My crazy(?) idea for extra listening/speaking practice

[Lu]

On 8/21/2019 at 1:18 PM, suMMit said:

I would be ok just to post it and future ones here if the admin says its ok?

Make sure you get the OK of the person you are interviewing. If they are fine with your little chat being shared online (and usually they will be), you are more than welcome to post them here.

[Dawei3]

On 8/21/2019 at 7:18 AM, suMMit said:

saw a couple friendly looking people in the mall

This is a great guide for you when trying to find people to practice with.  My first attempt in talking with strangers was with an elderly couple who were sitting in a park in Beijing (and they looked nice).  At that point, I had only been practicing for 6 months, so my ability was quite limited so our conversation was very brief.  However, they understood me & I understood them: w we both laughed.  It was very motivating.  

 

This is one of the best things about learning Chinese:  The warm friendly reaction by Chinese to my Chinese.  If you pick the "right" person (i.e., friendly), I've found men & women, old & young react very favorably.  Their positive reaction will encourage you to want to learn more & more. (I think it was Daveyjones who recently posted a similar comment)

 

I've been meeting with one friend yearly for ~10 years (I didn't meet her randomly, we met at a regulatory conference). She speaks little English and initially my Chinese was quite limited, so her family & friends would translate as needed.  A few years ago, it was just her & I.  After several hours of discussion, we were both amazed we could do so.  It's a really cool experience.  

  

[suMMit]

Yesterday was in Gui4yang2 and went to qīngyán gǔzhèn. Got a couple very short videos including a woman dressed in a beautiful custom, but i could only get her to say shes from Gan1su4. I got a decent video of a seller talking about her chilis for 40 sec, clear video and audio. Again, if anyone would like to listen, pm me ill send you a dropbox link.

[大块头]

@suMMit

 

Just an idea: If you want to make these videos available without anybody needing to PM you, consider uploading it to the Internet Archive (which does admittedly need a VPN in China).

[abcdefg]

I might be able to help you with some of the teashop vocab. 

[suMMit]

7 hours ago, 大块头 said:

consider uploading it to the Internet Archiv

Sounds good, I will take a look at that 

 

4 hours ago, abcdefg said:

I might be able to help you with some of the teashop vocab. 

That would be great. I'll see about uploading to the above site and let you know

[suMMit]

Changsha Teashop video:

https://archive.org/details/changshaaug22

[abcdefg]

Sorry, but that link does not work for me.

 

[suMMit]

You tried with a vpn right? Hmm, I wonder why. I tried it on my cellphone and its ok. Well, I am pm'ng you a dropbox link

[大块头]

5 hours ago, suMMit said:

Changsha Teashop video:

https://archive.org/details/changshaaug22

 

It works for me in the US.

[abcdefg]

Dropbox link works fine. I took a look. She speaks clearly and not too fast. Native speed. She doesn't "dumb it down" for you. I cannot do a word for word transcription, but here are some comments. 

 

When doing these "mini-interviews" I suggest using “您贵姓？” instead of "你叫什么名字？“ The latter is "textbook Chinese" and it's also more informal; not quite right for someone you have only recently met in a professional or commercial setting. I think this nice lady said her name was 陈佳 Chen Jia. 

 

Digression from the language issues: In the foreground of the first few frames of your video the small clay figurines were 茶宠 cha chong. The chong is not the insect chong 虫, instead it is the 宠物 "chongwu" chong. Pet, as in pet dog or pet cat or pet bird. A native speaker would write the two "chongs" one at a time with a finger or the palm of his hand to make this distinction clear. (Click pictures to enlarge.)

 

     

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

People brewing gongfu tea 功夫茶 like she must have been, use these small figurines to dump out excess hot water or excess tea. You pour it onto the ceramic animal. This gives the animal a drink and also reduces splashing. (It would probably splash if you poured it directly onto the flat table top.) Some of these are mythological beasts. The one on her tea table layout, second from the right, next to the fish, looks like it is probably Pixiu 貔貅 a fierce mythological winged lion, more or less, that has become associated with the accumulation of wealth. It is unique in that it has no anus 没有肛门。Symbolically, money comes in but is never expended. (Cannot see that in this frame of course.) These Pixiu figurines sometimes are holding a coin in their mouth. 

 

You ask her why she's in this business, this line of work. She replies that first of all it's because she likes tea. 首先我喜欢茶。And she expands on that by explaining why she likes tea. On one hand it's because tea and tea making are traditional Chinese cultural arts. 中国传统文化。She goes on to say that tea is also very important in maintaining health and that it can even cure lots of diseases. 身体保健/很多治病。

 

At the end, you thank her with 谢谢 and she replies by politely dismissing your thanks, saying that it was nothing. 没有没有。

 

I'll come back later and play it through a few more times. This sounds like it was a fun project as well as being good practice! Congratulation on taking the initiative! Keep it up! 

 

I'm sure some others here can help as well, and I hope they will pitch in.