Sam how often do you hear English when you're not online? I can't imagine it'd be often.
If I'm not with American friends, and I wish I were kidding, but the English I have heard the past two days was "<Oh, you're American?> Hallo, I am fine prease to meet you!" and "<Oh, you're American?>Hi!!"
I don't think I could ever marry someone who couldn't watch a Wes Anderson flick with me and enjoy/understand it.
I'm pretty sure I would've shot myself by now if I was over there.
Sam how often do you hear English when you're not online? I can't imagine it'd be often.
If I'm not with American friends, and I wish I were kidding, but the English I have heard the past two days was "<Oh, you're American?> Hallo, I am fine prease to meet you!" and "<Oh, you're American?>Hi!!"
I don't think I could ever marry someone who couldn't watch a Wes Anderson flick with me and enjoy/understand it.
Man when I was over there, some old dude on a bike rode up to us and started talking about baseball. It was kind of weird.
Actually guys you know what? Fuck this board's fonts for hanzi/kanjis.
mac or pc?
PC. I mean I guess I could find some way to make them larger and/or change them. I mean, I can read (Some of) them, they are just so damn cramped and small.
edit: okay nevermind, the Japanese was about hitlercaust. Apparently the Chinese was some sort of seminal lecture or something. uhh.. thanks babelfish.
Man you haven't had to read them off a cell phone yet have you
Get ready for some real fun, let me tell you.
yeah but my host brother's cell phone screen was gigantic.
Not sure how much I will be texting on the air base if I ever get stationed over there though.
Please don't be one of the nanpa'ing faggots that I have to sit nearby when I go out to bars with friends. There are so many army dudes in the bars in Tokyo. I hate a lot of things about this country, and one of them is the fucking asshole foreigners who make such a goddamned scene wherever they go because they wanna get laid.
I speak English, but badly enough that my English teachers just sort of looked at me the way you'd stare down a puppy that peed on the sofa. Can speak a few words of Spanish, and would love to learn more of it, but I can't roll my 'r's and could never remember which words are masculine or feminine.
Before I went to southern China a few months ago I learned a few basic phrases. The way people looked at me when they were thanked with shei shei/do jei (that spelling will be so mangled), you'd think most tourists just yelled at them to speak American. Also amazing how fast you can pick up some of the basic hanzi - sure, the giant-square-of-squiggles ones were too hard, but basic shapes like the ones for entrance, exit, AM, PM, day month year etc. were easy enough.
Sam how often do you hear English when you're not online? I can't imagine it'd be often.
If I'm not with American friends, and I wish I were kidding, but the English I have heard the past two days was "<Oh, you're American?> Hallo, I am fine prease to meet you!" and "<Oh, you're American?>Hi!!"
I don't think I could ever marry someone who couldn't watch a Wes Anderson flick with me and enjoy/understand it.
Man when I was over there, some old dude on a bike rode up to us and started talking about baseball. It was kind of weird.
When I was over there Godzilla was wrecking shit everywhere, then King Ghidora showed up. Holy shit everything exploded let me tell you.
Sam how often do you hear English when you're not online? I can't imagine it'd be often.
If I'm not with American friends, and I wish I were kidding, but the English I have heard the past two days was "<Oh, you're American?> Hallo, I am fine prease to meet you!" and "<Oh, you're American?>Hi!!"
I don't think I could ever marry someone who couldn't watch a Wes Anderson flick with me and enjoy/understand it.
Man when I was over there, some old dude on a bike rode up to us and started talking about baseball. It was kind of weird.
Shit you not, two weeks into my ungodly long amount of time in this country, I'm on the train out in Chiba and spot a Japanese guy decked out head to toe in Minnesota Twins paraphernalia, my hometown team. Really weird.
scarlet st. on
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ArtreusI'm a wizardAnd that looks fucked upRegistered Userregular
Actually guys you know what? Fuck this board's fonts for hanzi/kanjis.
mac or pc?
PC. I mean I guess I could find some way to make them larger and/or change them. I mean, I can read (Some of) them, they are just so damn cramped and small.
edit: okay nevermind, the Japanese was about hitlercaust. Apparently the Chinese was some sort of seminal lecture or something. uhh.. thanks babelfish.
Man you haven't had to read them off a cell phone yet have you
Get ready for some real fun, let me tell you.
yeah but my host brother's cell phone screen was gigantic.
Not sure how much I will be texting on the air base if I ever get stationed over there though.
Please don't be one of the nanpa'ing faggots that I have to sit nearby when I go out to bars with friends. There are so many army dudes in the bars in Tokyo. I hate a lot of things about this country, and one of them is the fucking asshole foreigners who make such a goddamned scene wherever they go because they wanna get laid.
