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“Netizen” Web Slang (网际俚语) Posted by Stephen on Aug 18, 2011
China is the single largest national population of online users, and as a result, the Chinese have gravitated towards increased web lingo. In fact, China boasts the largest “netizen” (internet + citizens) community worldwide, even with “the Great Firewall of China” restricting the flow of information. If you thought it was hard enough learning English…
Panda-monium: NBA Stars Invade China Posted by Stephen on Aug 17, 2011
NBA fever is sweeping the mainland (again). It’s Panda-monium! Due in large part to the potential 2011-2012 NBA lockout in the United States, many superstar basketball players are considering playing ball overseas. While stars like Kobe and Derron Williams want to play in Euro Leagues across the Atlantic, others have their eyes set across the…
Shanghai State of Mind (上海） Posted by Stephen on Aug 15, 2011
Imagine a city with enough fluorescent lighting and big screen LED displays to put Vegas and Tokyo both to shame. Add some classical chinese hutongs (胡同) and buildings, mix in some 19th century, stately British architecture (along the bund) and surround all that by hulking skyscrapers, many of which have shot up within the last…
Everything but the Table: Fast Food (快餐） Posted by Stephen on Aug 10, 2011
To say that city-life in China is busy would be a huge understatement. Nothing ever seems to close, cars never seem to leave the streets and crowds only thin out when inclimate weather rears its ugly head. Cities are crowded concrete jungles filled brimming with people. Yet the hustle-bustle of Chinese metropolises stands as a testament to the vast…
Proverbs: Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other (諺語) Posted by Stephen on Aug 7, 2011
Proverbs or 諺語 (yànyŭ) provide invaluable insight into understanding both a language and a culture. They are a window into the very history and nature of language. Our euphemisms, insults, lessons and catch-phrases are all part of the immense dialogues that have progressed and lasted for decades, centuries, (and in Chinese’s case) millennium. Count the number…
Rare Earths (稀土金属) Posted by Stephen on Jul 28, 2011
There’s been a lot of focus on China and rare earth in the press lately, so I thought I’d take time with a quick post to explain the value of rare earths and why they matter so much in contemporary politics, trade and economics. Rare earths or 稀土金属 (xī tǔ yuán sù)are a collection of…
Left Brain + Right Brain= Middle Language (中文) Posted by Stephen on Jul 22, 2011
Learning Mandarin Chinese or 中文 (Zhōng wén), especially as a native English speaker, is doubly difficult because you’re learning both a new phonetic system called pinyin or 拼音 (pīn yīn) and a new alphabet in the form of characters or 汉字 (Hàn zì). It becomes a lesson in duality as both right and left brain…