#(because they speak mandarin)

[ueasking]

Unknown Language Notes

This post is inspired by @thisonelikesaliens 's post & @luthienmpl 's tags on the post. If you've ever taken a Mandarin class you probably know all of this already, but for those who don't speak any Mandarin, it might be helpful to familiarize your ear with these words✨

Note: all audio clips are from episode 2

小遠 xiǎo yuǎn [xiáo yuǎn] lit. Little Yuan

Here, 小 (xiǎo), which means small/little, is added in front of 遠 (yuǎn) as a diminutive term. It's pretty common for parents and older relatives to add a 小 in front of the last character of a child's name as an affectionate nickname. Note: In case you're wondering why I've included a second pronunciation in square brackets, it's because the first pronunciation is the one you'd find in a dictionary and the second one is the actual pronunciation of 小遠. This is due to the tone change rule known as "tone sandhi". Basically, when a third tone is followed by a third tone, the first one becomes a second tone.

魏之遠 wèi zhī yuǎn Yuan

魏 (wèi) is his surname. In episode 1, the gang boss says that Wei Xiaoyuan is a bad name and suggests 魏之遠 Wei Zhiyuan (literally Wei's Yuan, Yuan that belongs to Wei) instead. Note: While 小 (xiǎo) is often used in nicknames, it's no longer common in to have this character in one's legal name. You can still find people with names including this character in the older generation, but such names sound uncultured and uneducated to most native speakers (*cough* classism *cough*)

魏謙 wèi qiān Qian

弟弟 dì di younger brother

哥 gē older brother (akin to phi in Thai and hyung/oppa in Korean)

The first audio file is from the scene in which Yuan hands Qian a graduation bouquet, and if you speak Mandarin, you can probably tell that he sounds extremely soft here. I would upload a clip of the scene, but I haven't had much success uploading video clips in the past, so a gif will have to do.

#unknown #unknown the series #關於未知的我們 #taiwanese bl #*unknown #tbh i'm fine with the subber going with Qian instead of 哥 #because Ge could be mistaken as an actual name #the nuance isn't there either with bro/brother/older brother #and using hyung/phi in english subtitles for a mandarin show doesn't really make sense to me #that being said i speak mandarin so i don't need to rely on the subs to understand #and quite a bit of nuance is definitely lost in the subs #so you (nonspecific) are absolutely valid if you have issue with this translation

[lsleofthelost]

descendants tweets [21/?] Lonnie edition

#they’re all older in my aus btw like early 20s #so she’s working in the military of auradon which is why she has it linked in her bio and why she was training cadets #tweet n3 is aimed at her going to the isle in d2 lol #also audrey called her lonnie in prev because she DOES know how to speak mandarin lmao #descendants #descendants tweets #lonnie #daughter of mulan

[xhanisai]

I can’t believe I have to say this again.

But like.

Do not leave comments that bash on the actual show whilst ‘complimenting’ my fanworks. It does not make me happy at all IN FACT I really HATE it when people do that. 

I create stuff for this fandom because I adore the show with all its flaws and everything. I grew up with the show and I adore the characters so much. So when I receive comments or tags saying stuff like “Ugh if only the writers knew how to write like that” or “You should be in charge of canon cos canon is shit lol”, it just fucks up my mood and it makes me feel grossed out. 

There are millions of things out there to write or say to other people about their work without having to bring down canon and what the actual professionals have worked on.

Keep your gripes about the show off my work.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug and chat noir #ml fandom salt #i've been getting too many of this crap for years and some of them just get too personal #like for example in one of my AUs for fun i had marinette be able to speak chinese in a different dialect #and i had someone who praised me for it BUT bashed on the show for making marinette clueless about mandarin #which kinda pissed me off cos like #i have chinese in me but don't speak any of the languages there so does that mean i'm invalid too? lol #and in one of my recent writing i had someone lament that they wished i was writing for the show #like okay i know you mean it in a good way and you're not directly bashing the show #but the reason i can get away with creating and characterising the way i do is because i am working on them all ALONE #with no zag or money or producers getting in the way #and the stuff i create is always aimed to an audience that #is at least 15 years old #anyways if i keep going the tags will be longer than the river thames #my point is #keep your gripes private or off of other people's work #i wanna hear about what you LIKE about what i've created #not what the show has failed to do for you and whining about it

[gomzdrawfr]

Sometimes im reminded that Malaysian tend to have like the habit of switching up languages with no big issues and forgot that not everyone can do that

I went to the local food market, the type that is out in the open with several stalls all placed together closely and its crowded and stuff right

So I talk to my brother and sister in English, Mandarin + Cantonese to my mom and dad. If we're ordering food from the aunty uncle, we either use hokkien / fujian or Malay (depending the race of the seller)

There was a neighbouring customer who were white(think they were from America judging from the bag and general mannerism) that started talking to my dad and he was just saying how insane we sounded switching languages around HAHA

