From the category archives:

Language

Language: Two More Tools I Use for Mandarin

January 16, 2010

I really owe a lot of my progress with Mandarin to Google and Mozilla. I already wrote about the amazing Mozilla add-on, but I thought I would mention two more web features that have helped me.
The first is a Mandarin tab for Google. Some time back, a group of people created a tab that links [...]

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Language: My Favorite Mandarin Tool

January 11, 2010

I recently received an email from a buddy of mine that is doing an intensive Mandarin program in Taipei. During his studies, he had discovered many of the amazing tools available on the web for those trying to learn Mandarin. He rattled off all the flashcard programs, websites, and textbooks that I have come to [...]

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Language: Smash Fear, Learn Mandarin – The Tim Ferriss Method (?)

January 5, 2010

Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, gave an interesting presentation during a TED Talk last year. The talk was called, “Smash fear, learn anything”, during which time he explained how he learned Japanese, Swimming, and Tango using a specific method. There is a lot that can be said about him, and his accomplishments, but [...]

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Book Review: A New China (新的中国）

October 12, 2009

After a few years of studying with several different books, I have noticed that their is a pretty significant difference in the quality. I think part of the problem is that there are so many people trying to capitalize on the growing number of people that are trying to learn the language. I say this [...]

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Language: Happy Mandarin/快乐汉语 on CCTV

September 8, 2009

My Chinese teacher introduced me to a new show on CCTV 4/CCTV 4’s website. The show is about an American student (Susan) that is living with a family in Beijing, and the purpose is to teach people about Chinese customs and Mandarin.

 
Although the show is not very good, and at times even annoying, I find [...]

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Language: American Politicians Speak Mandarin

August 26, 2009

Here is a post about the comments made during recent US-China exchanges. It is taken from a local article and some comments by my Chinese teacher.
Oh, and FYI – the English following the Mandarin is a translation, in case you cannot read.

美国政治领导说华语

美国国务卿希拉莉2009年2月访华时用了中国成语“同舟共济”。从那以后，我们经常听到奥巴马政府官员引用中国成语。今年七月，中美战略与经济对话在美国召开时，她又引用了一句中国谚语 “人心齐，泰山移”，来强调美中合作的重要性。美国财长则在开幕式上引用中国成语“风雨同舟”，来形容当前美中关系的现实。奥巴马却引用球星姚明的话。姚明说新旧球员之间需要时间调整才能合作。

During US Secretary of State Hillary’s visit to China in Feb 2009, she [...]

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Language: Eradicating Chinglish in Shanghai

August 25, 2009

Today the BBC reported that officials in Shanghai are trying to get rid of all the ‘Chinglish’ signs:

The authorities in the Chinese city of Shanghai are starting a campaign to try to spot and correct badly phrased English on signs in public places.
Chinglish, as the inaccurate use of the language is known, has long been [...]

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Language: New Approach to Learning Mandarin

August 19, 2009

I am pretty up-to-date on the new technology, websites, and other tools to help learn Mandarin. That was until I found Re-Learn Chinese (no longer being updated). In this blog, the author proposes a new way of learning Mandarin Chinese, and I think it is worth reading about. The author is quite good at Mandarin [...]

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Language: Biang Biang! The Most Complicated Chinese Character?

August 16, 2009

Last April, I was flipping through an all-Chinese menu at a little restaurant in Shanghai, and I noticed something interesting. The place served Xi An style food, and one of the most popular dishes is the Biang Biang Noodles. It is easy to find on the menu, because it is written in pinyin, unlike all [...]

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Language: Different Meanings for Mandarin Term ‘Xiao Jie’ in Singapore and China

May 9, 2009

I thought I would share this video from the Straits Times Razor TV. The hosts of this show are discussing a news story describing a woman from China yelling at a shop assistant for calling her ‘xiao jie’, which she interpreted as prostitute.
The term xiao jie is translated as ‘young lady’ or ‘miss’ , but [...]

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