Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Group Purchasing Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 17, 2010
While on the train to the Shenzhen border from Hong Kong, I saw a group of 12 people 手忙脚乱 (shou3mang2jiao3luan4 – lit. hand busy foot chaotic, “rushing”) to fit some objects into their bags. I had seen this sight before. There’s an interesting phenomenon in China called 团购 (tuan2gou4 – group purchasing), where large groups…
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…
China’s Labor Strikes Posted by Stephen on Jun 8, 2010
If you’ve been following the news of late, you’ve most likely heard rumblings about factory workers in China striking for better pay (most notably, at Foxconn). Someone asked me what these labor strikes mean for China, both domestically and globally. In terms of the effect on the rest of the world it will mean higher…
NBA in China (美国篮球联赛) Posted by Stephen on Jun 7, 2010
Move over pingpong and say so long to soccer because China has turned into a nation obsessed with the sport of basketball. Flip through the CCTV channels and you’re almost sure to find a replay or live match of the NBA finals with Chinese announcers calling the game. Walk outside to various parks and sports…
North-South Variations Posted by Transparent Language on May 25, 2010
After moving from Beijing to Shenzhen last year, I noticed numerous differences between the spoken Mandarin that I was accustomed to up north and the Mandarin spoken in this new city full of 外地人 (wai4di4ren2 – out-of-towners) from all over China. As Shenzhen is located in Guangdong province and next to Hong Kong and Macau…
Regional Differences in Pronunciation Posted by Transparent Language on May 24, 2010
Today I’m going to discuss some regional differences in pronunciation and how people generally characterize accents in China. Here are some broad differences between north and south. Between north and south, 知 zhi1 吃 chi1 and 是 shi4 all lose the “h” component, leading them to sound like zi1, ci1, and si4, respectively. This change…
A Glimpse of Shenzhen Nightlife Posted by Transparent Language on Apr 30, 2010
Earlier I went to 乐巢 (le4chao2 – [lit. happy nest]) – a club in Shenzhen – after the 装修 (zhuang1xiu1 – renovation) which lasted for about a month. It reopened today before 劳动节 (lao2dong4jie2 – Labor Day). There were 跳舞表演 (tiao4wu3biao2(3)yan3 – dance performances) where Chinese dancers as well as dancers possibly from 东欧 (dong1ou1…