China Surprise Find

shadow · Dec 11, 2013

Larry_H;1851894081 said:

Yup, that is true....depending on tone, the word or phrase could change to something that you really did not mean to say! Referring to someone's mother as a horse can be quite embarrassing...tone is everything...although I have met many Chinese people that have given up on tone and just speak with no tone (as possible). The different dialects all over the country can drive them crazy. In Sichuan province, they speak Sichuanhua, a local dialect. Some teachers teach this to their students, but most will try to teach Putonghua which is standard mandarin. One of my students (from Sichuan) went to Beijing for summer vacation and when they came back, they said they had a hard time speaking with people there. This is more prevalent in people over 40, as they taught Sichuanhua in schools here until 1990 when the government demanded standardized testing across all provinces. My first learning of Chinese was in learning that they will never tell you "No". They tell you "maybe" as it is embarrassing for them to strictly refuse anyone. That took some getting used to and learning to read between the lines...to them, "maybe" is telling you that is probably not going to happen without actually refusing you. Another thing that drives me crazy is that they consider it a loss of face if they tell you that they don't know something. If you ask someone directions to somewhere, they will give you directions, even if they have no clue about where you want to go. Ask five people for the same directions, you will get five different answers...they save face...you are going on a wild goose chase.:p
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You just described the Philippines to a "T"!

Larry

brian ausie · Dec 11, 2013

Hate to agree with you Shadow but you are right this time :p

shadow;1851894082 said:

You just described the Philippines to a "T"!

Larry
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Miguel · Dec 11, 2013

Larry_H;1851894081 said:

As far as 5 tones or 4 tones, we are both right and both wrong depending on who is doing the teaching. Chinese teachers teaching Chinese as a first language to Chinese students teach four tones. Teachers that teach Chinese as a second language will often teach five tones. :dnr:
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The fifth tone is no tone. All who know Chinese know this, it's very basic

Larry_H · Dec 11, 2013

All but EVERY Chinese person that has ever taken Chinese language in school as a native Chinese language speaker. The China education of Chinese language only recognizes four tones. I have never heard any native speaking Chinese person state that there are five tones. The fifth tone is for Chinese as a second language learners...or so I have been told by countless Chinese mainland born Chinese teachers of Chinese language for native Chinese students. If you think you are right, go argue with the Chinese teachers in China...They will all show you how wrong you are. There is a big difference in learning any language as a native speaker vs. as a second language speaker. Different grammar rules between languages require this. This is also very basic!

Jack Peterson · Dec 11, 2013

Merry christmas!!

Time I think, to say Felize Navidad, ( That's Spanish, in 1 tone!)

Jose Feliciano - Feliz Navidad - YouTube

Mod01 · Dec 11, 2013

jackpeterson;1851894096 said:

Time I think, to say Felize Navidad, ( That's Spanish, in 1 tone!)

Jose Feliciano - Feliz Navidad - YouTube
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time to say thred closed in 7 tone harmony ,maybe they sing it in china.

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