User Comments - laodie

Posted on: Numbers in Chinese

好，

ling2, 么yao1, and 两liang3。

Posted on: Using 'Almost'

I seldom hear 差点儿 from my Chinese speaking friends. More often 差不多 (cha4 bu duo1) is used, or at least I seem to hear it more often. Is the Beijing form really more used in Shanghai? 

Posted on: 会 (Huì) and 能 (Néng) Face-off

acorigan,

 This internet thing is really useful. Take a look at this URL - http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing

You will find Professor Lynch's ideas interesting.

Connie or Amber,

 Would you oblige mannu and give some example sentences using neng2 and hui4. What are the consequences of incorrectly using one for the other? Would the listener be confused?

Posted on: 会 (Huì) and 能 (Néng) Face-off

Usage is a great force of nature, indescriminately weathering away the grammatical principles of the English language and reducing conversational English to a vulgar tongue. I have no problem with the vernacular, before the wide availability of public education it was the norm.

However, when I am hiring and I have two candidates with simular qualifications, but one is able to converse grammatically while the other speaks in the vernacular, I normally would choose the one who speaks well. Occasionally I might miss a real talent, but on average I would make the correct decision using this method.

Connie can tell us what reaction using neng2 and hui4 incorrectly in Mandarin conversation might elicit. I think a simular, usage driven, change in Chinese is also happening. The use of ge4 as a universal measure word rather than the traditional measure word for each noun comes to mind. The decreasing usage of cheng2 yu3 seems another example.

Some proponents will see the simplification (dumbing down) of Mandarin as a good thing. I personally think the language has lost some of its traditional beauty.

There will always be English speakers who insist on retaining adverbial forms against the mounting force of common usage and who never use "ain't" in conversation, much less write it on a page. There will always be Mandarin speakers who insist on proper measure words and who cherish the cultural literacy implicit in the use of cheng2 yu3.

Thomas Gray wrote "Where ignorance is bliss,/'Tis folly to be wise'".  What is the relative value of wisdom against bliss?

Posted on: 会 (Huì) and 能 (Néng) Face-off

Many English speakers have difficulty using "can" and "may" correctly, so it should be no surprise that neng2 and hui4 cause confusion. Add the gramatical complication and the picture gets a little less clear. I may be confused, but I can usually understand which usage is correct.

Posted on: High Maintenance Girls and the Elderly

Auntie68,

 Like most laowai, I probably have perceptions colored by too much time spent on Orchard Road (Paragon and Takashimaya), Clarke Quay, or at the East Coast seafood resturants, but I don't recall seeing many frumpy ladies. I guess I just meet atypical examples of Singapore girls. Maybe the population I encounter is self selecting based on location. Didn't mean any thing negative - some of us prefer high maintenance chicks, OK lah?

Posted on: High Maintenance Girls and the Elderly

Although Shanghai girls have the reputation of being high maintenance, I find they fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Among mainland girls, maybe they are at the high end, but Singapore Chinese girls have greater expectations about their lifestyle requirements. Perhaps Jenny's comment about the cosmopolitan nature of Shanghai is correct. Shanghai has a longer history of affluence than other mainland cities, but Singapore ( and Hong Kong) are known for the plush life style enjoyed by many locals. Amber, can you comment on high maintenance girls in Taipei?