First off. Air Force > Army.
And man I was only in Miyoshi for like 2 weeks, visited maybe Nagoya, Toyota and Kyoto. Not much else besides that. I am going to study abroad in either Tokyo or Nagoya for like a semester. Really doubt I am going to be like that.
Edit: I mean I assume once I graduate they will base me somewhere near Japan, what with my major being Japanese language and culture, with Russian and Chinese languages on the side.
I speak English, but badly enough that my English teachers just sort of looked at me the way you'd stare down a puppy that peed on the sofa. Can speak a few words of Spanish, and would love to learn more of it, but I can't roll my 'r's and could never remember which words are masculine or feminine.
Before I went to southern China a few months ago I learned a few basic phrases. The way people looked at me when they were thanked with shei shei/do jei (that spelling will be so mangled), you'd think most tourists just yelled at them to speak American. Also amazing how fast you can pick up some of the basic hanzi - sure, the giant-square-of-squiggles ones were too hard, but basic shapes like the ones for entrance, exit, AM, PM, day month year etc. were easy enough.
it sounds like you had a mother of a time since you were speaking both Mandarin and Cantonese
I speak English, but badly enough that my English teachers just sort of looked at me the way you'd stare down a puppy that peed on the sofa. Can speak a few words of Spanish, and would love to learn more of it, but I can't roll my 'r's and could never remember which words are masculine or feminine.
Before I went to southern China a few months ago I learned a few basic phrases. The way people looked at me when they were thanked with shei shei/do jei (that spelling will be so mangled), you'd think most tourists just yelled at them to speak American. Also amazing how fast you can pick up some of the basic hanzi - sure, the giant-square-of-squiggles ones were too hard, but basic shapes like the ones for entrance, exit, AM, PM, day month year etc. were easy enough.
it sounds like you had a mother of a time since you were speaking both Mandarin and Cantonese
Went to Hong Kong, then a train to the mainland up to Foshan (again, spelling mangled).
One of the reasons I love King of the Hill is when Peggy speaks spanish. She doesn't speak it properly at all, but it goes right over the Texans heads anyhow.
Sam how often do you hear English when you're not online? I can't imagine it'd be often.
If I'm not with American friends, and I wish I were kidding, but the English I have heard the past two days was "<Oh, you're American?> Hallo, I am fine prease to meet you!" and "<Oh, you're American?>Hi!!"
I don't think I could ever marry someone who couldn't watch a Wes Anderson flick with me and enjoy/understand it.
Man when I was over there, some old dude on a bike rode up to us and started talking about baseball. It was kind of weird.
When I was over there Godzilla was wrecking shit everywhere, then King Ghidora showed up. Holy shit everything exploded let me tell you.
I speak English, but badly enough that my English teachers just sort of looked at me the way you'd stare down a puppy that peed on the sofa. Can speak a few words of Spanish, and would love to learn more of it, but I can't roll my 'r's and could never remember which words are masculine or feminine.
Before I went to southern China a few months ago I learned a few basic phrases. The way people looked at me when they were thanked with shei shei/do jei (that spelling will be so mangled), you'd think most tourists just yelled at them to speak American. Also amazing how fast you can pick up some of the basic hanzi - sure, the giant-square-of-squiggles ones were too hard, but basic shapes like the ones for entrance, exit, AM, PM, day month year etc. were easy enough.
it sounds like you had a mother of a time since you were speaking both Mandarin and Cantonese
Went to Hong Kong, then a train to the mainland up to Foshan (again, spelling mangled).
yeah trying to switch rapidly between Cantonese and Mandarin is a terrible idea
hopefully you didn't end up 18 kinds of confused
the Cantonese (and Hong Kongers in particular) are infamous for their butchered Mandarin accents
I speak English, but badly enough that my English teachers just sort of looked at me the way you'd stare down a puppy that peed on the sofa. Can speak a few words of Spanish, and would love to learn more of it, but I can't roll my 'r's and could never remember which words are masculine or feminine.
Before I went to southern China a few months ago I learned a few basic phrases. The way people looked at me when they were thanked with shei shei/do jei (that spelling will be so mangled), you'd think most tourists just yelled at them to speak American. Also amazing how fast you can pick up some of the basic hanzi - sure, the giant-square-of-squiggles ones were too hard, but basic shapes like the ones for entrance, exit, AM, PM, day month year etc. were easy enough.
it sounds like you had a mother of a time since you were speaking both Mandarin and Cantonese
Went to Hong Kong, then a train to the mainland up to Foshan (again, spelling mangled).
yeah trying to switch rapidly between Cantonese and Mandarin is a terrible idea
hopefully you didn't end up 18 kinds of confused
the Cantonese (and Hong Kongers in particular) are infamous for their butchered Mandarin accents
Pretty much tones are the bane of my existence. Second only to characters. There are so goddamned many of them.
