Li Fei Pro Member United States Joined 5124 days ago 147 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin Personal Language Map
| Message 25 of 59 26 January 2011 at 3:41am | IP Logged |
Hey, welcome home, Jimbo! I don't know . . . Dora the Explorer is pretty inane in English/Spanish, but maybe it
would be better in Cantonese. You have no idea how jealous I am of all your language-learning opportunities.
You're in such a cool part of the world, hopping off to Thailand for a vacation. Did you get tempted to take up Thai
seriously?
Anyway, good luck with diving back into Cantonese. Go, team!
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indiana83 Groupie United States ipracticecanto.wordp Joined 5491 days ago 92 posts - 121 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Cantonese, Italian
| Message 26 of 59 26 January 2011 at 4:04am | IP Logged |
Here are some shows you could watch, but it depends on your tastes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Selling_Secrets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off_Pedder
The great thing about the above is that they were making a new 20 minute episode every day, so there are over 300 episodes in each series.
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jimbo Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6295 days ago 469 posts - 642 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin, Korean, French Studies: Japanese, Latin
| Message 27 of 59 26 January 2011 at 4:18am | IP Logged |
Li Fei wrote:
. . . Dora the Explorer is pretty inane in English/Spanish, but maybe it would be better in Cantonese.
Did you get tempted to take up Thai seriously? |
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Let's just say that focus is not my strong point... I'm trying to stay away from any more "new" languages until I get a better handle on Cantonese. (Uh, well not counting the Italian class I started taking a few months ago.)
I like Thailand a lot; the people are friendly, the food is great, it is warm, and it is only a short flight away so as long as I live in Hong Kong, Thai is a practical language for vacation purposes.
RE: Dora
Not sure about the Cantonese version but the one in Mandarin is just as inane as the English/Spanish one. Then again, I find it funnier to hear "搗蛋鬼別搗蛋“ a million times than "Swiper no swiping". (That is on the Mandarin version. I don't know what they say on the Cantonese version.)
Note:
搗蛋鬼 troublemaker
別 (1) don't, (2) other
搗蛋 cause trouble
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jimbo Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6295 days ago 469 posts - 642 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin, Korean, French Studies: Japanese, Latin
| Message 28 of 59 26 January 2011 at 4:24am | IP Logged |
Thanks for the recommendations Indiana83.
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Cowlegend999 Groupie CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5145 days ago 72 posts - 94 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin, Cantonese
| Message 29 of 59 26 January 2011 at 4:30am | IP Logged |
You may find these sites helpful to your studies. I can't use them yet, but they may work well for you
http://www.mysoju.com/#hong-kong-drama
And since you know mandarin:
http://www.fyan8.com/yyjb.htm
Good luck getting back with your studies!
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jimbo Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6295 days ago 469 posts - 642 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin, Korean, French Studies: Japanese, Latin
| Message 30 of 59 29 January 2011 at 1:14pm | IP Logged |
I just had a "wow" moment today.
A while back I was trying to figure out how to input special Chinese characters into my computer. (I'm referring to
Hong Kong / Cantonese specific characters that I wouldn't have any idea how to pronounce in Mandarin.) I've been
writing them on my iPhone and mailing them to myself. Stupid.
It turns out you can just write those with your finger directly on the Mac Powerbook track pad or Apple's Magic Trackpad. I'm soooo entertained.
Edited by jimbo on 29 January 2011 at 1:39pm
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jimbo Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6295 days ago 469 posts - 642 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin, Korean, French Studies: Japanese, Latin
| Message 31 of 59 07 February 2011 at 3:21pm | IP Logged |
I'm going to work my way through the first two chapters of the Sidney Lau book (book one of six) this week.
I want to finish all six this year which means I need to finish book one this month. Should be do-able since
I've recently completed a similar level book.
I'm going to restart Cantonese lessons in a couple of days. That should get me back with the program. I
haven't decide which book to use for class. I'm always tempted to work on something in literary Chinese, in
Cantonese, but I think I need to stay on target and learn stuff I can use everyday. (My theory is that I should
work on the colloquial language now and the literary language when I'm living someplace really cold.) Still, I
can get around in English and Mandarin everyday and the mountain of stuff in literary Chinese is tempting...
On an entertaining note, I'm getting my daughter to recite lines of Tang poetry (so far in Mandarin only) as
the "password" when she wants something. (...to be lifted up and down a million times, for example).
Negotiating over five syllables of Tang poetry at a time gives me a chance to take a rest. If I keep this up, I'm
going to be in great shape and know a lot of Tang poetry by heart.
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Li Fei Pro Member United States Joined 5124 days ago 147 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin Personal Language Map
| Message 32 of 59 07 February 2011 at 3:51pm | IP Logged |
Hi Jimbo,
I just read your last couple of entries. I too find "troublemaker, don't cause trouble" a lot funnier than "swiper,
no swiping." Go figure. Language study can add interest to the most mundane things.
And making your daughter recite Tang poetry--that's an awesome trick! You'll both be so smart.
I hate to suggest a change of plans, but it sure sounds like you are more interested in literary Chinese than in
everyday Cantonese. Shouldn't you go where your heart is???
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