Jenny's translation.
Doesn't Cpod understand the Catch 22? Sure many people can get around this, either because it suits their learning style, or because they are already surrounded by native speakers. Or because they have an unbelievable, frightening amount of free time at their disposal, as shown by some of the responses here.
Many of us don't qualify on any of the three counts. But we are still paying customers, and our requests deserve much stronger consideration.
Bob
Posted on: Hate is a Very Strong Word
July 4, 2009 at 8:27 AMI have made a character-based dictionary of all Newbie and Elementary vocabulary. I have it in Word and PDF form. I would like to share it here, but I don't know how. Could someone make a suggestion.
(I don't have a website, and have no idea how to set one up.)