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Posts: 9192

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Q: How to 'get' Chinese language structure?

I write to someone and use 3 online translators to write to her. It seems like I do not understand the Chinese language structure,because the translations come out wrong, Even when I translate back to check I notice it will say something different next time for the same characters. How do I learn at least the structure or whatever,, I don't know what I'm missing or asking really.

12 years 24 weeks ago in  Teaching & Learning - China

 
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Posts: 371

Shifu

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Simplify your English as much as you possibly can. Translators will change the context when you translate too much. If it is short and simple it will have a better success rate.

TedDBayer:

How simple? me tarzan you jane? this my car? simple

12 years 24 weeks ago
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12 years 24 weeks ago

Tired of dirt and lies.

 
Posts: 2587

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Also, commas sometimes change the whole translation. After much trial and error, I can communicate effectively using a translator but I had to get a lot of feedback from my Chinese friends . After some time, you will get a feel for it.

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12 years 24 weeks ago
 
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Governor

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Write English I also wanted to use youdao translation and the resuits like yours

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12 years 23 weeks ago

Life is cruel funrn

 
Posts: 1076

Emperor

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Talk like a caveman speaking like Yoda from Star Wars.

That's not meant to be demeaning. It's how the language is structured. Chinese is very simplistic and most foreigners find it difficult to simplify their speech.

Think about it. In English you would say "Would you like something to eat?" Try to Google translate that and you'll get something like "ni xi huan chi de dong xi ma?" which no Chinese person would ever say. Here, it's "chi bu chi?" "eat no eat?".

Keep in mind that there are many things in the Chinese language that people just don't say because, well, people don't say it. You can say "ting budong" (I hear but don't understand or really "hear no understand"), "kan budong" (I see but don't understand), but you can't say "wen budong" (I smell but don't understand) or "chang budong" (I taste but...) simply because "you just don't say it". Even though it follows the same structure and is a sense.

"Huai dan" is a term to say which literally means "bad egg" but you can't say "hao dan" because it's just not used in the lexicon of Chinese language. People may sort of understand what you are trying to mean, but it's not a "term" used in Chinese.

Anyway, if you need to use translators, be a simple as possible. Drop tenses if you can, ie instead of trying to translate "I am going to go to the store" use "I go store". Drop future tenses in favor of actual time - "I will go to the store later" instead try "13:00 I go store".

TedDBayer:

thankyou,, I did have ac omment asking if I should say Me Tarzan you Jane, this my car (exactly) and its gone,,don't know why my stuff gets rubbed out, who'd be offended by that?

12 years 23 weeks ago
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12 years 23 weeks ago
 
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Governor

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its better to go shcool in china and learn more than its easy to know

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12 years 23 weeks ago

god will bless all

 
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