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#21
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In article , ggg
wrote: Probably so, but don't expect the shopkeepers or taxi drivers you do business with to speak any. Learning some of the local language is always a good idea wherever you travel, but learning some survival-level Chinese is particularly important. What phrases did you wish you had learned beforehand? Did you ask on Peter Hadley's list? Which guides worked for you? The same phrases you need everywhere. Get a small phrase book and go for it. "Where is the bathroom", "Two beers please", "Does anyone nearby speak English?" "What is that called?" "Take me to the place on this map/this address." "Does this train/bus go to XXXX?" "How much?" "Speak more slowly please." "Please repeat that 20 or 30 times." Etc. -- Invest wisely: Over the past 75 years, stocks have averaged annual gains of 2.3 percent under GOP administrations, compared with 9.5 under Democratic ones. -- Jerry Heaster |
#22
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In article , ggg
wrote: Probably so, but don't expect the shopkeepers or taxi drivers you do business with to speak any. Learning some of the local language is always a good idea wherever you travel, but learning some survival-level Chinese is particularly important. What phrases did you wish you had learned beforehand? Did you ask on Peter Hadley's list? Which guides worked for you? The same phrases you need everywhere. Get a small phrase book and go for it. "Where is the bathroom", "Two beers please", "Does anyone nearby speak English?" "What is that called?" "Take me to the place on this map/this address." "Does this train/bus go to XXXX?" "How much?" "Speak more slowly please." "Please repeat that 20 or 30 times." Etc. -- Invest wisely: Over the past 75 years, stocks have averaged annual gains of 2.3 percent under GOP administrations, compared with 9.5 under Democratic ones. -- Jerry Heaster |
#23
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In article , ggg
wrote: Probably so, but don't expect the shopkeepers or taxi drivers you do business with to speak any. Learning some of the local language is always a good idea wherever you travel, but learning some survival-level Chinese is particularly important. What phrases did you wish you had learned beforehand? Did you ask on Peter Hadley's list? Which guides worked for you? The same phrases you need everywhere. Get a small phrase book and go for it. "Where is the bathroom", "Two beers please", "Does anyone nearby speak English?" "What is that called?" "Take me to the place on this map/this address." "Does this train/bus go to XXXX?" "How much?" "Speak more slowly please." "Please repeat that 20 or 30 times." Etc. -- Invest wisely: Over the past 75 years, stocks have averaged annual gains of 2.3 percent under GOP administrations, compared with 9.5 under Democratic ones. -- Jerry Heaster |
#24
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Miguel, I second Bob's suggestion that you get a cheat sheet with the
characters for the phrases you want written out. First of all, dialects differ in different regions of China, in some places dramatically. Cantonese is generally spoken in Canton province, Mandarin in most other places, with variations on dialects so that Shanghainese sounds very different from pure Beijing Mandarin, etc. Cantonese is completely different from Mandarin -- the tonal basis is different, and completely different phonemes are used. The written language is, however, uniform throughout the PRC (Taiwan uses a different style of charcters, but most educated PRC people can read it -- in the PRC, the strokes for each character have been simplified). Many words in Chinese dialects change meaning completely based on the tone with which ti's pronounced, e.g. rising, falling, stressed-high, falling then rising. After a decade of listening to my wife (and a whole bunch of Chinese movies) I can _usually_ hear the correct tone. Pronouncing it is another story. You'll be able to manage with very simple, contextually obvious terms, e.g. "hello," "thank you," etc. Beyond that and, if your experience is like mine, you'll usually be greeted with a blank stare indicating lack of comprehension. I've been working, on and off for about a year, with a CD series on Mandarin -- the "Pimsleur Method," with the net result that I can ask someone if they'd like to have a drink and, probably, be understood. Since I'm happiily married, this facility is not of much value to me. A cheat sheet with words that you can point to will make things a whole lot easier. I hope you enjoy your trip to China -- it's a fantastic country with wonderful people (and fabulous restaurants). "Miguel Cruz" wrote in message ... Pan wrote: Probably so, but don't expect the shopkeepers or taxi drivers you do business with to speak any. Learning some of the local language is always a good idea wherever you travel, but learning some survival-level Chinese is particularly important. I'm going in a few weeks, and I don't know a word. Can anyone recommend a crash-course? Preferably something available over the internet, since I can't always find every book here. miguel -- Hit The Road! Photos from 30 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu |
#25
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Miguel, I second Bob's suggestion that you get a cheat sheet with the
