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Monthly Archives January 2008

Zhonglish — Revenge of the Non-Native English Speaker

The first in a series [see all Zhonglish posts]. Part 1 — Tones
There’s really nothing fair about growing up as a native English speaker. The world wants to learn your language, no credit to you. But you, personally, get to reap all the benefits. You are invited to go to exotic places like oh, say, [...]

Posted 28 January 2008 † syz § tones § youtube § zhonglish ‡ Comments (20) °

Super female students. How much money? An ex-con

No, it’s not sex industry, just sexy běijīnghuà. Who’s responsible for the cheap headline tricks? Blame sexybeijing.tv…
Why had I never come across SexyBeijing.tv before last week?! The hostess, Anna Sophie Loewenberg aka Su Fei, is both forever-single and singular. Whether it’s her sundresses, pretty darned good běijīnghuà, or disarmingly candid questions and commentary — she [...]

Posted 22 January 2008 † syz § běijīnghuà § consonant elision § linguistics § street § érhuàyīn ‡ Comments (11) °

Obsessives on Beijing Sounds

Thanks, all, for the feedback this week. Between huffing virus-laden recirculated toxic fumes (aka flying) and battling a drooling-in-meetings case of jet lag, I’ve only had time for a few responses up until now.
It’s kind of shocking what happens to email/comment volume when well-trafficked blogs give you a plug. Special thanks to recently unmasked Jeremiah [...]

Posted 19 January 2008 † syz § beijing-r § běijīnghuà § meta § érhuàyīn ‡ Comments (1) °

Does the Beijing-R mean anything?

I happened to have lunch the other day with some university students, a couple of Guangdongers and a Shanghainese, in one of those Rolex-Louis Vuitton malls that clutter central Beijing, the kind where shopgirls outnumber customers 23 to 1 on gleaming floor after floor of luxury goods, until you get to the food court and [...]

Posted 14 January 2008 † syz § beijing-r § běijīnghuà § linguistics § érhuàyīn ‡ Comments (45) °

Beijing’s Absurdists

Sometimes the holidays bring unplanned entertainment — the best kind. Uncle Fred and Aunt Helen re-gifting to your sister-in-law the Christmas ornament she’d so lovingly handmade them three years ago. Your father and father-in-law exchanging giftcards of the same amount to the same store.But who would have thought that a holiday season show in Beijing [...]

Posted 10 January 2008 † syz § TV § society ‡ Comments (3) °

Blogroll — China-related blogs

UPDATE: Newer, sexier blogroll can be found here
Q: Why have a blogroll?

A1: Cuz “news” is just so much digging a hole to fill it in anyway. A blogroll helps you ignore the events of the world.
“…journalism largely consists in saying ‘Lord Jones Dead’ to people who never knew that Lord Jones was alive.” — [...]

Posted 06 January 2008 † syz § Blogroll ‡ Comments (4) °