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Author Archives syz

RSS Feed Not Updating Problem

Although I feel reasonably confident that no technical team is as inept as that of the Beijing Sounds Studios, I’ll post this bit about the RSS feed just in case it’s of use to someone.

Posted 17 January 2011 § meta ‡ Comments (4) °

Your head, your “many heads” — Cultural Revolution Medicine Part I

[meta: apologies for re-posting -- see this blah-blah about rss feed issues]
A word about Cultural Revolution Medicine from the Producer and CEO:
We at the Beijing Sounds Studios are pleased to announce the start of a new series, based on the experiences of YU working as a young doctor sent far from Beijing during the [...]

Posted 17 January 2011 § Cultural Revolution Medicine series ‡ Comments (11) °

Mid-Autumn Collision

Foreword: the following is a submission from a low-level staff member here at the Beijing Sounds Studios. He was involved in an incident with the company vehicle. While the producer is generally loath to put the venerable BJS banner on works without audio, he’s not above cheapening the brand to make a buck during what [...]

Posted 27 September 2010 § Traffic ‡ Comments (3) °

Only those you trust can bleed you dry — repost for RSS readers

Since some folks noticed the RSS feed never updated for the last real post, here it is in all its weary glory.

Posted 27 March 2010 § meta ‡ Comments Off °

Comments temporarily closed — No Longer

Sorry. Technical team, in its usual incompetence, thinks it has a way to solve technical issues. Should not involve too much down time, they say.
Update: live again! Holler if it gives you issues (bjshengr <at> gmail <dot> com)

Posted 26 March 2010 § meta ‡ Comments Off °

Only those you trust can bleed you dry

Listen to the whole show with this file:
Audio: [Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Or take it section by section and grab popcorn at the intermissions.
Part 1: Introductions, Perfunctories
Or, how a Zhonglish speaker works to break the Beijing record in nèige-to-content ratio.
Audio: [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

1
SYZ
Nín hǎo! Nín zhīdào nèige zuìhòu [...]

Posted 25 March 2010 § taxi ‡ Comments (11) °

Sinoglot: more about China and language

In language, as in every other aspect of human activity, China sometimes gets presented as monolithic when it is anything but. Just consider the term “Chinese” which includes, by some definitions, multiple language families.
Chinese “not being a monolith” goes much further than saying it’s made of distinct chunks, of course. A bit of the catalyst [...]

Posted 11 February 2010 § Blogroll § meta ‡ Comments Off °

The elusive IF

It turns out to have been a trap. In the course of reminiscing about the cheap and delicious radish peel deals Beijing street vendors used to offer, YU started her soliloquy like this:

Guòqù Běijīng a, jiù jiùshi nèige, jiùshi, wǒ, wǒ shì mài luóbo de,
过去北京啊，就就是那个，就是，我，我是卖萝卜的
In the past in Beijing, uh, well, I, if I was [...]

Posted 11 January 2010 § Chao Yuen Ren 赵元任 Zhào Yuánrèn § Grammar of spoken Mandarin ‡ Comments (22) °