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Friday, September 29, 2006
Free Chinese language resources for the culturally impaired Here is an English to Pinyin translator service: PY that is pretty handy. The Japanese have a pretty straightforward system of only 55 sounds that they substitute for everything non-native. This can create some pretty odd variants for things like "pa-su-co-n" for personal computer and "ma-ku-don-nu-ru-do" for Mickey D's. But, it is simpler than the hundreds of characters used to convert English into Chinese phonetics; however, don't rely on this for tattoos and the like as you might end up a walking billboard for something less than savory. The characters can have meanings you never dreamed of....  And for those of you using Firefox there is now a browser add-on for you to translate pages into a host of languages at FF. And finally, here is a place to learn about culture and language: Linese.com. I especially like this resource as I am a believer in cultural education being part and parcel of a thorough language program. I leaqrned this the hard way: I remember years ago speaking to a very polite, attractive Japanese translator in the most courteous of Japanese tones. I had taken several courses in college and had even doled out money for a tutor. It seemed that my investment had paid off until she politely complimented me on my skill with the language and followed, after a perfect dramatic pause, with, 'But, you sound like a bitch." It did not take more than a second for me to realize that all my teachers had been women and had neglected to give me tools to avoid sounding like my next country stop-over was Thailand to get a gender re-fit.  I am exploring a lead on a free online messenger service for tutoring. I will let you know.... Lonnie Hodge Blogger News Network is advertiser-supported, and your visits to our advertisers help BNN to meet its expenses. Help keep us afloat! posted by Lonnie at 9:04 PM |
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