User Comments - pulosm

Posted on: 徐冰和假汉字

lankiem:

Tai sao dung tieng Viet viet comment?  Co nguoi doc thi hieu tieng Viet o day khong?

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong

rash,

I agree.  The MSG scare seems a bit blown out of proportion (unless you are truly allergic, obviously).

Also, not to nitpick, but you should add "chi1" to your sentence, i.e., "nei3ge hao3chi1."  It sounds better grammatically.

Posted on: 旧金山

Does anyone know what the most common way to say "San Diego" (California) is in Mandarin?  I have seen:

圣迭戈

圣地亚哥

圣迭哥

三地亚哥

I always use the middle one, but I have noticed that some use other ones.  I like how the "圣" both sounds like "san" (well, close) and means means "holy", as does "san(to)" in Spanish.  It's awesome.  The 三 one is closer in sound, but meaningless. 

Truth be told, it seems to me that most people in Taiwan or Hong Kong will just say the city names in English nowadays (at least when speaking conversationally...as opposed to on the news or how it's written in the newspaper).

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong

auntie68:

So much more polite!!  Also, a lot easier to show a card then try to figure out my poor explanation of the tones!  :-)

(five minutes later)

Oh my gosh!  I decided to try a google search and found a site that has the exact phrase 請唔好加任何味精 (literally:  Please don't add any MSG) and it has a link to click to listen to someone saying it!!!

http://www.pts.hk/oral/cantonese/restaurant

Posted on: 旧金山

tvan,

You are right about Monterey Park.  That's true of all of the San Gabriel valley, really.  And it is undeniable that there are many immigrants from Taiwan there.  What's funny is that because lots of the immigrants in California are pre-simplified characters (Cantonese speakers) and because a large portion today are from Taiwan, you rarely see anything but traditional characters here!

Anyway, I know what you mean regarding the autheniticity of the Chinatowns.  Though, I have to say that I don't think Monterey Park is trying to be a Chinatown per se.  That is, SF's Chinatown has kept some features (classic looking chinese structures, lanterns on the street, etc.) that show an effort to preserve a "look."  Monterey Park is just where a lot of Chinese people live.  To that extent, I feel like MP is in some ways more authentic.

Posted on: Eating Tofu

You don't sound like a "bitch," but you do sound a bit close-minded.  Might we not ask what English is doing in a Chinese lesson???

My Russian is not that good, but it looks like this is the convo:

Juno:  Properly cooked tofu is very tasty.

Mikeinnewshot:  What is the best way to prepare it?

go1040:  Juno, do you eat it often? (and some other stuff I don't understand)

Juno: [offers advice on how to cook tofu]

gpknopp:  Russian writers, please write simply, because my Russian is as bad as my Chinese.

go1040:  Sure.  Obviously there is a need for a RussianPod.

[I am NOT certifying this as accurate or complete]

Posted on: 旧金山

sfrrr,

yes, people understand and speak Mandarin (just as they probably understand and speak English, too).  I was only saying that Cantonese is what you hear on the streets, what people speak at home, and what is the most prevalent native language among the Chinese population in SF. 

I didn't mean to be contraversial.  I just know that when I go to SF, I hear Cantonese all around me and I get by exclusively speaking in Cantonese.  I only ever use Mandarin to talk to the crazy man with the propaganda posters, because he doesn't speak Cantonese.

Posted on: Hungry Traveler: Hong Kong

I can't really explain the Cantonese tones on this, maybe someone else can, but in Cantonese you could say:

mm hou ga mei jing

(bie2 jia1 wei4 jing1)

mm is a low tone

hou is a high-rising tone, like second tone in mandarin

ga is a high flat tone (like first tone)

mei is a flat tone, but in the middle of the voice (?)

jing is a high flat tone (like first tone)

[I didn't learn Cantonese formally, so this is just how it sounds to me when I say it...I was fortunate to learn it by ear, but it makes it hard to explain!]

Try:  mm0 hou2 ga1 mei0 jing1

That would be close.

-----------

OR, just use Mandarin...they will probably understand you since the words are so similar.

Posted on: 旧金山

My earlier post made me think:  Does the Chinese government monitor this site for content?  It seems like they'd get mad if certain things were said...I mean, they still heavily censor the internet, right?

Posted on: 旧金山

tvan, bduckie,

You are right, you can find Mandarin speakers.  In LA the transition is even stronger.  It used to be that Chinatown LA was all Cantonese, now it has lots of Mandarin (and some Vietnamese). 

I like SF because it's the only place in California where I can assume a Chinese person will speak Cantonese.  In Southern California, you can never be sure!  I am a Canto-phile though.  I can't help it.  :-)