Teaching new words to my wife

[tonado]

This morning my wife asked me for a word that means fighting during a conversation. So I said "argument". She said no and they didn't use that word at work. Then I said "bickering, quarrel". She said no and asked why I don't know the word they used at work. Then I said that there are many ways to say something. She didn't know why I can't give her the right word. She can be unreasonable sometimes.

 

I will use Thesaurus.com next time. Take your pick, honey.

[se_lang]

This morning my wife asked me for a word that means fighting during a conversation.  So I said "argument".  She said no and they didn't use that word at work. Then I said "bickering, quarrel".  She said no and asked why I don't know the word they used at work. Then I said that there are many ways to say something.  She didn't know why I can't give her the right word.  She can be unreasonable sometimes.

 

I will use Thesaurus.com next time.  Take your pick, honey.

debate? brawl? throw down? Tell her to ask people at work

[frank1538]

This morning my wife asked me for a word that means fighting during a conversation.  So I said "argument".  She said no and they didn't use that word at work.   Then I said "bickering, quarrel".  She said no and asked why I don't know the word they used at work.   Then I said that there are many ways to say something.  She didn't know why I can't give her the right word.  She can be unreasonable sometimes.

 

I will use Thesaurus.com next time.  Take your pick, honey.

debate? brawl? throw down? Tell her to ask people at work

This seems to be one of the language differences between Chinese and English. While there are hundreds of ways to say the same thing in English, it seems the Chinese language has only one or two ways.

 

This has confused Jingwen, but the kids are having the most difficulty.

 

"Dad, what does 'what's cooking' mean"?

"Dad, what does 'hey' mean"?

"Dad, what does 'what's happening' mean"?

"Dad, what does 'how's it going' mean"?

"Dad, what does 'how are 'ya' mean"?

"Dad, what does 'how you been' mean"?

"Dad, what does 'how 'ya doing' mean"?

"Dad, what does 'what's up' mean"?

"Dad, what does "watcha been up to' mean"?

 

ni hao ma, ni hao ma, ni hao ma, ni hao ma, ni hao ma, ni hao ma......

 

"Why so many ways to say the same thing"?

[Jeikun]

Go back a year or so in Candle's history and there was a very good series of posts by Owen and Mick about teaching in China. The theme that I remember is their students were always looking for the 'right' answer. They had a very difficult time (or impossible) to understand that, in Englsih, there are many ways to say the same thing....there is no single 'right' answer.

That's a concept I've had trouble getting across as well. Jun often asks me "How do you say <blank>" I try to explain that there's so many ways to say it, that I can't be clear what she wants to say unless she uses it in a sentance, or tells me the whole concept of what she's trying to say. Many times we don't make it past that point.

 

I should note though that despite this, she's doing very well

[Bryan_Qunying]

I have had very good luck teaching new words to my wife. In most parts, she has done very well on her own to learn. She is able to pick up a book written in the level for a young adult, and will have little trouble reading the text. I am very surprised many times as she reads over difficult words such as "Constitution", "admiring" and words with silent letters such as "Knife".

 

I asked her to go find an English to Chinese to English translator, with word pronunciation. Along with this and a small personal diary, she writes down any new words she does not understand so she can ask me about them when we talk.

 

My wife seems to understand how English has many words for one thing. She gets a little confused by this at times, but in the long run, she does very well.

 

The best news is, she realizes how important our daughter (my step daughter) needs to learn English, so this week, my step daughter has started an private English course for a month @ two hours every day. She tells me she really is enjoying the class.

 

The past 1 1/2 years I have done my best to teach my wife English. When we first started to talk on the phone, her English was very limited. Now she talks to my mother once in a while when I visit my parents and is very excited that my mother understands her English.

 

There are still many words my wife needs to learn, but that will all come in time and after she arrives in the U.S. I am very proud with how well my wife has learned English.

 

Bryan

[Bobby]

I'd say the opposite is true as well, though. My wife has a few words that she uses to describe everything. The one that threw me for the longest time was, "hao fan." At its base, it means "melancholy," but she also uses to to express confusion, frustration, sadness, depression, mild anger, and sometimes she uses it sarcasitcally. When I use it, she panics and seems to assume the worst -- so I avoid that one .

[Guest blsqueaky]

I have also found that when I speak to Ling, I have to remember what I am trying to say, and many times take a word or two out of the sentence because if she tried to look up in her dictionary, it is not there, and then the worst problem is that when I find a word in her dictionary, it will say am I using as a adj, noun, pronoun, and then I have to try and remember mine from the 70's and 60's, when I was learning.

 

A coulple of years ago I was in Beiijing, and the bar manager was asking me a question regarding the word travel, tour or trip, and his question was if he came to america, which of these words would be correct, and it is like what Jeikun was saying, how to use, and like our word Dear, how in a sentence.