#its funny cuz if you are a Malaysian chinese growing up there you basically can speak three languages because of our education system #Malay English and Mandarin #if you're Malaysian Indian then bonus add Tamil into the mix #and /then/ chinese have dialects like #Cantonese Hakka Teochew Hainanese etc #we get so used to mixing up our languages that we just kind of forgot that not everyone does it #i think maybe some of yall have heard “Chinglish or Manglish” from Singapore which basically means using mandarin + english together #哇那个天气今天热到cannot tahan ah walao #translation: the weather is so hot that i can't stand it omg! #that was mandarin + english + malay in one sentence #yep #gummmyspeaks

[fleshadept]

mandarin pronunciation guide

it’s always frustrating to see people mispronouncing things if you know what it’s supposed to sound like, and this happens quite often with mandarin, because a lot of the pinyin phonetic representations aren’t exactly intuitive for english speakers. luckily for people who want to be respectful, they are incredibly consistent. none of that sometimes-this-letter-sounds-one-way bullshit like with english. so here’s a quick guide:

first of all, mandarin has a pretty limited range of ways words can start and end, which is why there are so many homophones. but it makes it easier for pronunciation. most words start with a consonant, and if they start with a vowel it will be an 'a' or 'e' most of the time.

most important, mandarin does not have the 'ay' sound english-speakers say in 'hey', 'day', etc. if an 'a' is the only vowel in a word, it's pronounced like the 'o' in tongs. the common name 'yang' is not yay-ng but yah-ng. the city of Shanghai is not shay-ng hi but shah-ng hi.

the letter c is always pronounced as ts, like the beginning of 'tsunami'

z is pronounced similarly, but by vocalizing it rather than it being only breath, like turning a P into a B or an F into a V in english.

'zh' is a sound we don't have in english. it's at the very front of the mouth, like a harder version of a 'j' almost mixed with a soft 'g.' so the name 'zhang' would not be 'zah-ng' but 'jah-ng'

x is pronounced like a sh at the very front of your mouth, so the city Xi'an is pronounced like 'tshee-an'

e is always pronounced as a schwa (ə), the 'uh' sound in 'duh'. so 'sheng' is pronounced like 'shung'

q is pronounced as a tight ch the same way x is a sh, so the Qing dynasty is the 'tching' dynasty.

there's obviously a lot more to it, but those bullets are the biggies. it's not the hardest thing in the world, and even just removing the english 'ay' sound from any pronunciation of mandarin does wonders to make it sound more normal.

#mandarin #chinese #cricket chirps #language #not even going to try to DESCRIBE what r sounds like because i don't even know how i'd do that and honestly the english r is close enough #if you're not literally speaking mandarin to someone

[shebbart]

I got the strokes wrong but I finished watching Monkie Kid. Had some thoughts. This was the only one.

#lego monkie kid #sun wukong #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #my friend has the og image as their header #if it says smth different than “monkey” because of how I did it I'm so sorry lol #I don't speak Mandarin at all

[dribs-and-drabbles]

So I may have just sent several Asian ql recommendations to someone IN REAL LIFE for the first time. Someone who I work with. Who is younger than me. That I line manage. (They told me they were poly a few weeks ago, and they're from that area of the world and were curious about the shows, so I figured there was no harm...). I'll report back if I get a response from them 😬

#taiwanese bl #korean bl #ql drama #the shows I suggested were: #history 3: trapped #about youth #be loved in house: i do #my tooth your love #(because they speak mandarin) #and also: #semantic error #eighth sense #to my star #she makes my heart flutter #I told them if they liked the shows I would suggest more and maybe even thai ones #but I need to ease them into the genre first 😂

[vexangle]

god i am SO tired of mandarin speakers acting like their dialect of chinese represents all chinese.

"i speak chinese" no you dont, this is like saying you speak "west germanic"

"this is how to say [x] in chinese" THATS NOT HOW THAT WORKS

#i told some classmates i speak cantonese and a mandarin speaker pretended to turn away in disgust #which is less funny when you consider the chinese governments active efforts in wiping out canto because its the lingua franca of the south #and they view that as a threat to their authority. so theyre just trying to erase the language/dialect altogether #i dont think they realize mocking cantonese is punching down but it is and im really tired of it #ive heard things like 'mandarin sounds soooo pretty and cantonese sounds like chewing on rocks' my whole life i hate it sm #.vxt #chinese #fuck it this is going in the tag

[difeisheng]

.

#can some people PLEASE be fucking normal about southern actors speaking mandarin in dramas. on god #yes zeng shunxi has an accent. what about it. it's called being from a different region of the country #he's perfectly understandable and good enough to have been doing his own dubbing for years leave him alone #(granted. i can't hear his accent as much now because i'm used to it i think. but.) #complaining about cheng yi's accent tho is WILD like. he sounds quite neutral imo??? #let the accents fly having diversity is good stop being Northern about this #also singling out the southerners like some northern actors don't also have to adjust their accents for their roles ffs #anyways this is incoherent but ugjfjfjdjsjsj #ashton originals

[stardial]

i should do a poll abt which language to learn first…

#the ones i’m most excited to learn r like. arabic greek and mandarin. #arabic is definitely the most relevant given the amount of arabic speaking ppl in sweden #but mandarin is one i already studied a bit in high school so i’ve got the very basics somewhere in my head #romanian is also up there for obvious reasons but i really wnana be annoying and learn another of the eastern romance languages instead #like istro-romanian (500 speakers) or dalmatian (dead since the late 1800s) #but i’ll settle for daco-romanian if it proves too hard. cuz i can already (very) vaguely understand some spoken romanian from exposure #i should learn hungarian too just because. cuz my irl name is at least partially hungarian in origin? #arambles

[desperatecheesecubes]

I prefer this translation personally, I say about a language I am completely unfamiliar with.

