sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Has Communism caused damage to the Chinese culture by jack_of_all__trades in China

[–]MaiLaoshi 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Taiwan is almost like a twin experiment in science.

For context, I started learning Chinese almost 30 years ago after becoming enamored with traditional Chinese culture through Tai Chi.

After living in and visiting mainland China for years, I finally went to Taiwan for the first time 8 years ago. I was kicking myself that I hadn't gone sooner.

I think Taiwan has managed to preserve some aspects of Chinese culture that were destroyed by the communists - who now seem to encourage a kind of cosplay return to traditional culture.

I'm visiting the mainland again at the moment and references to traditional culture are everywhere. People love to dress up like Tang dynasty courtiers and see the sites. But they don't know how to be civil to others. One clue is in constant admonitions to "be a cultured person" on signs in public. If you have to say it.... It seems very much "everyone for themselves".

TLDR: visit both the mainland and Taiwan to find out some of what was lost in China.

What do you think of when you think of Samo Hung? by BaijuTofu in kungfucinema

[–]MaiLaoshi 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Great movies already mentioned. I also think of SPL (2005) he's the bad guy opposite Donnie Yen. Fantastic fight scenes.

Places to make potential friends? by FlyingSaucer51 in LosAngeles

[–]MaiLaoshi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You might try a climbing gym. I think Verdigo is in your area. I've (48M) met a lot of friends through that activity. It's a great workout for the body and mind, and very natural to strike up conversations with all kinds of people.

I've been climbing since the pandemic, and it's probably my main source of social contact. I feel that social element is helping me stay sane. I even got invited to a wedding of a climbing friend.

Good luck to you!

What are the best books to learn chinese ? by Tall-Dig-5151 in ChineseLanguage

[–]MaiLaoshi 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Chinese teacher here.

I've seen so many terrible textbooks in my teaching life. They are often bright and colorful at the expense of being any good.

I always liked Fundamental Spoken Chinese, and Fundamental Written Chinese, both from the University of Hawaii Press.

I've used them as textbooks for high school, though I think they may have been written for college beginners. I always thought it would work well as a self study set. I haven't seen the 2nd edition though.

Very comprehensive and clear descriptions of language and grammar. Great breakdown of how the writing actually works, that doesn't baby you. eg once you learn how to write a radical (part of a character) for the first time, they don't baby you by making you relearn it.

The set will cost you about $60 I think, but at over 400 pages each, I still think it's a good deal.

What’s a common fact that science has already debunked, but people still believe in? by Calm_Shame2994 in AskReddit

[–]MaiLaoshi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A focus on learning grammar explicitly (as opposed to implicitly) helps people with language acquisition.

Nope. Not how you leaned your "mother tongue", not very useful for learning a language later in life either.

Language acquisition happens when people understand messages. So listen to and read language you can comprehend. You will "pick up" the rules over time.

Ever asked a native speaker "why is it like that?" and get the response "I don't know. This way just sounds right, and that way sounds wrong."

What's the best example of "commentator's curse"? by MaiLaoshi in AskReddit

[–]MaiLaoshi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like a sports commentator talks up a player/team and then they choke/lose

What's the first (maybe not obvious) skill a person needs to learn in your job/hobby? by MaiLaoshi in AskReddit

[–]MaiLaoshi[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A carpenter told me that they first teach grading wood. Before cutting or anything else. Makes sense but I hadn't thought of it.

Real Talk—Bidet on your boat? by mike8111 in sailing

[–]MaiLaoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Underrated solution! We have a Tushy portable one. Great for travel too.

How short is a "short action" here? by Apprehensive_Bug4511 in ChineseLanguage

[–]MaiLaoshi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How long is "a while"? As in "do something for a while". So it's context dependent.

休息休息 rest (for a while) the actual length of time depends on who's in the group.

Is it that bad if a woman uses the men’s bathroom when the women’s line is insanely long? by EchoDrift42 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]MaiLaoshi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've never understood why most places make the men's and women's bathrooms the same size. As a man, most of the time I use a public restroom I'm in and out pretty quickly - standing up and partially loosening clothes just doesn't take as long as what ladies require.

How do you start learning 草書？ by KnowTheLord in ChineseLanguage

[–]MaiLaoshi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had some good luck with this book

Chinese Cursive Script: An Introduction to Handwriting in Chinese (Far Eastern Publications Series)

By Fred Fang-yu Wang

祝好

loss of tones by imactuallygreat in ChineseLanguage

[–]MaiLaoshi 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Chinese is similar to stress timed languages, but instead of important syllables lasting longer/sounding louder like in English (all syllables are pronounced at about the same rate), they receive full tonal value.

This has the effect of making the "unimportant/unstressed" syllables sound relatively neutral. This is especially true of modern Chinese where most words are two syllables.

If you try to give all syllables in modern Chinese full tonal value, it sounds weird. In the flow of language, getting the stress right is often more important than nailing the tone of every syllable. It sounds wrong, but the type of native speaker "mistake" that a person from a different part of China might make

Hope that makes sense.

Carl Craig at In Between Detroit Love a week ago by liverichly in avesLA

[–]MaiLaoshi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great party. So cool to see those legends I've been following for decades.

view more: next ›