User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: Birth by Chinese Zodiac

Hi xiaohu

Learning Chinese is definitely a workout for the synapses. Partly because I've lived in Shanghai so long, I'm not the best judge of whether ChinesePod's Mandarin is a bit "foreignized." I'd be curious to hear native speakers' impressions.

And I agree that in skillful hands Chinese can be concise, even exquisite. The problem is that set phrases and propaganda (including advertising) are more powerful all the time. The media for disemminating this stuff gets more intrusive by the year, as well. So we get stuff like "科学发展“ which, while undoubtedly brief, is neither informative nor useful. It's so banal as to be an assault on the language. It crowds out more poetic and powerful words, and deadens us to more vivid or significant language.

And the obligatory disclaimer: I am not singling out Chinese. "Compassionate conservatism" is just one example of a meaningless abomination recently inflicted upon English.

As in so many things, the last word is Orwell's. As a lover of clear, meaningful language, Chinese, English or Swahili, I find his "Politics and the English Language" illuminating.

Posted on: Often: Using 常常，经常，通常 (chángcháng, jīngcháng, tōngcháng)

Hi antony73

I celebrated my third Chinaversary last September. I started learning Chinese in September 2003.

As for wisdom, I guess the big thing is exposure. Of course ChinesePod is provides a good structure, especially for listening (I was a devoted listener long before I was the in-house translator). I also recommend talking to Chinese people, reading anything from gossip rags to novels etc. and building VOCABULARY, which seems to be the big stumbling block for many people.

Finally, don't be afraid to speak and write. The errors are fixable and often funny, and the progress you'll make will surprise you.

A lot of poddies have started whole conversations devoted to this topic. There are probably thousands of years of Chinese-learning experience represented on this site.

Posted on: “混在中国”最字榜

Hi changye,

Thanks as always for your wisdom. I may not have explained my position clearly enough. The reason I dislike the terms "foreigner" and "老外” is that they are a vast simplification of each person's unique identity. I understand that 老外 is not inherently negative. I (and many other non-Chinese) dislike it because it disregards  many other interesting and arguably more significant parts of my identity. These include "son", "student", and "lover of Islay whiskies." To box me in as foreigner is to neglect a lot of other far more interesting characteristics.

And I stand by my argument that a term becomes racist or offensive because of the way in which it is interpreted by the offended party. A perfect example was given by the learned 陈博士-- "Chinaman."　This term is a literal translation for the word 中国人， and is much like the still-acceptable terms "Frenchman, Englishman,etc."　But a minority group in America was dissatisfied with it, and perceived a mocking or discriminatory tone. So out of respect to Chinese-Americans' sensibility, it is no longer used.

As I mentioned earlier, very, very few Chinese people have lived long-term as "minorities." So many understandably lack a certain sympathy towards the sensitivity, approaching paranoia, that such groups can develop towards "harmless" terms. To a certain degree, offensiveness is in the ear of the listener, and not in the intent of the speaker.

And for the love of all things holy, let's let those sleeping dogs lie.

Posted on: Often: Using 常常，经常，通常 (chángcháng, jīngcháng, tōngcháng)

Hi cassielin, architpol and infusiastic

You are all too kind. I am delighted to join the Qing Wen team. Keep your questions coming!

And who knows, some day we may even have a guest violin performance...

Posted on: “混在中国”最字榜

Hi wchan

我认为如果老外真的是“外国来的老朋友” 的缩写就应该是“外老”了吧。 再说，中国人的“老”用在很多地方，没什么“老朋友”的含“譬如老江湖，老婆，等。不用把简单的问题复杂化。

而且我们已经说了，ｃｈｉｎｋ　之类的称呼特别难听，有一点素质的美国人不会讲。我的意思就是，老外不好听是因为它强调外人的意思。非中国人之类的话比较客观，比较中性。

Posted on: “混在中国”最字榜

Hi elpeggy,

Interesting points, as always. 我虽然不能代表其他外国人，但我还是要解释我不喜欢　“外国人” 或特别是“老外” 这些称呼的理由。一听到，就知道对方没把你当作人，而看你为外国人，认为在某个程度上你不属于他的社会。我按时交税给中国伟大的中央政府，在这边生活了好几年，还学会了这个语言，但永远是　“foreigner？”　我并不想作为中国公民，但说道我个人身份，跟周围的中国人种族和血统不一致是很小的一个细节。共同的地方比不一样的地方多吧。

