kurdapia

After achieving a satisfactory language proficiency ( written and spoken) what do you plan to do next? Are you thinking of making a good use of your skill like maybe earning from it? Get engaged in transcription, translation, or teaching a foreign language? Which language in your own opinion would the most in demand or would pay the most should you decide to take a job related to the ones mentioned?

On 4/28/2016 at 2:17 PM, Blaveloper said:

I'm learning Japanese Kanji and I can still distinguish it from Chinese and Cantonese Hanzi (2 different ones).
The Chinese one is the simplest and the Cantonese is just the traditional one, but I certainly see the differences in radicals.

For example:
饮

飲

The first one is in Mandarin Chinese, while the second one is both Cantonese and Japanese.
Just note the differences with the left radical.

 

I am just starting to study Chinese Mandarin. I got a bit apprehensive when I read here that there are two different versions. I would not want to focus on one and then find out later that I should have learned the other version. My main goal in learning is to be able to read daily Chinese characters. I need your advice, should I learn both or should I focus on the simplified one? Thank you for your help

I think the simplified form will make it easier to remember. I wonder if learning it will also help me identify the classic or the not simplified version. Isn't there a confusion when you try to learn to write given the fact that there are two versions? If I learn the simplified is it necessary to learn the other version too?

Cursive writing facilitates easy flow of hand movement and thus makes writing in this manner faster. I find it very helpful especially when I am trying to capture every word the teacher says during discussion. I could not do that with any form of hand writing other than cursive. 

I am curious to know how long did it take you to create this game. What does it take to make one? I always hear about coding and stuff, is it hard to develop a game like this one? I am guessing you can also create flashcards to better assist language students in remembering their vocabulary?

I always try to do my research first before I start learning a new language. Some sort of sizing up the whole tasks like if I need to learn how to speak and write and if I already have some familiarity with the language. If I know about the big picture I can certainly plan my leaning sessions and design them to be more focused and helpful. I know I am the type of person who can get lost in the sea of information circulating all over that is why a careful planning is very important for me. 

It is quite disappointing when I find a YT channel about language learning because almost all of them would only feature around ten videos and that is it. Either they did not have the time to create more or you have to download their other videos for a fee.

I also know a few Chinese vocabs but when I try to listen to some audios I still could not understand what they are talking about. To my surprise they never even use the words that I had learned. What could I be doing wrong? Do I study grammar first before learning a lot of vocabs? 

On 3/5/2015 at 0:36 AM, Hedonologist said:

I have just recently discovered memrise and found it to be a gem for learning characters. It's so easy just to do a quick 5, then another 5 if you're bored, review and move onto another 5. I'm learning so much here (although I'll have to be sure to regularly review).

 

Any other people primarily use memrise for learning characters?

I heard about it but I have not used it yet, now that you mentioned about the usefulness of it in learning Chinese characters then I will definitely check it out again. I do have a question though, do you think it will help as a beginner to learn the characters simultaneously with the pinyin or should I learn one at a time.

Remember how many subjects you have to learn in school? I think the brain can accommodate them all but there are just those people like me who are having difficulty learning a new language. Just like how some people are very good at Math while others are not. I do not see anything different with language. I guess I need to rewire that part of my brain that focuses on language.

46 minutes ago, Verba said:

Hi Kurdapia. I think there is none as I have looked it up in Google. You really only have to describe the feeding process in a romantic way. For instance, you can say, She lovingly puts food in his mouth as he lies down helpless. Or anything to that effect that will describe the partner's feeding gesture. I know what you mean by mechanical but some Filipino words really do not have a direct translation in English the way we want them to sound when it is said in our native tongue.

 

I agree with you, I am having a hard time describing this subo thing to my foreign friend . Sometimes there are indeed feelings or emotions or what have you that gets lost literally in translation. ( laughs) Each language is unique and beautiful on its own and should be appreciated as they are. 

On 3/22/2016 at 2:34 AM, NikkiR said:

Simplified  are used in mainland china. I would recommend simplified to anyone planning to spend time in Beijing or read mainland news.  I did have a friend who learned simplified characters and then moved to Taiwan. Taiwan has not adopted the simplified version. He had to relearn how to write everything in the traditional characters.

Oh I see. this comment somehow gave me a sense of direction. I am more on the appreciation of the language for now but if ever I get to be fluent in speaking and writing Mandarin then maybe I should put it to good use like finding online opportunities to do translation or transcription. But that is going to be the long term plan but for now I need to satisfy my yearning to appreciate the language. 

