Vocabulary Update

It has been basically a year in Taiwan now. I have put some effort into learning off and on, but have never pledged myself to daily, diligent study of Chinese. There have been some weeks where I do study four or five days in a row however. Those weeks are noticeably different whenever I speak Chinese, in a good way. Some new words are inevitably stuck in my memory as a result of consistent study and therefore find myself using this new vocabulary without having to recall it with a lot of effort.  The other positive effect of regular study is the ability to understand more in conversation. It's interesting to note that my study involves reading and writing, but no conversation. The brain is really amazing in this regard.

In terms of pure vocabulary usage and recognition I now would say that I can read close to half of what I see. There are those exceptions when I see words that are similar and have found out later that it was actually a different word because of an extra dot or a slanted stroke. Maybe to be a little more accurate (sounds a little oxymoronic, but....) perhaps recognition is between 40% and 50%.

When I'm out and about I find myself understanding more of what people are saying, whether in normal conversation or talking with a bus driver, for example. In fact, I have picked up some new ways to express desire to get off the bus. At first, I used the vocabulary I had and used a rather round about and long way of asking to get out: Dui bu qi, wo ke yi zai "Xin Yi Lu" xia che ma? Translation: Sorry, can I get off the bus at Xin Yi Road?. The bus driver looked at me rather incredulously and asked something to the effect: Na li ah? Zai Xin Yi Dun Hua lu de lu kou ma? Translation: Where? At Xin Yi and Dun Hua Road intersection? To which I usually responded: "Dui. Ke yi." Translation: Yes, I can do that.

Later I heard others barking out or stating what they desired to do. (It sounds like an imperative to the uninitiated.) Most passengers simply state: Wo yao xia. This is translated as, I want to get off. The bus, I noticed, never seemed offended or impatient with this sort of expression, whereas with my method many of them seemed somewhat bothered or at least confused. I began my own verbal journey without really knowing what I sounded like to the bus drivers, and am currently gravitating to the native way. So far, I have found the drivers to be treating me like a normal Taiwanese passenger and without confused expressions on their faces.

At least for the public transportation, short and direct is best. There is no need for learning a lot of vocabulary for these things but in my adventures on the buses I have certainly been thankful for the expanding vocabulary to find out more of what I want to know. However, once off the bus, a wider knowledge speaking and vocabulary usage is obviously more useful, as with any broader range of activities one had to know more to participate effectively.

The Chinese Weekly

國語週刋 = ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄩˇ ㄓㄡ ㄎㄢ = Guo Yu Zhou Kan

My girlfriend's uncle is the more intellectual type, but also obsessive in some ways, too. He hails from Kinmen--the little island off the coast of China, about 10 km from Xian. He's a collector. His house is chuck full of teapots, thousands of teapots, big and small. He's also a journalist and teaches the same at a university in Taipei. (Now that I've written the obligatory segue, it's time to get to the real point of this entry.)

Last week I came home from church to find a stack of large books--the size of those atlas' that your elementary school had in their tiny but fairly well-stocked library--on the table. The books are actually a collections of magazines bound together. I didn't count but perhaps a year's worth of issues per book for a total of 12 issues in each collection.

Yes, these are actually intended for Taiwanese children to learn Mandarin Chinese. Furthermore, just as in the other children's books that I am reading, the ubiquitous bopomofo in use render's every last word pronounceable. There's enough material there for three years of reading if I were to follow the schedule  of the issues as outlined in the table of contents.

Brilliantly, the editors have also included games and other thought inducing activities to keep the learner's mind sharp and focused. I believe I will have to take a break from the fairy tales for now and switch to the more varied activities offered in these magazines.

(Pictures pending)

Reading Chinese

Here is a sample of what I read.

Conversation

To converse in a language not my own mother tongue is quite the undertaking. The amount of effort and diligent study and commitment to improvement regardless of the mistakes that inevitably occur in the aquiring of a foreign language is monumental. It takes a decidely unwavering path toward enlarging the vocabulary and subsequent usage of it.

In respect to the last point, I find the application phase particularly forboding. Not only for the fact that retaining new words is a sizeable task but that actual speaking is often arduous in that the grammar and tones often become confused and unintelligable to the native speaker.

The native speaker is not one to mince words or shy away from immediately correcting any mis-pronounced/inflected word or the word. This is not a problem in and of itself really. In fact, it is nice to hear the correct issuance of the intended word, phrase, or sentence. The problematice part is the harried sense that I get from these well intentioned corrections. They are often, if not nearly always, fast and almost like an aside that is spoken so that the native can satisfy their own need to hear the correct rendering of the phrase. At times it is certainly aimed at me in an effort to improve my speech, making it sound more natural.

Now , if only they would be so kind as to slow down just a little for the learner so as to more effectively internalize and indeed realize what was being said. It is easy to catch only a few words while missing the rest simply because of translation issues, i. e. some words or not known to me.

Reading "bopopmofo"

Children's books using the phonetic bopomofo next to the Chinese characters:

In the past year, Children's books have been a help like none other in my pursuit of learning Chinese. The ubiquitous phonetic spelling of bopomofo next to every Chinese character renders the word instantly pronounceable. Or should I should, it gives the word a pronunciation that I would have not otherwise known. Of course, the translation for meaning is still needed until I have learned and stored an adequate vocabulary for contextual reading and subsequent understanding.

