Posted on 01/18/2006 12:22:09 PM PST by Dr. Marten
All Things Considered, January 11, 2006 · Robert Siegel talks with Tian Tang, author of a Web site dedicated to the misuse of Chinese characters in Western culture. Tang posts photos of Chinese character tattoos that either contain errors or carry no meaning.
Tang says as a Chinese American, he felt it was his "duty and honor to educate the public about the misusage of Chinese characters."
A reader e-mailed Tang this photo of a friend's tattoo. It's supposed to read "bad boy" in Chinese, except the order of last two characters has been reversed. Courtesy Tian Tang
Wrong again gongfei.
Do you actually know anything?
I put a H where it shouldnn't be, it's Kaosiung, the official English translation.
Doesnt' matter, I don't prounce it as Kaosiung, i pronounce it in Chinese. Unlike you.
See my comment two posts up.
This is not controversial nor should it be.
There is one person who is a well known apologist for the Chinese communist regime who brought it to that level. A fellow traveler showed up to support him.
And, the things these two used were nonsensical as attacks. For example, one stated the exact same thing I did and then used that to attack me. It made no sense.
In the context of Chinese communist political struggle, though, that is not unusual.
Again, no. This is a different romanization being suggested by some in Taiwan but it not the official one.
It is Kaohsiung.
I agreee it doesn't matter much in a broad sense. But factually, the transiliteration is Kaohsiung. Pinyin spells it Gaoxiung.
CCP netagonist? LOL.
I was having an argument with Gordon. Then, he can't handle it himself, so he rang you in, like a wolf pack. Can't debate on your own, and have to come up with strength in numbers.
The fact is, you have no idea what you're talking about, trying to correct native speakers with some form of Romantization. When cmdjing caught you with your "De-guo" mistake, thinking it's to "Take" rather than the word for morality, you tried to weasle your way out of it.
Doesn't matter whether it's De-guo, Duh-guo, Doh-guo, it will not match the Chinese pronounciation with western characters, and you just don't get that. You also don't get that the same pronounciation have a vast different meaning in different contexts.
It's a well known fact that country names are SHORTENED in Chinese, but originally, the names were quite long and based purely on phonetics. I suppose you'd say that Portugal is called Grape in Chinese because they grow grapes there? Why not France? They grow grapes there too :-)
"Wrong again gongfei. "
Hmm, since you called me that, i'll reply with:
"Gan Ni Niang, Tsao Ji Mai!"
Thanks for the plot summary. Obviously I have no idea about the back story, which is why the conflagration on such a topic sort of took me by surprise. Also, I don't speak a lick of Chinese, so I'm not in a position to judge the merits of the competing claims here. Otherwise, it was a bit like wandering into Chuck E. Cheese, and finding a full-on barroom brawl in progress - not quite what you expect to find in there :)
Interesting how you immediately take the aggrieved posture, and stress the alleged rudeness of Westerners more and more.
I have seen you personally disparage and defame a whole segment of your own population however for the simple act of religious belief. If you want to trade anecdotals ... I think you would be in for a losing contest.
This fascistic racism that you are apparently echoing is growing more explicit in China from all that we Westerners can see. Then you bellicosely accost anyone who happens to notice.
And indictment of your evil government is somehow misidentified as attacks on upon China as a people. If the rudeness of people can be laid as a cultural characteristic, don't assume it is perpetual (except in the case of the French). We need to look to the larger governmental incitements to conflict. E.g.;
How rude was it for the PLA to invade Tibet? How rude for the PLA to invade the Spratley Islands? How rude for the PLA to invade northern India? How rude for the PLA to invade Vietnam? How rude for the PLA to kill 70 million of their own citizens?
And how rude was it for the Chinese Television delegation visiting in San Diego over 9-11-01 to start boisterously celebrating the U.S.'s disaster, and getting drunk, yelling to all and sundry in earshot..."down with America!" They were rather promptly invited to leave the country.
The PRC/PLA doesn't even want U.S. business managers to drive around on their own (even in Shanghai!)...they supply their OWN drivers... presumably to spy on them, unless they really do "need protection" [And just why would THAT be?].
Or perhaps they are practicing a curious Chinese rascism that is condescending to Westerners, that they can't find their way around?
Which is it?
