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Tonyaod's User Profile

Date registered: Friday, 1st December 2006
Region: China

Latest Forum Posts

    Posted: Sunday, 14th March 2010
    Posted in: Forums > Living in Kunming > Crazy car accident
    Hi lil_farmer, no need to apologize, I didn't mean to nit-pick.

    Normally, it wouldn't have been worth clarifying but given the severity of what hongxiongmao is facing, I didn't want to give contradicting information.

    Anyway, hope you had a great weekend!
    Posted: Sunday, 14th March 2010
    Posted in: Forums > Living in Kunming > Crazy car accident
    Just to clarify something lil_farmer brought up. I had said,

    "However the law maybe on your side, there is a bias toward automobile drivers, especially drivers of import cars."

    I was implying what lil_farmer had actually experienced, the perception is that automobile drivers are wealth, at the very least, middle-class and that scooter/biker riders are peasants. Therefore, an accident involve both parties are view as an power struggle between the rich and the poor.

    I didn't meant that drivers get any preferential treatment, in fact, I meant the opposite.

    Sorry if I wasn't clear enough in my original posting.
    Posted: Saturday, 13th March 2010
    Posted in: Forums > Living in Kunming > Crazy car accident
    Sorry to hear about your terrible experience, however sad to say, things like this happens all the time.

    I sounds a little suspicious that a gang of their friends happens to come out of nowhere in an area that's not very populated. I would venture to guess that you were setup in a shakedown by these thugs. It wouldn't surprise me if these people are part of a crime ring out looking for unsuspecting victims in order to extract compensation for the staged accident.

    It is a most unfortunate situation to be in. I would probably expect them to continue their hostile and threatening language for some time to soften you up for the invariably offer to settle for an outrageous amount of money.

    However the law maybe on your side, there is a bias toward automobile drivers, especially drivers of import cars. The traffic police will probably do little to come to your aid and in fact pressure you to settle with the "victim". The best you can hope for is that they will be "fair" when they mediate by talking down the asking price to something not so outrageous.

    If you are willing to fight for your rights and buck the system, you might be able to get your day in court but there is no guarantee the courts will be fair either. If you want to go this route than you want to hire an lawyer with some connections to the judges.

    Pride aside, the pragmatic course would be probably feign poverty and drive a hard settlement bargain with the thugs.

    Again, I'm really sorry you had to experience this.
    Posted: Saturday, 13th March 2010
    Posted in: Forums > Study > American English, British English...who cares?
    I think we are starting to confuse two different issues here. The original debate is why do Chinese language school differentiate between American Natives vs British Natives vs. Aussie Natives, etc. The reason for this, as JJ and/or Janice said, is pragmatic. While we can agree that both American English, British English, Australian English are all English, the colloquialism, mannerisms, euphemisms, the cultural references, even the vocabulary set used by different countries are all quite different.

    As to what Onobaron said, unless I misread something, I didn't get the impression that laotou was stating one was inferior over the other, just how he believes they are different. By the way, it is (using a unscientific survey) agreed among the Chinese, (including Kunming locals) that Kunming hua and it's derivative, mapu hua, is vastly inferior to pu tong hua. This is not due to an objective assessment, but rather through indoctrination in grade school that the only proper language is pu tong hua. A lot of my Chinese friends do not prefer that their children learn their local dialect simply because they don't want their children stigmatized due to their accent.

    Another point is that most people like Kiwi, is comparing the differences between American and British English to Shanghai putonghua and Beijing putonghua. I don't feel this is accurate.

    A more accurate comparison is the difference between a main lander Chinese and a Taiwanese Chinese. Both would argue that they are speaking proper Chinese. However, if let say you were to learn your Chinese on the main land, however fluently you speak and is accepted by locals, if you were to speak the same way in Taiwan, you would probably be gawked at awkwardly simple because of the perceived bias. Now, I'm not saying there is a bias between American English and British English, just merely making a point. If you want to use your Chinese in Taiwan, you'd be better off learning from a language school that teaches Taiwanese Chinese. And if you are coming to main land China, you'd be better off learning from main land Chinese.

    But that's only an suggestion and not a hard rule. I think too many people are taking this issue too personally.

    Finally, to close out, to all of you old enough to remember, "Can we all just get along?" (People outside the US probably are scratching their heads now. See my point?)
    Posted: Friday, 12th March 2010
    Posted in: Forums > Study > American English, British English...who cares?
    I agree, but I think there are several factors worth considering.

    When speaking about American English, British English, etc, I don't believe they are focused on the accent but rather on the mannerisms, vocabulary and with way of speaking.

    Whether you are talking to a New Yorker, Texan, or Californian, a cell phone is a cell phone. But when talking to a Brit, it becomes a Mobile. Gas=Petrol, Flashlight becomes torch. And to throw in a Harry Potter reference, what on earth is "snogging"?

    Even though, as an American, I can understand British, Indian (somewhat), Scottish, and Irish accents, I wouldn't be able to understand the idioms and or cultural references they are using simply because I wasn't exposed to them in school. When we say "Tom and Jerry" we think of a cartoon. But I believe "Tom" and Jerry" has a different meaning in Briton.

    So why the preference? I has to do with where you are expecting to use your new found skill. If you are planning on studying in UK, it would be helpful to learn the slang and idioms used over there, you'd probably want to know what snogging, Tom, and Jerry means.

    As to why prefer American English, mostly because the US, for the most part, is the largest and most important trading partner in the region. Another reason is that the US is the largest exporter of culture via Hollywood and its music industry. How many times have you seen an British movie open in China, Taiwan, HK, Japan?

    Anyway, just my two cents.
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