Subj : Re: HOLY CRAP! To : alt.tv.farscape From : Nick Date : Wed Sep 21 2005 13:37:50 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape Jim Larson wrote: > weirdwolf wrote: > >> Jim Larson wrote in >> news:Xns96D7AAA33CD743v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: >> >>> weirdwolf wrote: >>> >>>> Jim Larson wrote in >>>> news:Xns96D7A60C6A75F3v234oiwofui3284af93@130.133.1.18: >>>> >>>>> weirdwolf wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> I went to my first Mandarin lesson tonight. >>>>>> I think my brain has melted and is running out of my nose..... >>>>> >>>>> Ni hau! >>>>> >>>> >>>> Wo hen hao xiexie! >>>> Blergh I want a v over certain letters but all I can find is ^ >>>> Ted >>>> >>> >>> By the way, can you hear differences in tone? >>> >> >> When the teacher talked slowly I could just about manage it. I found >> it interesting that she was saying that when in certain words there >> are repeating syllables with the same tonal sounds that they might >> either be pronounced with a different tonal stress or not at all. > > I had a Chinese acquaintance try it out on me for about 10 minutes. I > couldn't really get it. > > (Of course, he mentioned that in Cantonese they have 9 tones instead > of 4, and the average Mandarin speaker has about as much success > distinguishing those as I had with Mandarin. Made me feel less > stupid.) > I used to work with a guy who told me he could teach me to read chinese in about 3 weeks. I am waaaay dumber than that. .