I am pretty fucked when I start taking Russian and have to throw cases and random shit like that in there. I like how simple the grammatical structures in East Asian languages tend to be. Japanese and Korean grammar are the sex. Mandarin is alright, it is mostly the vocab and tones that gets me.
VivixenneRemember your training, and we'll get through this just fine.Registered Userregular
edited February 2008
the problem is that of all the dialects, Cantonese and Mandarin sound the closest
so it actually worsens the pronunciation of one if you are fluent in the other
it's not like Hokkien or Shanghainese where the aural difference is very obvious so when you switch dialects it's more like switching into another language
I speak English, but badly enough that my English teachers just sort of looked at me the way you'd stare down a puppy that peed on the sofa. Can speak a few words of Spanish, and would love to learn more of it, but I can't roll my 'r's and could never remember which words are masculine or feminine.
Before I went to southern China a few months ago I learned a few basic phrases. The way people looked at me when they were thanked with shei shei/do jei (that spelling will be so mangled), you'd think most tourists just yelled at them to speak American. Also amazing how fast you can pick up some of the basic hanzi - sure, the giant-square-of-squiggles ones were too hard, but basic shapes like the ones for entrance, exit, AM, PM, day month year etc. were easy enough.
it sounds like you had a mother of a time since you were speaking both Mandarin and Cantonese
Went to Hong Kong, then a train to the mainland up to Foshan (again, spelling mangled).
yeah trying to switch rapidly between Cantonese and Mandarin is a terrible idea
hopefully you didn't end up 18 kinds of confused
the Cantonese (and Hong Kongers in particular) are infamous for their butchered Mandarin accents
Well, it's not like I was trying to learn the whole language. Just enough to not be a total asshole tourist. Wrote a little cheatsheet with the basic words and pronunciations. Didn't even bother trying to get the whole tone thing correct, so hopefully didn't hand out any mortal insults over breakfast.
Also, god damn, there's a lot of people in China. It's one thing to see it on paper, but Foshan was described as a "little town" and it's got a larger population than Los Angeles. It was funny how many of the shops had French names.
I speak English, but badly enough that my English teachers just sort of looked at me the way you'd stare down a puppy that peed on the sofa. Can speak a few words of Spanish, and would love to learn more of it, but I can't roll my 'r's and could never remember which words are masculine or feminine.
Before I went to southern China a few months ago I learned a few basic phrases. The way people looked at me when they were thanked with shei shei/do jei (that spelling will be so mangled), you'd think most tourists just yelled at them to speak American. Also amazing how fast you can pick up some of the basic hanzi - sure, the giant-square-of-squiggles ones were too hard, but basic shapes like the ones for entrance, exit, AM, PM, day month year etc. were easy enough.
It's amazing how quickly you can pick up basic, everyday things like that so long as your willing to immerse yourself and you have a decent head.
I spent about a week and a half in Romania with and English-speaking group, and I managed to figure out how to find a bathroom, order a meal, and exchange pleasentries. Some people in my group were the "English louder and slower" types. I pointed at the appropriate bits in my phrasebook. I had a much easier time.
what's the difference between cantonese and mandarin
it's all jap to me
Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong (and Taiwan, I think?). Mandarin is the standard language of mainland China. They use the same alphabet, but (to my ears) separate sets of words - the way Italian and French are similar, but fluency in one does not translate to the other.
Janin on
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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FalloutGIRL'S DAYWAS PRETTY GOOD WHILE THEY LASTEDRegistered Userregular
Sam how often do you hear English when you're not online? I can't imagine it'd be often.
If I'm not with American friends, and I wish I were kidding, but the English I have heard the past two days was "<Oh, you're American?> Hallo, I am fine prease to meet you!" and "<Oh, you're American?>Hi!!"
I don't think I could ever marry someone who couldn't watch a Wes Anderson flick with me and enjoy/understand it.
Man when I was over there, some old dude on a bike rode up to us and started talking about baseball. It was kind of weird.
When I was over there Godzilla was wrecking shit everywhere, then King Ghidora showed up. Holy shit everything exploded let me tell you.
Fallout on
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ArtreusI'm a wizardAnd that looks fucked upRegistered Userregular
There are tones in Japanese too, and as good as my pronunciation is getting, I don't think I'll ever have it down.
