tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post7754140500557972857..comments2024-03-11T16:29:13.619-05:00Comments on Lingwë - Musings of a Fish: Perfect pitch — but at the cost of expressiveness?Jason Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-90871171375842156682008-01-16T15:41:00.000-06:002008-01-16T15:41:00.000-06:00Aw shucks, ’tweren’t nothin’ </falseModesty>...Aw shucks, ’tweren’t nothin’ </falseModesty> ... but thanks for noticing! ;)Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-48379284347655584802008-01-16T15:26:00.000-06:002008-01-16T15:26:00.000-06:00Whoever created the music scale with the mandarin ...Whoever created the music scale with the mandarin characters is pretty impresive! Very creative, very clever, very cool....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-34612934708110423782008-01-16T15:23:00.000-06:002008-01-16T15:23:00.000-06:00I was looking over my copy just a couple weeks ago...<I>I was looking over my copy just a couple weeks ago and found it impenetrable. Just an absolute mess of confusing grammar rules and precious few dialogues to give context.</I><BR/><BR/>You mean that <I>isn’t</I> what Japanese is really like? ;) Well, at least I learned “koko ni pen-ga arimasu” — which ought to be useful if I ever find myself in a stationery store in Osaka.Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-1871023183367546722008-01-16T15:05:00.000-06:002008-01-16T15:05:00.000-06:00I don't know how you ever got anything out of that...I don't know how you ever got anything out of that Teach Yourself Japanese. I was looking over my copy just a couple weeks ago and found it impenetrable. Just an absolute mess of confusing grammar rules and precious few dialogues to give context. It's really amazing that we learned "as much" as we did back in the day, with that series in tow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-68993586992648851292008-01-16T13:38:00.000-06:002008-01-16T13:38:00.000-06:00Ah yes, particles. That’s interesting, and similar...Ah yes, particles. That’s interesting, and similar to Japanese, where I believe you add か /<I>–ka</I>/ to the end of the statement to form a simple interrogative. I always retained more Japanese than Chinese (but still not that much) from our days of browsing the Teach Yourself’s back in the early 80’s. :)<BR/><BR/>I remember you were always better with Chinese anyway, and I guess you learned a good deal more with your recent tutoring gig(s)?Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-41288936959534033272008-01-16T12:59:00.000-06:002008-01-16T12:59:00.000-06:00Oh, and IIRC, there's another way to form question...Oh, and IIRC, there's another way to form questions in Mandarin:<BR/><BR/>Ni yao gen wo chih fan = You want to eat with me<BR/><BR/>Ni yao bu you gen wo chih fan = Do you want to eat with me? (yao bu yao = want not want)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-77605991833602783612008-01-16T12:54:00.000-06:002008-01-16T12:54:00.000-06:00In Mandarin, I believe you indicate a question by ...In Mandarin, I believe you indicate a question by the particle "ma" at the end of the sentence. For instance:<BR/><BR/>Ni hui xuo pu tung hua = you speak Chinese<BR/>Ni hui xuo pu tung hua ma = Do you speak Chinese?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-21683537463581815702008-01-16T09:46:00.000-06:002008-01-16T09:46:00.000-06:00No, I must have missed that one, but it’s very int...No, I must have missed that one, but it’s very interesting. It isn’t too surprising, though, is it? I think conventional wisdom would have ventured the guess that we can all tell when a speaker is smiling. Nice to see that confirmed scientifically.<BR/><BR/>You know, further to the topic of my post, I was thinking: in English, we indicate a <I>question</I> through pitch as well. How do they do it in tonal languages? :-/Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-77038999673328221632008-01-16T09:25:00.000-06:002008-01-16T09:25:00.000-06:00Speaking of expressiveness in voice, did you catch...Speaking of expressiveness in voice, did you catch <A HREF="http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/15/we-can-hear-smiles-a.html" REL="nofollow">this article</A> on Boing Boing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-7196067407747417062008-01-07T18:15:00.000-06:002008-01-07T18:15:00.000-06:00Thanks, Matthew! That must be it! I wonder why I c...Thanks, Matthew! That must be it! I wonder why I couldn’t find it again through the main NPR website, though. I did find some previous coverage of Dr. Deutsch’s research on NPR, but it was all too old to have been the piece I heard. Thanks again.Jason Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05809154870762268253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-42779793751946961352008-01-07T15:47:00.000-06:002008-01-07T15:47:00.000-06:00That's a link to the NPR programThat's a link to the NPR programColin Clouthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11836100534647181995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050528436539921312.post-42944031146222624962008-01-06T20:27:00.000-06:002008-01-06T20:27:00.000-06:00http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2007/0...http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2007/09/25Colin Clouthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11836100534647181995noreply@blogger.com