中国人很少经历过在跟自己不同种族社会的生活，所以很少有作为非常好认的“少数民族”的经验。在这种条件下，怪不得很多中国人对“外国人”称呼这个问题不是非常有同情的。只有文化交流和旅游才能解决这个问题。

我在美国的时候尽量不说“foreigners."说道别国都会说＂ａｂｒｏａｄ，　ｏｖｅｒｓｅａｓ，等。” 说道移民或来自国外的游客，我会说"non-Americans，　或　具体俄的国籍Canadians，French，ｅｔｃ．"　”外国人“第一不好听，第二太广泛，甚至完全失去意义。难道所有的中国人，或是美国人，或是‘外国人”想法和行为都一样吗？怎么可能。

既然全世界的“外国人”比中国人多的几倍，何必要用“中国人”作为ｄｅｆａｕｌｔ？在我眼里，这个说法是有一定的ethnocentrism. 我可以了解它的历史和来源，再说，中国人绝对不是唯一个把自己放在中间的民族，但我还是挺的不太顺耳。

Posted on: “混在中国”最字榜

Hi mynamesolia

据我个人了解，老毛子这个说法起于以前俄国人很流行留胡子，估计他们在中国买茶叶带回国被中国人看到了。”胡“ 这个字有野蛮，或国外的含义-- 胡说八道，胡扯，等。跟英文的barbarian 有一点像，barbarian 也来自于希腊语的 red-bearded. 由此可见，胡子是种族的一个非常基本的特征。

说到这种名字不得不提“印度阿三，” 我的一本讲上海历史的书里说是因为在帝国时代的时候，英国人在上海雇佣印度人当作警察。 印度人长得稍微黑一点，中国人认为有一点像‘黑炭“。 时间久了，这个说法就变成阿三。 目前”阿三“有一点想小流氓，我建议Poddies少说这个词。

Hi chrisstudent, 鬼佬是粤语的说法，我好像不怎么听内地人这么讲。

我个人不怎么喜欢 "老外"甚至是 "外国人" 这种说法。毕竟全世界人口的百分之七十以上都是外国人，按理说这才是人类的default setting. 可惜中国人不把人类分成 “中国人、非中国人"。 反正人类都是同一个种类。

Hi elpeggy台湾有一个景点叫红毛城，以前是荷兰人的堡垒。我不知道他是不是跟鬼有关系，我反正一直以为就是因为荷兰人头发是红色的。

All poddies

It is essential to learn the racist slang and terms for foreigners in each society. This is a window onto how the people in the society view themselves and the rest of the world. But be very careful about using these. As non-native speakers, we are likely to misuse them, or at least sound awkward.

Posted on: “混在中国”最字榜

Hi elpeggy

作为CPod 的翻译，非常感谢你留言，大家都学到了很多挺有趣的事情。非常希望elpeggy同学可以加入我们community， 多跟poddies交流。

但说起狗狗不见的事， 我不太同意。以前不少中国朋友都跟我说了，如果你的小狗走丢了，就认命吧，它十有八九让人家给吃了。

我这个素食者对吃任何肉敬而远之。我当然希望人类可以少点屠宰动物，但如果非要杀的话，要先给它比较好的生活条件而且要用快捷和人道的屠宰方式。这点很多国家包括美国都做得很不到位。

Posted on: Dinner Guest

Hello user5002,

Thanks for demanding excellence. As the first-ever ChinesePod translator, I have not yet had the opportunity to revise lessons released two years ago. But your point is valid. I will bear it in mind.

Posted on: “混在中国”最字榜

Hi weijin

透析 tou4xi1 也有dialysis的意思，但这边它的意思是“分析的特别清楚，入木三分。”

透是透明或参透的透，　而析就是分析的析。这句话的意思就是你看透了中国政治，经济，文化等方面。

而且，有时候看透又不好的含义，比如说某一个人要骗你，但你看透了他的招术。