切る着る
Then there's the two chickens in the garden pun.
O_o I don't think the tones are quite as important in Japanese as they are in Chinese though. I mean yeah I have noticed that there are tonal things but I don't think I will really run into them for another year or two. (See, I have been taking it forever, but my high school Japanese education really sucked, so most of it barely counts.)
what's the difference between cantonese and mandarin
it's all jap to me
Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong (and Taiwan, I think?). Mandarin is the standard language of mainland China. They use the same alphabet, but (to my ears) separate sets of words - the way Italian and French are similar, but fluency in one does not translate to the other.
can a dude talking in mandarin talk to a dude talking in cantonese
I learned Japanese for a few years, but I've given up on it now. I want to learn Swedish and especially Finnish, and I can understand a tiny bit of German (my brother's ex is German and I played far too much battlefield 1942).
what's the difference between cantonese and mandarin
it's all jap to me
Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong (and Taiwan, I think?). Mandarin is the standard language of mainland China. They use the same alphabet, but (to my ears) separate sets of words - the way Italian and French are similar, but fluency in one does not translate to the other.
No.
Cantonese is spoken in Guangdong province (formally known as Canton). Hong Kong used to be a part of that province before it was grabbed by the Brits, so they speak Cantonese there.
Taiwan speaks Mandarin.
Mandarin is the national language of China, but each individual region still has its own dialects. All the written characters are the same, it's just pronunciation and slang that is different, though it is usually possible to guess what people are saying in one dialect even if you speak only Mandarin.
I speak English, but badly enough that my English teachers just sort of looked at me the way you'd stare down a puppy that peed on the sofa. Can speak a few words of Spanish, and would love to learn more of it, but I can't roll my 'r's and could never remember which words are masculine or feminine.
Before I went to southern China a few months ago I learned a few basic phrases. The way people looked at me when they were thanked with shei shei/do jei (that spelling will be so mangled), you'd think most tourists just yelled at them to speak American. Also amazing how fast you can pick up some of the basic hanzi - sure, the giant-square-of-squiggles ones were too hard, but basic shapes like the ones for entrance, exit, AM, PM, day month year etc. were easy enough.
It's amazing how quickly you can pick up basic, everyday things like that so long as your willing to immerse yourself and you have a decent head.
I spent about a week and a half in Romania with and English-speaking group, and I managed to figure out how to find a bathroom, order a meal, and exchange pleasentries. Some people in my group were the "English louder and slower" types. I pointed at the appropriate bits in my phrasebook. I had a much easier time.
FUCK WHY CANT YOU UNDERSTAND ME IM PRACTIALLY YELLING
Bibble on
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ArtreusI'm a wizardAnd that looks fucked upRegistered Userregular
what's the difference between cantonese and mandarin
it's all jap to me
Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong (and Taiwan, I think?). Mandarin is the standard language of mainland China. They use the same alphabet, but (to my ears) separate sets of words - the way Italian and French are similar, but fluency in one does not translate to the other.
can a dude talking in mandarin talk to a dude talking in cantonese
I am pretty sure they speak Mandarin in Taiwan. They do use traditional characters in Taiwan and Simplified in the mainland for the most part as far as I know. And I don't think a dude speaking mandarin could speak to a dude speaking cantonese.
what's the difference between cantonese and mandarin
it's all jap to me
Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong (and Taiwan, I think?). Mandarin is the standard language of mainland China. They use the same alphabet, but (to my ears) separate sets of words - the way Italian and French are similar, but fluency in one does not translate to the other.
can a dude talking in mandarin talk to a dude talking in cantonese
I am pretty sure they speak Mandarin in Taiwan. They do use traditional characters in Taiwan and Simplified in the mainland for the most part as far as I know. And I don't think a dude speaking mandarin could speak to a dude speaking cantonese.
Posts
Ahahaha oh my god this is hilarious
I'm pretty sure I would've shot myself by now if I was over there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw
Man when I was over there, some old dude on a bike rode up to us and started talking about baseball. It was kind of weird.
Please don't be one of the nanpa'ing faggots that I have to sit nearby when I go out to bars with friends. There are so many army dudes in the bars in Tokyo. I hate a lot of things about this country, and one of them is the fucking asshole foreigners who make such a goddamned scene wherever they go because they wanna get laid.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
GoFund The Portland Trans Pride March, or Show It To People, or Else!