I don't fault Chinese people...as a whole... for these antagonisms. But there clearly are both individual and ideological malefactors...and the CCCP has bloody red hands all over this. And you have been strangely quiet about that right from your initial emergence onto Free Republic.
Was I replying to you? No.
If you talk to any Chinese from Shanghai about how the expats treat the locals, you'll get very similar responses. I am just telling tallhappy and Gordon what I have seen. if you don't agree with it, then so be it. Every thread you post, you bring up the CCP, i am not sure why, but this has nothing to do with the CCP.
When did I say there was?
This is perfect example of your tactics. Make up something not said (a trivial issue as well) to use in a irrational, but nasty and visceral personal attack.
That is where you are wrong.
It has everything to do with this.
Their evil regime will grasp at anything to strengthen its hold on the populace.
Have you read George Orwell's 1984?
If you talk to any Chinese from Shanghai about how the expats treat the locals, you'll get very similar responses.
My family has taught there. I know quite a number of friends there now. And NONE of them would ever exhibit the crudities you assert. We can trade anecdotals all day, but it seems to me that you're the one with the chip on his shoulder...and why should that be?
So a sample size of 1 from you would mean everything? I was in Shanghai for 3 days, and I saw 4 incidents of that already, one was what I described at the local Starbucks, in the international business district no less. Perhaps I hit a statistical anomaly, but even the local guys we hung out with mentioned it to us.
This thread has nothing to do with the CCP, nor would how foreigners treat Chinese has anything to do with the CCP. If you're talking about not being able to drive as a visitor - it's not just a US thing, they don't allow anyone to drive either. IF a Chinese citizen goes to the US, he or she can't drive unless they get a driver license, and they can't get a driver license unless they have a visa that allows them to reside in the U.S. Same deal here, i don't see your point about not letting them drive in China. If you're an expat living in China, then you CAN get a driver license and drive, but if you're just visiting on a business trip, you can't. Get it?
From all of these anti-terrorist talks on FR, are you suggeting that we let any foreigner in the US obtain a driver license even if they're not staying here on a long term visa?????? Are you kidding me????
"There is no Roman equivalency in Chinese pronounciation
When did I say there was? "
When you keep nitpicking people on their Roman spelling, then you are. It's pretty clear.
Knock it off.
I am simply presenting the accurate facts.
pganini is a known disruptor and has been for a long time.
Hey Jackass, you're not a very critical reader are you? I never said anything about Japan being a third world country.
I'm not going to waste any further time exchanging posts with you. You don't know the first thing about me, nor how I treat people in China because though I vent on MY BLOG, I treat the locals with the utmost respect unless someone does something to deliberately disrespect me.
As for how the cops treat foreigners who screw up...you just go along thinking that. You don't know squat about what it's like to really live in China...you're just an idiot tourist.
Furthermore, if you don't like my blog..dont read it.
>>I think Romanization of Chinese characters hurt people
>>who are trying to learn Chinese, because they would use
>>their native (whether English or what not) way to
>>pronounce the Roman characters, which are NOT suppose to
>>pronounce like English/Latin/Italian/whatever
You should (or rather shouldn’t) hear Chinese Romanization being pronounced by someone with a southern drawl 8-D
>> I have used no swearing or bad language at all.
You might have noticed that I was responding to three people. “Bad Langauage” was used in some of the argument you three seemed to be having.
>> Everything I am saying is 100% accurate and obvious and universally understood.
Universally understood by you. There is a discussion here, sometimes heated that puts the lie to this very statement. (If everyone agrees, then why the controversy?)
>>PS is Kaohsiung or gaoxiong (although of course what you mean is understtod and
>>the difference are trivial).
Understtod = understood :-)
Are you seriously arguing that I used the wrong style of Romanization to be on this thread?
>> So delphiuser, your purpose is hard to understand and you come across simply as boorish and a bit slow.
OK, My purpose is to ask those who are swearing; knock it off (this means you only if you are swearing, got it?) Boorish and slow, I am not the one trying to tell a Chinese person what it is like to be Chinese, and what that person means by what they said.
Slow, Learned to speak Chinese fluently, 4 Dialects, some Japanese, some Korean, 11 computer languages, and that’s slow? I know what my IQ is, and I am not bothered by your insult, in fact it’s kind of funny.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.