#this is about mandarin btw #specifically specifically the ending song to Ashes of Love #because I once saw it translated as My Left Hand Is The Moon and I just thought that was fucking beautiful #so I’ve always looked down on Upwards Towards The Moon #but I speak absolutely no mandarin so I’m beyond unqualified lmfaooo #mine #linguistics

[vriendenboekjes]

when you looking at me im so off my face jiu xiang women zhi jian xindong de ganjue wanmei shunjian bushi jiandan de yujian aint it poppin love poppin love poppin love yeah!!!!!!

#reasons to learn mandarin: because i have friends who speak it ❌ to understand tv shows ❌ to sing along to wayv ✔️

[birdmenmanga]

im just like hugo shinji murakami fr but I don't think it's a good thing...

#just thinking thoughts... #sorry some of the stuff he said about japanese brazilians is exactly how I feel about taiwanese americans... #why do you guys get together like this. you dont speak japanese you only know like. jpop. what are you getting out of this #I wondered this myself at those taiwanese american dinner family-friend gatherings #it just felt like they were proud of their heritage because if they weren't they would be crushed and erased #but at the same time they're not willing to put in the effort to say #learn mandarin chinese #like I'm reading his words and it all seems very gatekeepery but also. I have also had those thoughts #I don't necessarily agree with all of it anymore but like. I get him. #my sister says it's impossible to date someone taiwanese because it's impossible for them to understand american politics #(like racism. I think racism against black people is especially hard to comprehend. like 'why don't they just x about it???' #(I don't think you understand what systemic means.) #but like. I dunno. I'm not sure I could date someone who isn't taiwanese. how would they ever understand THAT?? #you will never 'lose' american politics the way you can lose taiwanese culture... #uh like it sounds like she wants someone who understands her suffering. while I want someone to understand my ideals. you know

[kitsuragied]

i loooove languages i love learning new alphabets i love the feeling of accomplishment and deep satisfaction of making concrete progress i love puzzles and challenges i love arabic

#honestly i have no idea whats pushing me to do this #but for the past couple months ive been doing duolingo arabic #because it hit me how vital communication is and how even with mandarin and spanish i cant communicate with so many people #it freaked me out even though its unlikely to ever actually affect me #so. duolingo arabic #also my friends mom speaks farsi to her so she encouraged me to do it #i started korean too and youd think id be more motivated to learn that because so many of my friends speak korean #but i just like. fell in love with arabic for reasons beyond my comprehension #and ive been keeping it up?? i really love learning it for some reason #it looks beautiful but also just. idk!! #who knows #im just starting to learn Words now and it hit me how much ive learned #personal log #shifttalks #<- linguistics/languages posts anyone?

[xiangqiankua]

word of the day: 閹 yān / noun: eunuch, verb: to castrate or neuter A friend and I were looking at a book in which the author describes a character as 懨懨 yān yān / weak and weary, sickly. “但是，現在的他，看起來才像是活的。儘管是懨懨的。” He protested that the more common phrase is 病懨懨, because if you simply say yān yān in conversation one may assume it’s 閹 and not 懨. However, to use 閹 you still have to say something like 他看起來被閹了 (I asked why can’t you just say 他很娘, apparently this is equally effective), so I personally don’t see how 他看起來懨懨的 can be confused in this way, but hey, I’m not the native speaker here.

#he also told me if i want to actually use these words i read in books in conversation my tones need to be PERFECT #we were arguing about the usefulness of reading this sort of book #personally i don't care if it's useful for speaking because reading for fun is a thing people do #chinese #mandarin #traditional characters

[awellreadmannequin]

Things you should hate about Canada if you are not Canadian: performative bilingualism

#claire thoughts #outside of quebec #french is often smaller than other minority languages #there are more cantonese and mandarin speakers than french speakers in Vancouver #and a lot of government services are offered in those languages #but french is the only language that the government is legally obligated to offer services in #because the elite consensus in this country has been #that quebec must be appeased with language concessions #meanwhile #the elite consensus in quebec has been that quebec should be and must become a monolingual society #there are now government services (including EDUCATION) that you cannot receive in english #canada is a functionally polylingual society #bilingualism was a solution for a 20th century problem #now in the 21st century #if we want to adhere to the spirit of bilingualism #we need to expand language rights far beyond just french #because most ESL speakers outside of quebec DON’T SPEAK FRENCH #AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HOW THIS WHOLE SORTED AFFAIR ERASES INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES #OH MY GOD THIS IS GIVING ME A RAGE HEADACHE