I recently picked up two television series box-sets in Chinatown that I hope to use to help improve my Chinese:
荃加福祿壽探案 (Super Snoops)
點解阿Sir係阿Sir (Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir!)
Both movies are from Hong Kong, which means that they take place in Hong Kong and were filmed in Cantonese instead of Mandarin. I spent my whole day today trying to find a good series that was filmed in Mandarin and that had English subtitles, but alas, such a thing seems to evade me. So I'm settling for watching a Cantonese show dubbed into Mandarin.
I want to work on my Chinese and still understand the plot, so the issue became how to watch them while having both English and Chinese subtitles at the same time. Luckily, I figured it out, and I'm going to relay my method to you.
The first thing that is required is a media player that supports dual subtitles. For this job I chose KMPlayer. The next step was to extract one of the subtitles from the film so that I could add it in on top of the other while it was playing. Luckily, I stumbled upon this guide which explains how to do so using a program called SubRip. After extracting the subtitles as an .srt file, I had to integrate them into the video (no easy job).
Here's an overview of the steps to get the video and subtitles working together:
After opening KMPlayer: 1. Press Ctrl+D to open the DVD in the disk drive. 2. Alt+O to load subtitles and select the .srt file 3. Right click ---> DVD controls ---> Subtitles ---> Chinese
There, now both subtitles are integrated into the film. But you may notice that they are overlapping. Well, to fix this you need to do some modifications to KMPlayer:
1. I right-clicked, went to video (advanced) ---> Video renderer ---> VMR9 renderless (HQ subtitles) 2. Then I right-clicked, subtitles ---> subtitle effect ---> use background 3. I pressed ctrl+[ or ctrl+] to move the subtitles up or down 4. Then I pressed F3 to shrink the video area and then pressed alt+f1 and alt+f2 to change the font size until I got it to a size I liked.
Lingoes The first is Lingoes: a dictionary that works through your mouse cursor. Simply highlight any Chinese text you don't know and it will instantly translate it for you.
Installing it is a little tricky, but here's a rundown: 1. Follow the link I've provided to download Lingoes. 2. Download the appropriate dictionary for translation. I recommend this CEDICT Chinese dictionary although there are numerous different dictionaries you can search for in all sorts of languages. 3. Install the dictionary. Do this by first making sure you are on the "guide" tab. Then click the "Dictionaries" link under "options." Then click the "install" button and find your dictionary. If it asks to enable "index groups" and "text capture groups" I just say yes. 4. Set up the dictionary activation to your liking. Click "configuration" under "options" and go to the "text capture" tab. "Mouse activation mode" is when the program will engage when you highlight a word in the dictionary. I set mine to "mouse over" without extra buttons to make it so I don't have to press any keys on my keyboard. 5. In the taskbar (bottom left of your screen) right click the Lingoes icon and make sure translate selected text is enabled. 6. You're all set! Give it a whirl! It's really an amazing piece of technology!
Dimsum Dimsum is another free piece of software that I have been using since I first started learning Chinese. It has so many amazing tools I don't know where to begin. For starters, if you don't have Lingoes, this program does mouse over translation of any words you copy and paste into it. It also can convert chinese from simplified to traditional to pinyin if you need it. Very useful if you just want to know how to read a paragraph out loud without having to mouse over every word. It has a very comprehensive dictionary built in and you can search by radical, by components, by english, by chinese, by actually writing the character yourself... it's amazing. It even has an abacus, and family title generator built in. This is especially useful if you don't know what to call your father's mother's sister in Chinese.
Google Pinyin The third tool I use is Google Pinyin. This is simply a program that allows you to type in Chinese on your computer by writing in Pinyin. After installing the program, press shift+alt to activate it, and press those keys again to turn the program off when you don't need it. The only time this becomes a problem for me is when I am playing computer games and accidentally turn the program on, but it shouldn't be a problem for most people. Another thing to note: if you want to type words that have the "ü" tone like "nǚ" (女), you should type a "v" instead of a "u" in the pinyin.
Anki Anki is a flashcard program that utilizes "spaced repetition." The basic idea is that when you normally use flashcards, you often review words that you have already memorized. This takes away time from words that you actually need to spend time on improving. What anki does is after reviewing a flashcard, it asks you how difficult the card was. If the card was easy, it won't show you this card again for a few days. If you don't know the card very well, it will show it to you again sooner. It's very useful and creating flashcards on your computer is very quick. Best of all, if you have a smartphone, they have a free program that allows you to download your flashcards so you can review anywhere you want. They even sync the cards on your computer and phone to the same server so you are always reviewing the cards that are most important.
Hanping Chinese Dictionary This is smartphone app that you have to pay for but I feel is worth every cent. It's a very easy to use dictionary that allows you to search through English, Chinese, or Pinyin. Highly recommended. They also have a free version, but I'm not sure if it uses adds, or is trialware.
Go Keyboard Go Keyboard is an input method editor (IME) that I use on my android phone to write in Chinese using Pinyin. You can download an extension that allows you to actually write characters into your phone as well! It's free and combined with the Hanping Chinese Dictionary, makes an effective combo for language learners on the go.
Let me know if you have any other awesome Chinese tools!
This happened in Quincy, Massachusetts on December 20th, 2011.
Yīguàn Dào is a sect of Daoism. You can find more on the wikipedia page.
The story: A few weeks ago I was on a train heading home from class when I overheard some girls talking in Mandarin. Naturally I wanted to practice my Chinese so I decided to chat them up. We ended up exchanging QQ numbers and going our separate ways.
