Call your mother.
In a recent ChineseClass101.com lesson one of the characters suggests to the other that she should call her mother. I decided that this was as good a reason as any to show off my Chinese skills, and use the vocabulary shown in the dialogue in a real life situation.
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Fc-hiRYeY
On TuDou: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/Xu4tLNXo58I/
Special Price Just For You
It's little exchanges like this that I'll miss when leaving Shanghai, and make me feel that all my language study has been worth it.
Aika and I were at a fake market across town when we saw a pair of thongs (flipflops/sandals to the rest of the English speaking world) which were similar to a pair I was wearing.
(Scroll To The Bottom For A Translation Or Go Get Your Chinese-English Dictionary)
Max: 这个多少钱？
Shopkeeper: 卖给别的人八十块。。。
Max: (Interrupting) 那么卖给我多少钱？
Shopkeeper: (Noticing the thongs I was wearing) 哦，你那个没有这个好。(Bullshit of course!)
Max: 一样！
Shopkeeper: 不一样！你看，这里可以按摩的。。。
Max: 到底多少钱啊！
Shopkeeper: 要的话给你。。。一百五。
Max: 什么！
Shopkeeper: 这个好啊！你那个没这个好啊！你看，这里可以按摩的。。。
Max: 你刚刚说卖别的人八十块，怎么卖给我一百五！
Shopkeeper: 。。质量不好，我这个可以按摩。。。
Max: 卖给别的人便宜，卖给我贵。。。
I eventually walked off.
You can probably understand how she got confused. You see, these people always have a "script" in their head. Firstly, they are usually speaking in mandarin, a dialect that isn't what they usually speak, or English, a completely different language. Simultaneously they're sizing you up to see how much they can rip you off for. This woman was in the middle of her "I-usually-sell-this-for-xx-but-you-have-a-nice-face-so-i'll-let-it-go-for-xxx" spiel when I interrupted her. Then she noticed that I had the same pair of thongs on so she had to launch into her "the-item-you-are-showing-me-while-looking-exactly-the-same-as-the-one-I-am-offering-you-is-actually-infererior-which-is-why-mine-costs-twice-the-price" spiel... and at the same time she had to remember a) the price that she was willing to sell them for b) the price she had told me she sells them to other people and c) work out how much to make her first offer....
No wonder she got confused!
For some reason as soon as I walked off I thought of Popup Chinese, a site for learning Chinese. While entirely fictional (I think!) their site features funny little dialogues in mandarin Chinese like the one above. My one is true though!
TRANSLATION
Max:How much are these?
Shopkeeper: Well, I sell them to everyone else for eighty...
Max: Well how much are the for me then?
Shopkeeper:(Noticing the thongs I was wearing) Oh those aren't as good as these. (Bullshit of course!)
Max:They're the same!
Shopkeeper:They're not the same! See, these give you a massage as you walk...
Max:How much are they?!
Shopkeeper: Well, if you want them, I'll give them to you for... a hundred fifty.
Max:What?
Shopkeeper: These are great! They're much better than yours! Have a look at this flat bit, you get a massage as you walk...
Max:But you just said that you sell them to other people for eighty!
Shopkeeper:...Quality on those you're wearing now isn't as good as these I'm selling, look, you get a massage as you walk...
Max: So you're selling them cheaper to everyone else, and more expensive to me?
Guitar Ditty
I can't get PodPress working, so I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way. I've made an mp3. It's here. Right click and choose "Save As" to download it!
I've been trying to do something musical for a while. This is actually the theme to a show that I listen to every week; I wonder if anyone recognises it.
This tune comes at the beginning of each show, and I always find myself nodding my head along to it. It's one of those tunes that gets into your head and stays there. Hopefully you'll find yourself humming this tune long after you've finished listening to my version.
Do you know the show yet? Don't worry if you don't. I'd be surprised if no one reading my blog has heard of it, but would be surprised if it's more than only a few.
If you know the answer, or if you just give up, just click here and you'll be taken to the show's site. If you're interested in hearing the original version, just click on the "listen online" button.