channamasala Posted January 15, 2004 at 04:07 AM Report Posted January 15, 2004 at 04:07 AM This isn't my computer - I don't have my own...yet...so I can't really download random software to read characters without asking, especially since this machine will be in Chicago with my soon-to-be-ex-roommate while I remain in DC. How (pinyin!) does one construct a sentence along the lines of "It will be interesting to see how the Chinese government deals with the growing unrest and economic stagnation in Xinjiang in relation to the rest of the mainland." ?? NO, this is NOT homework. I ask because, in order to review old vocabulary words such as "kaoguxue", "shamo", "putaogan", "dalu", "qifen" etc., I set myself to the task of writing (without being told to do so) an essay as long as I could make it All About Xinjiang. I pretty much know most of the vocabulary for that sentence ("to deal with" and "stagnation" I don't know), but I haven't got a clue how grammar like that would be constructed. Knowing - with your help - will aid me in my quest to, well, improve my grammar skills. Don't feel obliged to answer me if you think this is frivolous, because it is and I wouldn't blame you Quote
trooper Posted January 16, 2004 at 02:52 AM Report Posted January 16, 2004 at 02:52 AM I'll give it a go. By the way, I'm not a native speaker, so a native speaker will have to correct me because what I'm writing doesn't sound 100% natural. 新疆省，社会越来越乱，而且比起大陆其他地区来，新疆省的经济状态比较停滞，看中国政府怎么解决这两个大问题可能很有意思。 xinjiang sheng3, she4hui4 yue4lai2yue4 luan4, er2qie3 bi3qi3 da4lu4 qi2ta1 di4fang1 lai2, xinjiang sheng3 de jing1ji4 zhuang4tai4 bi3jiao4 ting2zhi4, kan4 zhongguo zheng4fu zen3me jie3jue2 zhe2 liang3 ge da4 wen4ti2 ke3neng2 hen3 you3 yi4si. To help you decode the pinyin here's a literal English translation of what I wrote: Xinjiang province's society is more and more chaotic, moreover, compared with the mainland's other areas, Xinjiang province's economic situation is relatively stagnant. Seeing how China's government solves these 2 big problems might be very interesting. Quote
Haizi Posted January 18, 2004 at 11:04 AM Report Posted January 18, 2004 at 11:04 AM I'll give it a go. By the way' date=' I'm not a native speaker, so a native speaker will have to correct me because what I'm writing doesn't sound 100% natural.新疆省，社会越来越乱，而且比起大陆其他地区来，新疆省的经济状态比较停滞，看中国政府怎么解决这两个大问题可能很有意思。 xinjiang sheng3, she4hui4 yue4lai2yue4 luan4, er2qie3 bi3qi3 da4lu4 qi2ta1 di4fang1 lai2, xinjiang sheng3 de jing1ji4 zhuang4tai4 bi3jiao4 ting2zhi4, kan4 zhongguo zheng4fu zen3me jie3jue2 zhe2 liang3 ge da4 wen4ti2 ke3neng2 hen3 you3 yi4si. To help you decode the pinyin here's a literal English translation of what I wrote: Xinjiang province's society is more and more chaotic, moreover, compared with the mainland's other areas, Xinjiang province's economic situation is relatively stagnant. Seeing how China's government solves these 2 big problems might be very interesting.[/quote'] Very good! Just a couple of suggestions: Xinjiang is not really a province, therefore: Xin1jiang1 yue4lai2yue4 luan4. Er2qie3, bi3 qi3 da4lu4 de5 qi2ta1 di4QU1 lai2, Xin1jiang1 de5 jing1ji4 fa1zhan3 ye3 chu3yu2 ting2zhi4 zhuang4tai4. Kan4 Zhong1guo2 zheng4fu3 zen3me5 jie3jue2 zhe4 liang2 da4 wen4ti2 ke3neng2 HUI4 hen3 you3 yi4si5. Quote
trooper Posted January 18, 2004 at 08:00 PM Report Posted January 18, 2004 at 08:00 PM Thanks, haizi. I was very unsure how to translate " the economic stagnation relative to..." You've cleared it up! Quote
channamasala Posted January 23, 2004 at 05:36 PM Author Report Posted January 23, 2004 at 05:36 PM I tried to write something without help after I got that down...something I could have written without asking. What do we all think of "Kan yi kan Gongchandang (or I could just say "zhengfu") zenme chuli zhe ge wenti hen you yisi" - there's my terribly elementary Chinese for you...? Quote
trooper Posted February 2, 2004 at 02:25 PM Report Posted February 2, 2004 at 02:25 PM I think it sounds funny to have kan yi kan. It's better to stick with just kan. Here's my simplistic explanation why. In the sentence you are trying to build, you want "seeing how the government solves this problem" to act as the subject, S. i.e. S hen you yisi. S can be any noun or verbal phrase that works as a noun such as "kan shu" (reading) "xue zhongwen" (studying Chinese) or "ta gan de shiqing" (the things he does). "kan yi kan + object" is not a valid S because "kan yi kan + object" isn't a verbal phrase that works like a noun in Chinese. However, "kan + object" works. The rest of your sentence is fine as it is. Quote
channamasala Posted February 2, 2004 at 02:34 PM Author Report Posted February 2, 2004 at 02:34 PM cool. I put all the stuff about economic stagnation and political unrest in another sentence that someone I know locally fixed up for me, and she says the rest of the essay is fine too - OK, a bit elementary, but acceptable, and really what more can one expect when their Chinese isn't great than to write something that is simple but correct, other than to try and write something more challenging as a next step? I'd write out the whole paragraph here but I'm at work and don't have the essay with me, which sucks because this computer CAN read characters! Quote
Quest Posted February 2, 2004 at 02:36 PM Report Posted February 2, 2004 at 02:36 PM channamasala, every computer can read characters. Quote
channamasala Posted February 2, 2004 at 03:06 PM Author Report Posted February 2, 2004 at 03:06 PM No, they can't. My ex-roommate's computer could not, for example. When characters were typed in, all it would read were question marks (????) in place of the characters. Therefore, not all computers will read characters. Quote
trooper Posted February 2, 2004 at 03:14 PM Report Posted February 2, 2004 at 03:14 PM It would be interesting to see your final essay posted up here, in characters if possible! Quote
Quest Posted February 2, 2004 at 03:14 PM Report Posted February 2, 2004 at 03:14 PM You just need to configure them properly or install proper software Quote
channamasala Posted February 2, 2004 at 05:34 PM Author Report Posted February 2, 2004 at 05:34 PM Semantics! Come on now, you know what I meant. I wanted to install the software but the person who owned the computer was worried that something might get screwed up (with me around doing it, that is a pretty good bet) and said no. Not that she'd ever use it anyway. Quote
Guest gaoliying Posted March 3, 2004 at 05:13 PM Report Posted March 3, 2004 at 05:13 PM I loved this post. I learned a lot! Thanks everyone! Quote
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