Today they contacted me about going to a party they were having. I asked if it was a 酒会. They said no, they wouldn't be drinking. I asked if it was a 舞会. They said no, they wouldn't be dancing. They said it was just going to be some people hanging out and talking. Since I'm on winter break and have a lot of free time, I decided why not. I decided to bring one of my good friends and we set out to have a fun night.
Well we got to the house and as soon as they opened the door we realised something was up. Almost everyone in the house was wearing matching suit and tie (even the girls - except they wore skirts). On everyone's tie was the symbol you see on the wikipedia page. We took off our shoes and put on slippers before stepping inside.
Then things got really weird. Against one wall in the living room was a MASSIVE shrine to the Maitreya (弥勒 -Mílè - the fat buddha), Guan Yin, and another guy. We were immediately asked to sit down, and four or five suites gathered around us and began talking frantically about the Dao and how it is the ultimate truth encompassing all other religions. Me and my friend were significantly freaked out. I don't remember much of what they said, but it wasn't much of a conversation. Instead of talking with us, they were talking at us. We just smiled nodded and laughed when appropriate. Once we got the gist that we were being recruitted for their religion (which they stressed was not a religion), I tried to explain that we thought it was just a party with friends and weren't really interested. They didn't take no for an answer.
They showed us a strange buddhist picture with Jesus Christ, Buddha, Lao zi, Confucius, Mohammed, Guan yu, and other deities all chilling out together. Once our initial shock wore off, we started to see that they were zealots, but friendly zealots. I tried my best out of politeness to listen to the points they made and some of what they said made sense from a philosophical point of view.
They argued that all the religions taught the same thing fundamentally, and each was just catering to a different demographic of people. They said that you can pursue the Dao while still being a Christian and that they were both compatable. They explained that their shrine had a statue of the laughing buddha simply because that is what Chinese people were use to seeing and Chinese people were the main source of visitors for their "temple". They explained that you could put Jesus or Mohammed on the altar and the lesson would be the same. They also said that they were building a real temple down the road (something we later saw was not a fabrication).
The mentioned reincarnation and the soul and how we can one day be reborn into heaven if we purify ourselves by following the Dao. After the long-winded "conversation", they asked us to register to recieve more information. My friend politely refused and I gave them my house phone number (not often used) and my secondary email address. They then asked for a donation, saying it wasn't mandatory but that it was used for printing books (which they would be giving me later). I'm a poor student so I gave them $5.
They then asked us to participate in their "recieving the Dao" ceremony. My friend was still freaked out and politely refused. I figured what the hell and said I'll try anything once. Soon after, the ceremony started. We stood on the side and watched while the masters said stuff in Chinese, placed fruit, lighted incense, and bowed a lot. They had leaflet made of rice paper with some stuff written about me and the other people "recieving the Dao" that day and burned it on the alter.
Then my friend had to wait outside because anyone not recieving the Dao was not priviledged to see how the ceremony worked, or to learn the secrets of the Dao. (Protip - you can find them in the "initiation" section of the wikipedia page, but I won't mention them in detail here out of respect for their beliefs.)
After the ceremony, we were treated to a vegetarian dinner and finally had some normal talk about life and what we were doing. The small talk really made us a lot more comfortable and I wish they had started with that first instead of the crazy rants about the true meaning of Dao.
Oh and they invited us to dinner in the future and to a number of their events. They also REALLY wanted my friend to come back and "recieve the Dao". I don't think he will though...
And they gave me a booklet and a laminated card with information about when and where and from who I recieved the Dao. They even gave us a ride to the train station. All in all, they were very nice people, but weird as hell.
TL;DR - I was tricked into partying with some Chinese girls, turned out to be a Daoist recruitment session. People turned out ok in the end.
Just some images I'd like to share. The first is a list that I found on 4chan and modified a bit regarding significant Chinese literature.
The next is a quick comparison of the different versions of the Chinese epic "Journey to the West." I was originally going to write a whole blog entry on this, but never got around to it. So you can do the research on it yourself I suppose.
Just thought you Song of Ice and Fire junkies should know, A Game of Thrones: Genesis is on sale for preorder on Steam for 34.99 right now. The game is scheduled to be released on August 28th. If I had the money, you can bet your sweet ass I would be ordering it!
Here's the teaser trailer for all of you without Steam:
If you haven't figured it out already, I'm planning on becoming a professional ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. I've recently applied for a masters at UMass Amherst and plan on also applying at UMass Boston and Boston University. I've realized that I have a lot to teach myself about English before I start teaching others, hence why I purchased the books.
If all goes well, I will be starting a college this Spring semester. After that, I may begin teaching in the US or return to China to teach for a bit and pay off my loans. Getting a job in China is relatively easy compared to getting one in America. Especially for ESL teachers. I can live quite comfortably with enough to pay of my loans if I return there, and would be able to improve my Chinese at the same time too. I think that studying the English language will inevitably help me study Chinese. Parts of speech are parts of speech, and the more familiar I am with them, the easier it will be for me to understand Chinese grammar and how it is different from English grammar.
Unfortunately, Spring is very far away and I have a lot of time before then. I've been trying to figure out how to spend my Fall and I will probably end up volunteering as an ESL teacher, getting a job, or attempting to get my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification - something that only takes 1 month but can cost upwards of two-thousand dollars.
Whatever ends up happening, you can be sure that I'll keep you posted!
