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Chinglish 是什么？ Posted by Stephen on Jul 26, 2010
In one hundred years from now, what language will we be speaking? Will Chinese prevail as the global dominant language or will English continue its stranglehold on business, culture and academia? Will Chinese and English bridge the gap between two very different languages or will they continue on their separate ways? Anyone that’s been to…
Wingin’ It Posted by Stephen on Jul 20, 2010
Learning Mandarin Chinese, especially as a native English speaker, is doubly difficult because you’re learning both a new phonetic system (pinyin) and a new alphabet in the form of characters. It becomes a lesson in duality as both right and left brain are active when learning pictograms and their corresponding pronunciation and tones. But unlike…
House Hunting (找住房） Posted by Stephen on Jul 12, 2010
No matter where you are, whether you are in your hometown (家乡 jiā xiāng) or halfway around the globe, house hunting or 找住房 (zhǎozhùfáng) is a stressful endeavor. In China, the difficulty of finding a place to live as a 老外 is amplified by language barriers, Chinese laws, shady dealings and lack of information. Even if…
Urban Biking in China（城市的自行车） Posted by Stephen on Jun 28, 2010
It’s not surprising that there are more than 100 cities in China with a population of at least 1 million people. Following rampant development, China has turned to mega-cities as concrete jungles house nearly half of the 1.4 billion people in the mainland today. So even in a country geographically vast, urbanization or 城市化 (chéngshìhuà)…
Cheers: Drinking Culture in China (干杯) Posted by Stephen on Jun 25, 2010
I once found myself amidst an extravagant Chinese wedding in northwest Beijing, as one of only three guest 老外s in a sea of Chinese family members and friends. Upon entering the banquet hall, and much to my confusion, we were seated at the central table with the parents of the newly weds. Within seconds of…
Importing the World Cup Posted by Stephen on Jun 14, 2010
While there is no doubt that basketball is the most popular sport in China, football/soccer 足球, zú qiú (literally foot + ball) is a distant second, especially among younger audiences. While played less frequently than basketball among amateurs, football is a massive spectator sport in China. Like basketball, football is a basic sport requiring only…
Honda Strikes and Social Discourse Posted by Stephen on Jun 13, 2010
The Honda automobile corporations, 本田 (Běn tián)，has made the headlines in Asian news as a rash of protests 抗议(kàng yì) have threatened to halt production in the mainland. The protesters, which have organized, and are bordering on unionizing, are fighting for an increase in basic wages, living stipends and more bargaining power against the majority…