Before I went to southern China a few months ago I learned a few basic phrases. The way people looked at me when they were thanked with shei shei/do jei (that spelling will be so mangled), you'd think most tourists just yelled at them to speak American. Also amazing how fast you can pick up some of the basic hanzi - sure, the giant-square-of-squiggles ones were too hard, but basic shapes like the ones for entrance, exit, AM, PM, day month year etc. were easy enough.
When I was over there Godzilla was wrecking shit everywhere, then King Ghidora showed up. Holy shit everything exploded let me tell you.
both of these are amazing
Shit you not, two weeks into my ungodly long amount of time in this country, I'm on the train out in Chiba and spot a Japanese guy decked out head to toe in Minnesota Twins paraphernalia, my hometown team. Really weird.
First off. Air Force > Army.
And man I was only in Miyoshi for like 2 weeks, visited maybe Nagoya, Toyota and Kyoto. Not much else besides that. I am going to study abroad in either Tokyo or Nagoya for like a semester. Really doubt I am going to be like that.
Edit: I mean I assume once I graduate they will base me somewhere near Japan, what with my major being Japanese language and culture, with Russian and Chinese languages on the side.
it sounds like you had a mother of a time since you were speaking both Mandarin and Cantonese
i just bookmarked them to show my spanish teacher later
Went to Hong Kong, then a train to the mainland up to Foshan (again, spelling mangled).
"Mee lammo Peggy Hill"
GoFund The Portland Trans Pride March, or Show It To People, or Else!
yeah trying to switch rapidly between Cantonese and Mandarin is a terrible idea
hopefully you didn't end up 18 kinds of confused
the Cantonese (and Hong Kongers in particular) are infamous for their butchered Mandarin accents
Pretty much tones are the bane of my existence. Second only to characters. There are so goddamned many of them.
I am pretty fucked when I start taking Russian and have to throw cases and random shit like that in there. I like how simple the grammatical structures in East Asian languages tend to be. Japanese and Korean grammar are the sex. Mandarin is alright, it is mostly the vocab and tones that gets me.
antonio banderas
all one needs to know, really
so it actually worsens the pronunciation of one if you are fluent in the other
it's not like Hokkien or Shanghainese where the aural difference is very obvious so when you switch dialects it's more like switching into another language
it's all jap to me
Well, it's not like I was trying to learn the whole language. Just enough to not be a total asshole tourist. Wrote a little cheatsheet with the basic words and pronunciations. Didn't even bother trying to get the whole tone thing correct, so hopefully didn't hand out any mortal insults over breakfast.
Also, god damn, there's a lot of people in China. It's one thing to see it on paper, but Foshan was described as a "little town" and it's got a larger population than Los Angeles. It was funny how many of the shops had French names.
It's amazing how quickly you can pick up basic, everyday things like that so long as your willing to immerse yourself and you have a decent head.
I spent about a week and a half in Romania with and English-speaking group, and I managed to figure out how to find a bathroom, order a meal, and exchange pleasentries. Some people in my group were the "English louder and slower" types. I pointed at the appropriate bits in my phrasebook. I had a much easier time.
切る着る
Then there's the two chickens in the garden pun.
Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong (and Taiwan, I think?). Mandarin is the standard language of mainland China. They use the same alphabet, but (to my ears) separate sets of words - the way Italian and French are similar, but fluency in one does not translate to the other.
O_o I don't think the tones are quite as important in Japanese as they are in Chinese though. I mean yeah I have noticed that there are tonal things but I don't think I will really run into them for another year or two. (See, I have been taking it forever, but my high school Japanese education really sucked, so most of it barely counts.)
can a dude talking in mandarin talk to a dude talking in cantonese
kpop appreciation station i also like to tweet some
No.
Cantonese is spoken in Guangdong province (formally known as Canton). Hong Kong used to be a part of that province before it was grabbed by the Brits, so they speak Cantonese there.
Taiwan speaks Mandarin.
Mandarin is the national language of China, but each individual region still has its own dialects. All the written characters are the same, it's just pronunciation and slang that is different, though it is usually possible to guess what people are saying in one dialect even if you speak only Mandarin.
FUCK WHY CANT YOU UNDERSTAND ME IM PRACTIALLY YELLING
I am pretty sure they speak Mandarin in Taiwan. They do use traditional characters in Taiwan and Simplified in the mainland for the most part as far as I know. And I don't think a dude speaking mandarin could speak to a dude speaking cantonese.
beated lots.
GLORIOUS
GoFund The Portland Trans Pride March, or Show It To People, or Else!
I took a little bit of a crash course to prepare for my trip a few years back, but it was promptly abandoned upon my return
oh ok
explain this to me again when i'm sober plz