On 1/12/2016 at 4:59 PM, innovativecat said:

I'm actually getting confused now with the book that's why I'm looking for another reading materials. Hahahaha! I love how challenging the chinese language is but it's very difficult. I also think I'm going to be confused when I go to a chinese speaking country that uses the traditional method and not the simplified one. 

I recently had the interest to learn Chinese Mandarin, I also came across the idea of simplified and traditional. With you expressing your worry now I am torn between choosing which route to go. Is it simplified or traditional or should I learn the easy one as a beginner or dive to the traditional right away? Anyone else having this issue?

For me the word feed feels so mechanical although base from the example mentioned above about groom and bride sharing a slice of cake is actually feeding but you can still feel giddy about the thought. I am looking for that word to describe that feeling or situation without having to sound mechanical. 

I think you have to be firm in your decision as to which language to learn. In my situation, I had been quite impulsive or shall I say if I do not have the drive I switch to another language which is not advisable. I started learning French then switch to Spanish as these two are quite related in my own opinion. Now I got influenced by some friends and I am now starting to learn Mandarin. It is just a plan but I am sure I am serious about this language this time

I had been using Duolingo app to learn French and Spanish. Recently I thought I would like to learn Mandarin. I did not know that Duolingo do not have those languages that uses special characters like Chinese, Japanese and so on. Anyone here who has an idea when they will be coming up with Chinese Mandarin or do you have a suggestion which is somewhat similar to Duolingo?

Here in the Philippines the language used in teaching almost all the subjects in school is English. Official documents used by companies and government offices are written in English. English speaking foreigners love to be here because almost all of the signs are written in English. The business processing outsourcing is nonstop because we have a lot of people here who can read , write and speak the language.

22 hours ago, lushlala said:

Aww these are really cute nicknames, @kurpadia! I think Nene is popular among the African Americans, too. We have our own version, Nini. I have to say Totoy, Pogi and Dodong sound especially cute! We have something similar to Boy, but ours is usually BoyBoy or Boycie. Very interesting, thanks for sharing

That is nice to know that the names somehow have similarities despite our geographic locations. I am now curious to know what are some of the funny names do you guys have in your country. Names that you would not want to name your kids with because they are either funny, weird sounding or way too inappropriate for the kid's generation. In my case the name I use on this site is Kurdapia. That is a funny name actually. It sounds weird and funny. 

I will just be providing some usual nicknames in the Philippines as we people in here had now been influenced with lots of foreign sounding names:

Female: Nene, Inday, Baby

Male: Totoy, Pogi, Junior, Dodong, Boy, 

The fun part is we usually pick one syllable of a name and double it to form a nickname like: TengTeng, KangKang, JackJack, Lulu, DonDon, DingDong, JingJing, BengBeng, BongBong, LynLyn, and so on

The other way to form a nickname is by using initials like : JR, RJ. KC, JC, CJ, TJ, MJ, and so on

Thank you guys for providing these links. I quickly had a browse and I know I need some focused reading to do to better understand the rules. From the looks of it I think it would be a bit of a challenge but I can do it. 

On 12/12/2015, 12:08:50, Mameha said:

 

@kurdapia Oh, i was waiting for the Filipino one! So it's like Italian, you have a way to say I love you to a partner and a way to say it to other people  

Oh I see I was not aware that Italian has the same way  of saying I love you. I love reading about certain terms that has certain degree of affection to them while other languages are pretty straight forward. That is the beauty of having your own language right? In Filipino when you say Gusto Kita it is almost similar to saying I like you but in an intense way which would somehow may lead to love. There is a thin line really

I see that this app is also available on google chrome. I was wondering if this is Mexican Spanish? As the big bold photo on the app is a man with a moustache, a colorful straw hat and a poncho that speaks Mexican to me.

In Filipino I love you can be expressed like:

Mahal Kita -- Mahal means love Kita means You. It does not require the use of the pronoun I. This phrase can be used in general to signify love

Iniibig kita -- it means the same as I love you but this is intended for the ones you are romantically attached to. You do not say iniibig kita to your parents or friends 

I would prefer someone who is aware of the different types of learners and how certain people learn. Needless to say that the teacher must be able to create a lesson and or approach base on the said types of learners and their behavior. Some teaching techniques do not work for certain people and so on and a teacher should be aware of that. The teacher must do some efforts to get to know the students well. 

Is there a word to directly translate the term subo in English? I am referring to adults doing the subo in a romantic way. It is different from making subo to a baby that you feed.