lizzybennet: (footinyourmouth)
lizzybennet ([personal profile] lizzybennet) wrote2006-09-21 05:57 pm

(no subject)

Not much to tell about today. We went to the foreign language book store and bought several things. I picked up "A Boy and His Horse" to read to the kids in the evenings. One of the great things about home school is *suppose* to be that kids develop a love for reading and classical literature. Yeah, that's not going to happen if I'm not reading to them! I explained to them that it is the sequel to the movie and they like that idea :)

While I was there, I also got a copy of The Lonely Planet's common Mandarin phrase book. I thought it would come in quite handy at times. For example, the other day when I was at Wal-Mart, I was trying to tell the butcher how much ground beef I wanted. We were pretty much just standing there looking at each other while I made useless gestures with my hands. Then I said (in English) "Just start scooping and I'll tell you when to stop." Not much help, that bit of effort on my part. Still, in theory it could have worked if only I'd said in Chinese! Now, I can just whip out my handy-dandy phrasebook and tell him precisely what I want. (Ha! we shall see if it's that simple...)

As I was flipping through the book, I found a page on "romantic encounters" here it lists how to say such choice phrases as

-Do you have a condom?
-Let's use a condom.
-I don't do it without protection.
-Kiss me.
-I want you.
-I want to make love to you.
-It's my first time.
-Do you like this?
-oh, yeah!

Ok, I'm should stop now because my mom reads this and I'm getting embarrassed. But anyway, you get the point. Besides, it gets worse. In my opinion, if your Chinese is so weak that you have to look in a phrase book for these terms, you should not be making love with a Chinese person. But don't worry, because on the next page it tells how to say "You're just using me for sex" and "I never want to see you again." Oh, and it also tells how to say "Will you marry me?" Ridiculous, and sad at the same time.

[identity profile] heidial.livejournal.com 2006-09-21 03:01 pm (UTC)(link)
I just had to say your comments about the chinese phrase book made me lol. I hope it will help you the next time you're talking to the butcher! Mom

translation

(Anonymous) 2006-09-22 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
Go to Bablefish and type in what you anticipate needing to say, such as, I need (wt) of hamburger. Assuming that the butcher can read, he will understand. Bablefish will translate it into Chinese characters. Let Chris look over it to see if it is correct in the vernacular language. You can index these with notes and perhaps write the prounciation below the script and eventually learn these phrases. Start by learning the numbers in Chinese as you did in Spanish. A little learned all along will add up. 2.2 kilograms equal one pound. 45 kilograms equal 99 pounds so dont say 100 or you may get a lot of bull. Try holding your two fingers up for 2 and he will probably understand you want 2 kilograms. Bill