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Category Archives: beijing-r

Instant Zhonglish improvement — guaranteed

[ADVERTISEMENT: don't forget to consider the Zhonglish / Chinglish conference on Nov 17 -- still haven't heard from some of you three regular readers]
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Life is like a karaoke club — you always think you sound a bit better than you really do.
A karaoke club is like life — you can get away with a lot [...]

Posted 01 November 2008 † syz § Chao Yuen Ren 赵元任 Zhào Yuánrèn § zhonglish ‡ Comments (7) °

A Pirate’s Deal

Eterrrnally grrrateful to pinyin.info for bringing Talk Like a Pirate Day to the attention of the ever-unvigilant writing staff here at the Beijing Sounds studios, who apparently missed this well-known international holiday entirely. Having once been credited with (accused of?) promoting R-fulness in the speaking of Mandarin, the editor is happy to adopt the holiday [...]

Posted 18 September 2008 † syz § Talk Like a Pirate Day § Yuèmǔ U. § běijīnghuà § érhuàyīn ‡ Comments Off °

The Beijing-R exposed! (yet still sublime)

On the ineffable act of naming, the Beijing-R dissected by the white coats, and the ultimate BeijingerSometimes convergence happens. Not the dream where you’re listening to God Save the Queen belted out by a punk cover band in your company’s cafeteria, talking to Grandma Gertrude about Suzie (who you liked in high school) who’s supposed [...]

Posted 17 August 2008 † syz § Chao Yuen Ren 赵元任 Zhào Yuánrèn § Nigel Greenwood § běijīnghuà § education § linguistics § society § zhonglish § érhuàyīn ‡ Comments (2) °

Read & write Mandarin: no characters required?

Zhōu Yǒuguāng on a Beijing talk show; 4=2 in Beijing; Pinyin and topolects; schadenfreude

Everyone knows that literacy in Mandarin means hour after brutal hour of memorizing and practicing a script whose design clearly shows the influence of sadistic genius. Here are a couple of favorites from the torture rack: two pairs of characters that have [...]

Posted 01 June 2008 † syz § DeFrancis § běijīnghuà § education § pīnyīn § érhuàyīn ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged:

Zrrr, Zrrr! What does your police car say?

More on the “sounds” front: a Beijing dialect vocalization.

Learning what animals say in languages other than your native one is always jolting. Consider, if you will, the utter silliness of Mandarin-speakers thinking dogs should say “wàng wàng” when everyone knows they say “woof woof”.
After a few illogical discussions of that sort, you eventually acknowledge that [...]

Posted 20 April 2008 † syz § kid culture § society § érhuàyīn ‡ Comments (21) °

A Hútòngr Story

Regarding neighborhood enmity, L=N, and other hútòng realities.
Reality is never quite what you think it is, let alone the way you relate it to others. To tell a story you have to simplify, abstract, highlight and gloss over, of course. That’s the nature of storytelling. Trouble is, a lot of times what you end up [...]

Posted 21 March 2008 † syz § běijīnghuà § wàidìrén ‡ Comments (9) °

L=N, a sound you won’t hear in Beijing

A sound you almost certainly will get to hear in Beijing someday, if you’re so fortunate, is the sound of Lǐ Chuányùn 李传韵 fiddling. The Qingdao native is a world phenomenon and the recipient of a loan instrument from the Stradivari society. What you won’t hear from Beijingers, though, is his particular flavor of Mandarin. [...]

Posted 08 March 2008 † syz § L=N conflation § běijīnghuà § youtube § érhuàyīn ‡ Comments (36) °

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 § běijīnghuà § meta § érhuàyīn ‡ Comments (1) °