Re: Pronunciation & word choice

> 
> Whenever someone explained something to me, I always answered "I
> know", making it like I already knew it and sounding pretty rude. What
> I really meant is "I see", which is that "I didn't know this until you
> just explained it to me". I was influenced by the Chinese phrase "Wo
> Zhi Dao Le", literally "I Know".

Yes, "know" in Chinese seems to cover a far wider range than in
English, which has know, see, realise, understand, comprehend, grasp,
perceive, appreciate, apprehend, fathom and maybe more, all with their
own areas of usage. Though you can get by with the first five for the
most part.


> 
> Whenever I was trying to be polite for asking some minor helps from
> others or for interrupting other's work, I said "Sorry for trouble
> you". Although it's not necessarily wrong, but I found the proper way
> to say it is "Sorry for bothering you on this...". Again, I was
> influenced by another Chinese phrase "Dui Bu Qi (Sorry), Ma Fan Ni
> (Trouble You).
> \

Though "sorry to trouble/bother you" will work fairly well, too, both
before or after the request. 

> The list can go on and on. In retrospect, I think that my teachers had
> emphasized too much on grammar rules and rigidly scripted sentences,
> but a lot less on the spontaneity and exposure to the materials that
> are live and interesting.
> 
 
> David
>  --

do you think that your teacher also encouraged translation too much,
since both your examples are the result of translating from Chinese?

A second thought is that if some Chinese teachers are not very fluent
in spoken English how can they encourage a spontaneity that they do
not themselves possess. They could introduce taped materials but I
think this might involve some loss of face if students compare the NS
to the teacher's English. I wonder what Chinese teachers can do to
encourage "real English" conversations in the classroom. Or out of the
classroom for that matter.

Dick Tibbetts









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