Just god damn it!
I'm really grappling with Chinese. Sometimes, I think I'm getting the hang of it but I'm not. Take away the context and I'm sunk. Just about every time I get in a taxi and try to get to the train station, for example. It usually goes something like this:
Me: Wǒ yào dào huǒchē zhàn. (I want to go to the train station.)
Driver: Zài nǎlǐ? (Where?)
Me: huǒchē zhàn (Train station)
Driver: (tilts head slightly)
Me: (huǒchē zhàn) (Train station)
Driver: (raises eyebrows, careens neck towards me, pivots head a little)
Me: A lo ha. (Aloha - bus company near the train station.)
Driver: Aloha?
Me: Dway, fùjìn huǒchē zhàn. (Yes, near the train station.)
Driver: Ohhh,[shakes finger] huǒchē zhàn. (Ohhh, t-r-a-i-n s-t-a-t-i-o-n)
Me: God. Damn. It.
It's the tones. The "Wǒ yào dào" part is fine because context is there - remember I'm in a taxi. It's the "huǒchē zhàn" that always gets me. It's not for lack of practice, either. I say it to myself over and over and it absolutely completely sounds correct in my head, but I can't vocalize it. I know this will just kinda work itself out. After all, at first I couldn't distinguish individual words but now I can. Eventually the tones will similarly follow suit.
Until then, my strategy of saying a phrase with a bunch of different tones on each word is less than ideal. Take "huǒchē zhàn" for instance. Three words with four possible tones each, 4^3 gives me 64. Sixty four possible combinations. (That's a lot.) Pragmatically, it's a race to the bottom - say the fewest words and therefore combination possibilities to convey my message.
And that's my Chinese language paradox: The less I say, the more I will be understood. The less I say, the less I will understand.
Given my exasperation, I empathize w/ this kid. I'd totally jump on this bandwagon if I were not on foreign soil...
Patriotic Teen Fails Spanish
PS, If you appreciate this video for reasons other than its snarky hilarity, please stop reading my blog. Thanks.
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I just had to point this out. Three words with four possible tones each gives 4^3, which is 64 combinations.
ReplyDeleteMandarin and English are two very different languages, so speakers of one will have trouble with the other. Just keep giving it your best, you'll get the hang of it!
updated and thank you.
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