characters for the phrases you want written out. First of all, dialects differ in different regions of China, in some places dramatically. Cantonese is generally spoken in Canton province, Mandarin in most other places, with variations on dialects so that Shanghainese sounds very different from pure Beijing Mandarin, etc. Cantonese is completely different from Mandarin -- the tonal basis is different, and completely different phonemes are used. The written language is, however, uniform throughout the PRC (Taiwan uses a different style of charcters, but most educated PRC people can read it -- in the PRC, the strokes for each character have been simplified). Many words in Chinese dialects change meaning completely based on the tone with which ti's pronounced, e.g. rising, falling, stressed-high, falling then rising. After a decade of listening to my wife (and a whole bunch of Chinese movies) I can _usually_ hear the correct tone. Pronouncing it is another story. You'll be able to manage with very simple, contextually obvious terms, e.g. "hello," "thank you," etc. Beyond that and, if your experience is like mine, you'll usually be greeted with a blank stare indicating lack of comprehension. I've been working, on and off for about a year, with a CD series on Mandarin -- the "Pimsleur Method," with the net result that I can ask someone if they'd like to have a drink and, probably, be understood. Since I'm happiily married, this facility is not of much value to me. A cheat sheet with words that you can point to will make things a whole lot easier. I hope you enjoy your trip to China -- it's a fantastic country with wonderful people (and fabulous restaurants). "Miguel Cruz" wrote in message ... Pan wrote: Probably so, but don't expect the shopkeepers or taxi drivers you do business with to speak any. Learning some of the local language is always a good idea wherever you travel, but learning some survival-level Chinese is particularly important. I'm going in a few weeks, and I don't know a word. Can anyone recommend a crash-course? Preferably something available over the internet, since I can't always find every book here. miguel -- Hit The Road! Photos from 30 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu |
#26
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PTravel wrote:
Miguel, I second Bob's suggestion that you get a cheat sheet with the characters for the phrases you want written out. First of all, dialects differ in different regions of China, in some places dramatically. Cantonese is generally spoken in Canton province, Mandarin in most other places, with variations on dialects so that Shanghainese sounds very different from pure Beijing Mandarin, etc. Cantonese is completely different from Mandarin -- the tonal basis is different, and completely different phonemes are used. Thanks for the advice - I am going to Chengdu and Beijing, which are far enough away that I guess they probably speak different dialects. Fortunately most of my neighbors here in KL are Chinese, so I will follow your and Bob's suggestion and try to get someone to make me up a little rosetta stone. miguel -- Hit The Road! Photos from 30 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu |
#27
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PTravel wrote:
Miguel, I second Bob's suggestion that you get a cheat sheet with the characters for the phrases you want written out. First of all, dialects differ in different regions of China, in some places dramatically. Cantonese is generally spoken in Canton province, Mandarin in most other places, with variations on dialects so that Shanghainese sounds very different from pure Beijing Mandarin, etc. Cantonese is completely different from Mandarin -- the tonal basis is different, and completely different phonemes are used. Thanks for the advice - I am going to Chengdu and Beijing, which are far enough away that I guess they probably speak different dialects. Fortunately most of my neighbors here in KL are Chinese, so I will follow your and Bob's suggestion and try to get someone to make me up a little rosetta stone. miguel -- Hit The Road! Photos from 30 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu |
#28
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China : Beijing and Shanghai has quite a few educated young people who can
understand English. Try picking them out. In small cities, English speakers are rarer. Korea and Japan: University graduates or many high school graduates generally understand English. There are lots of English loan words in Japanese anyway "emailalias" ¦b¶l¥ó ¤¤¼¶¼g... Is English enough in the big cities of China, Korea, and Japan? Is it rather a case of much of Europe, where some people speak a bit, but generally it is a myth that you're fine if you know English? Always Wondered. www.freewebs.com/travel-deals |
#29
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China : Beijing and Shanghai has quite a few educated young people who can
understand English. Try picking them out. In small cities, English speakers are rarer. Korea and Japan: University graduates or many high school graduates generally understand English. There are lots of English loan words in Japanese anyway "emailalias" ¦b¶l¥ó ¤¤¼¶¼g... Is English enough in the big cities of China, Korea, and Japan? Is it rather a case of much of Europe, where some people speak a bit, but generally it is a myth that you're fine if you know English? Always Wondered. www.freewebs.com/travel-deals |
#30
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"Miguel Cruz" wrote in message ... Thanks for the advice - I am going to Chengdu and Beijing, which are far enough away that I guess they probably speak different dialects. Fortunately most of my neighbors here in KL are Chinese, so I will follow your and Bob's suggestion and try to get someone to make me up a little rosetta stone. Haven't been to Beijing, yet, but I was in Chengdu this past April. Very interesting. Where are you staying, by the way? I take it from the thread so far that you haven't been there before, right? Expect to have some wonderful Szechuan food... Bob M. |
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