If I so choose, I can practice fluency by simply reading the bopomofo without sourcing the dictionary for definitions along the way. For me, it helps a great deal to practice this way several times in the same area of the story to aid in my speech fluency. In other words, spitting out the words in a clear voice alone gives me confidence to get the correct sounds and tones while in conversation with a native Chinese speaker.

Naturally, there is another layer of practice that should be undertaken when learning a language and adding words to the vocabulary. I will look up all words that are unknown to me and write out the translation next to the chinese word. I generally will choose three words to write again at the margins per page regardless of the number of words on a page. Adding just three words to my vocabulary already increases my skill and understanding during a real conversation that going for more only adds to confusion and frustration.

So far, I've read only translated stories from English. Those stories are: The Ugly Duckling, Aladin, The Little Fairy. I find it extremely useful to read stories that I know well in English or at least that are know of and have heard before. At least, in this way, I can build the story through context faster, which makes learning new words somewhat easier.

Myriads of Buses

U-Bus, Guo Guang, E-Go, Kamlan, city buses, regional buses, long haul buses, short trip buses, criss crossing routes, straight line routes (haha, not a chance), and of course the ubiquitous tour bus. There are so many lines and companies of buses in Taiwan that it will make your head spin looking for the line you need. They are nearly all 1/2 full to packed full all the time.

The Bus Station Map for E-Go

Figuring out where one can get off and alight is challenging with a native and just about impossible not having grown up in this bus culture. I'm currently taking the line E-Go to Taipei. It goes from Window on China to Songshan Airport straight up Dunhua Rd. It's a perfect route for me. I do everything on that stretch of road and can easily get on the MRT blue line at Zhongxiao Dunhua Station.

Alighting in Longtan, where I currently reside, is easy and straight forward. It's the main bus terminal for E-Go lines and has an announcer at the ready for departures and arrivals. One must understand Chinese decently to find the announcer useful of course since nothing is translated into any other language. That is, if it involves a real, live person. That's good for my Chinese practice though, and my skills have definitely improved since riding alone on the bus systems from Longtan to Taipei.

Upon arriving in Taipei it seems that I am still a little short on understanding where we can get off the bus and how to do that. This past week I was able to get off in an unmarked bus station (at least unmarked for the E-Go bus), and get on in the same area. So, it seems that there is a little leeway for those who must otherwise walk for 15 minutes or longer to the official bus stops of this particular bus company.

I'm glad to say that I'm now beginning to feel more comfortable and at times even fearless when asking to get off the bus. It was the realization that if I don't do anything I'd be headed to the airport where I'd face either a 45 minute walk back to my destination down Dunhua Rd. or a 15 minute MRT ride with a 10 minute walk.

Cold House

Summers are hot, searingly so. As though one were under a giant magnifying glass with the sun pouring through with all the intensity to use you, the human, as its source of fuel to start a fire. The humidity augments the sun's ability to make things baking-hot to punishingly, suffocatingly hot. Blast furnace hot.

It is now winter in Taiwan. The comparison between winter and summer weather is this. Take away most of the heat but lave the humid air and you have 50-60 degree Fahrenheit days that will still leave you feeling like you never quite dried off after the shower.

Why mention cold house in the title? Because it is cold in the buildings in Taiwan during the winter months! That's why. There are no central units in many houses or buildings that I've been in (this of course does not speak for every place on the island). It is pretty safe to say that anything you see here that looks old, out dated, decrepit, like it's a shed, made of cracked and sometimes crumbling unpainted concrete and has a generally inside out bathroom vibe to it probably doesn't have central air or heating.

I can vouch for my current place of residence in this. It has no heating other than some contraptions that look like modified fans but put out significant heat. Those are good, when you have it in the room, but buying one for every room is expensive--both to purchase and for electricity.

Here's the crux of the matter and my question to anyone who can give a decent answer. If the winter chill lasts from November to March--five months worth of cold ears and feet--why does my residence have no central heat? People are bundled up in heavy jackets and scarves around their necks as they sit and watch TV, eat meals, and do general things around the house. It's so cold! I fail to understand the logic here.

Taipei 101: The Photo I've Been Waiting For

Finally, a decent view of Taipei 101.

One of the nice things about living in Taiwan is the proximity of airports to Taipei, especially Song Shan Airport. TSA airport is directly in the city and one cannot help but notice the towering Taipei 101 building as the planes takes off or approaches the airport. My girlfriend and I took a great trip to Kinmen in November. And this is the shot that I got just moments after lift off. Only a minute later we would be flying over the beautiful green mountains surrounding Taipei.

Once I save up the money I will take my girlfriend on an aerial tour of Taipei in a helicopter. (No, I actually don't know if they have those like they do in the States, but given enough money and the right attitude, one can do just about anything.) Then I will get all the money shots of the city that I can dream of.

Even though the air wasn't perfectly clear, it still provided a nice shot of Taipei 101. I do hope for a sunny take off next time though.