User Comments - zhenlijiang

Posted on: Upcoming lessons, lots of Chinese and a "jia you!"

haha Changye--very Japanese of you.

Posted on: Upcoming lessons, lots of Chinese and a "jia you!"

oh no how many mayors out there are getting their butts kicked by Sarah? and do they like it? 嘻嘻

Posted on: Daddy Changes a Diaper

Baba 小朋友说的全都是汉语啊。是，上面提到的话我就是翻译成英语的。

Posted on: Daddy Changes a Diaper

Trevorb yes. I always think teaching materials, comics and picture books for children are very useful learning aids. As you say, we get both the language and the cultural background. It is a confidence deflator though (I struggle to read a picture book for pre-schoolers ...). It's too bad you can't get such materials easily where you are. I don't have access to too much good stuff to buy (it could be I am not looking in the right places) but my local library has Chinese sections on both the children's and general floors. Still a lot of lovely old-school (like from the 80s and 90s) stuff there, and I hope they never clear those books out.

Posted on: Lovey-Dovey Terminology

Thank you Jiaojie.

Posted on: Mother's Day

Why waste the precious little time you do have to comment in this subthread?

Posted on: Mother's Day

Tal it if bores you just skip it. No need to come all the way up and post a comment on how other people seem to have so much time to waste (what do you, or any others who make this type of remark, know about other people's lives?). Just because you're a friend doesn't irritate me any less!

Posted on: Mother's Day

I'd say you're right Baba. You impress me always with how well you read.

I interpreted this (as usual, taking some liberties) like

"Isn't there something you have to say to me (you called to say to me)? We've been on the phone so long, talked about just about everything already--(when do you think you might get around to it?)", something along those lines. Hope anna su can confirm/correct.

Posted on: Mother's Day

It's still Saturday here and I too would like to sign off with this comment, before it is actually Mother's Day.

Bodawei what I would welcome is hearing from other Chinese on how common they feel this sentence is (I don't share your need for "scientific evidence" on this), with specific anecdotes and stories--not that I don't trust your ability to monitor 48 TV channels.

Thank you for your patient explanations. You do only begin to explain yourself in your first rebuttals, so relatively speaking (in this long subthread) it is up early, but you were not really upfront about it being the context-less English translation you have trouble with (but then you seem inconsistent on that point all throughout the thread).

Bodawei please look at your first post again, see how hard it is to understand your meaning there. I guess the subject matter made you emotional; as a presentation of your argument I would say it was a somewhat problem-ridden post. It's good to raise questions and engage others in a debate, but important explanations like that should be given when you make assertions like those made there.

I understand your thinking better now and though I still don't see this issue like you do, I do hope you are consistently applying the same level of scrutiny to all the material (on lesson levels that you follow) here on CPod, not just to this lesson or that one expansion sentence.

So I am satisfied. We don't agree here. Let's call it a day.

Though I don't see any moms on this thread, 祝大家母亲节快乐！

Cheers 　☆彡

Posted on: Mother's Day

Bodawei (and Baba) it was late last night and I went on too long about anecdotal evidence. Actually I'm pretty clear what it is. I suppose because I said way up there that "Connie confirmed what I thought" you felt you had to make sure I understood her view is not proof that that sentence is widely said in China. Fair enough, maybe I should have expressed more caution there.

I wouldn't say I'm concerned that you "are not taking Connie's word for it". What I do think is that you are a bit too dismissive of the view she shared, in light of your claim that "this is not a reflection of Chinese culture". (I suppose it would have not only "helped her case" but would have been more interesting for us, had Connie shared more specifics.)

This is a bold claim Bodawei. It's surprising, to me anyway, and I can not see how you get there. (The other biggest problem I have is with your insistence on discussing how common child abuse is or is not in China, but we've been through that, we simply do not agree there). For someone who obviously regards evidence to be important you've shown us none in its support. You've offered this, but I question if you can call this evidence:

I have frequent contact with a couple of families with small children and occasional contact with others. They come from various walks of life (China is a class society.) I have never heard parents express anything remotely like this. And knowing the parents and extended family I cannot imagine any of them expressing such a thing.

What does that mean? That's such a limited sample observed. And I understand you have knowledge of those people's character and values but you do not watch them around the clock either. Sorry, but if I were required to decide who to listen to based on the "evidence" from you and Connie, I'd rather in this case listen to Connie.

Isn't there something else you haven't shared with us that could help us see how the introduction of the sentence "宝宝不乖，妈妈不喜欢你了" in a Chinese language lesson having to do with mothers and children is not a reflection of Chinese culture?

I keep my own ear to the ground on all sorts of things and I often trust my own observations over views expressed by Chinese people.

Actually I am the greatest believer in relying on your own eye and ear for "what to believe". Sometimes even smart people will refuse to believe something that is happening before their eyes because it completely contradicts things written in textbooks and such, and I'm glad to see you're not like that. Not living for the time being in China, I can't see for myself; I can only rely on information put out there by other people. I am comfortable enough being in a state of "not knowing anything" about China. However I will listen and allow myself to be informed from views expressed by Chinese people--as well as foreigners.

And despite having said "Connie confirmed" I'd like to assure you, really I do not have trouble taking her contribution for what it is. I am not going to take her (one Chinese person's) expressed view plus the fact that I saw this Expansion sentence in the published CPod lesson, put those two "pieces of evidence" together and go around telling people that "I know most Chinese mothers say 宝宝不乖，妈妈不喜欢你了 to their kids" (not that I'd be doing much harm if I did, in that who would take me seriously, when I told them how "I knew"?).

OK sorry for another long one. I think I've finally managed to articulate my problems with our discussion.