> 展望未来我们仍然不断完善自我，提升各方面的素质，更恳请您的指导与支持，
> 我们将继续竭诚与广大客户携手合作，与时俱进，共创未来
That was something quite fancy, literary... Let me try. It won't be a literal translation though. It sounds like advertisement words anyway.
Looking into the future, we'll strive for better quality and improve overall performance. Your suggestions and support are highly appreciated. We'll continue to work closely with our valuable customers in pursuit of a bright future.
Monday, December 17, 2007
English translation: 汉族
> Han nation
> 好象不对
Since many years ago, China Daily or even Beijing Review (two English publications published by Chinese) used the word nationality to mean 族, so shaoshu minzu is minority nationality, and so on. I don't think that's correct. "Nationality" means citizenship as in:
A: What's your nationality?
B: French.
族 in Chinese is rather ethnicity or race. So I would say "the Han ethnic group" is a good answer to your question.
> 好象不对
Since many years ago, China Daily or even Beijing Review (two English publications published by Chinese) used the word nationality to mean 族, so shaoshu minzu is minority nationality, and so on. I don't think that's correct. "Nationality" means citizenship as in:
A: What's your nationality?
B: French.
族 in Chinese is rather ethnicity or race. So I would say "the Han ethnic group" is a good answer to your question.
English study: Comments on How-to
> 作为非母语学习，是永远也不可能完全达到母语水平比如用英文写诗歌和小说的
That applies to many people, but not to all.
> Jonathan现象，再一次证明了语言输出的能力不依赖输出的练习。“说”的能力是并不需要大量“说” 的练习的，所以不要再误认为学外语必须要“多说”，关键是先要会听和会思考。
I disagree. The ability to speak is not the same as the ability to speak well. That is, you may be able to speak (1) very slowly and (2) with heavy accent. But that's not nearly the ideal you want to achieve. Being fluent in a foreign language (as well as speaking with correct pronunciation) is just as important as being able to speak. And to achieve the goal of fluency needs a lot of practice. (Having good pronunciation needs practice too but to a less extent.)
> 自己对着墙练说或自言自语也可以
A very good idea if you don't have a chance to speak to a good (possibly native) speaker. The biggest advantage is that you have lots of time to do so. The disadvantage, however, is not to be discounted: (1) not knowing or knowing well whether you would be understood; (2) not knowing or knowing well if your pronunciation is correct.
> 写作是输出的有效手段，原理上跟“说”相似
Good point. I often tell my friends to chat with me in messengers. Messenger-chat is even closer to actual speaking than writing on your own because of its interactive nature. Again, there's clear disadvantage, i.e. the second (2) one above for speaking to yourself, pronunciation.
That applies to many people, but not to all.
> Jonathan现象，再一次证明了语言输出的能力不依赖输出的练习。“说”的能力是并不需要大量“说” 的练习的，所以不要再误认为学外语必须要“多说”，关键是先要会听和会思考。
I disagree. The ability to speak is not the same as the ability to speak well. That is, you may be able to speak (1) very slowly and (2) with heavy accent. But that's not nearly the ideal you want to achieve. Being fluent in a foreign language (as well as speaking with correct pronunciation) is just as important as being able to speak. And to achieve the goal of fluency needs a lot of practice. (Having good pronunciation needs practice too but to a less extent.)
> 自己对着墙练说或自言自语也可以
A very good idea if you don't have a chance to speak to a good (possibly native) speaker. The biggest advantage is that you have lots of time to do so. The disadvantage, however, is not to be discounted: (1) not knowing or knowing well whether you would be understood; (2) not knowing or knowing well if your pronunciation is correct.
> 写作是输出的有效手段，原理上跟“说”相似
Good point. I often tell my friends to chat with me in messengers. Messenger-chat is even closer to actual speaking than writing on your own because of its interactive nature. Again, there's clear disadvantage, i.e. the second (2) one above for speaking to yourself, pronunciation.
English translation: 瘦 and 胖
> 瘦可以用skinny来说，如果胖用什么呢？
Fat is a bad word, unless you want to make a joke of your very good friend, or somebody completely unrelated to you in your everyday life.
To be courteous, you can say chubby if you refer to his/her face. If you talk about the body, big may be an OK word. But big may also imply tall. If you have to say fat but short, how about stout? Plump may be OK too. Another way to circumvent this embarrassing comment is to use a negative sentence, like "She's not skinny". People will understand you.
Fat is a bad word, unless you want to make a joke of your very good friend, or somebody completely unrelated to you in your everyday life.
To be courteous, you can say chubby if you refer to his/her face. If you talk about the body, big may be an OK word. But big may also imply tall. If you have to say fat but short, how about stout? Plump may be OK too. Another way to circumvent this embarrassing comment is to use a negative sentence, like "She's not skinny". People will understand you.
English translation: 怕冷 or 怕热
> 我比较瘦，怕冷不怕热
I don't have a Chinese-English dictionary with me. I wonder what they translate the word 怕 to. You can't say fear or be "afraid of". A proper word may be "be sensitive to". So here's my translation:
"I'm skinny. I'm sensitive to cold (or cold weather). But I'm OK when I'm hot [or when it's hot]."
But that may be too literal. You could simply say "I don't like cold weather", or "I don't feel comfortable when it's cold", "I feel cold when it's cold".
Yong Huang
I don't have a Chinese-English dictionary with me. I wonder what they translate the word 怕 to. You can't say fear or be "afraid of". A proper word may be "be sensitive to". So here's my translation:
"I'm skinny. I'm sensitive to cold (or cold weather). But I'm OK when I'm hot [or when it's hot]."
But that may be too literal. You could simply say "I don't like cold weather", or "I don't feel comfortable when it's cold", "I feel cold when it's cold".
Yong Huang
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