我飞回重庆最近，当我阅读中国非常令人沮丧的问题提醒。 有一个机舱电视上的电影，它有一个特殊性：它进行字幕的中文和英文并行，两线相若的字体在屏幕的底部，。

当我看到我一直强迫我的眼睛中文字幕坚持以行使我的阅读（声音），但它是毫无意义的。 之前，我已经读完了中国每一次，我已经知道该行的含义反正。 英语的话，似乎传递自己的意思， 即使我不看他们。

阅读中国

我们已经谈到，去年有关的问题， 读“中国功能。 它是先进的中国学生非常重要，因为超过一定程度的进展，在很大程度上取决于这种能力。 许多外国人都能够读取缓慢，甚至做光标字典的帮助下，与中国文字的翻译。 但读取功能， 在我的定义 ，是一个完全不同的事情。 这意味着能够阅读各种快速和可靠的平均本地一般文本。 点击继续»

这个星期，我很少有时间做语言后，部分原因是因为我一直忙着写一个简短的故事 ，一方面是因为我已经讨论了有关在其他博客的语言很好的协议。 我利用这一点，跟我在上海最后的意见后，我们上了长时间的讨论后， 吴博客 。

讨论开始对语言学习网站无关的评论。 但真的让我热起来是痛苦地意识到，许多上海扬声器 - 或者更确切地说吴扬声器 - 不仅不保护自己的美丽的语言，但它们实际上是积极纯粹的无知摧毁其深厚的文化底蕴。

如果你已经阅读我一会儿，你可能知道，我觉得很强烈的有关语言，特别是关于消失的。 也许部分原因是，我从一个文化的地方，我们花了相当数量的资源，以促进少数民族语言，这么小的和无用的，它有大约1％的上海扬声器。 也许是愚蠢的，但它是我们的语言。 点击继续»

今天我只想评论中文标点符号的神秘世界。 这是迷人的领域，在这些时候，大家指责的中国歧视外国符号。 事实上，有一个外国符号，在现代中国几乎每一句话：“点，逗号，其余所有的标点符号标志。

在任何语言是很自然的，当中国决定采取这些迹象，以澄清自己的脚本，他们为使用他们自己的规则。 有标点符号的例子很多，显然是在中国和西方语言相同，但实际上有不同的含义和用途。 这是不是该职位的主要点，但我会稍微停止，我觉得很有趣的例子之一。

叹息大关

出于某种原因，感叹号了对中国翻译成叹号，就是叹标志，在西方被称为（）。 此叹字符最常用的今天在叹气表达，其含义是惊呼叹息或喝彩 ​​。 我的理论是，这是谁写的每第二句“！”标志的中国网民的背后，怪癖的原因。 继续»

注：对于那些已经在过去的3天里，我的读者，这是一个关于后谷歌BUZZ已经入侵世界的邮箱这个星期，新的Google服务。

但别紧张，保持几秒钟之内，不要急于GFW的测试工具 ，这尚未发生。 我只是想成为第一个公告，并让所有的功劳，因为我90％，谷歌Buzz将在一个星期内阻止。 我对冲的情况下，桂枝茯苓丸检查员太新的十年，他们的反应，白驹高余下的10％，比预期的慢一点。

你看，我讨厌打厄运博客，但是这只是中国工程今天。 博客我尊重，我听说一些反对意见，我指称，一厢情愿。 有没有办法谷歌BUZZ将继续开放，这里是为什么：

• gbuzz吸引非常快，一个比Twitter或Facebook在中国的用户数量较多，由于其使用的Gmail，这里比较流行的电子邮件服务。

• 谷歌Buzz病毒传播的潜力是很了不起的，中国使用互联网的方式非常吸引人。 在中国的流行，越来越远不是像开拓者更多评论中国博客罗伯特·斯考伯在第一个24小时的GBuzz 。

• 他们最近的争论与中国有关当局后，谷歌把HTTPS Gmail（和现在GBuzz），这意味着，桂枝茯苓丸不能看到的内容，在中国境内流动。 他们不能阻止特定的用户或关键字，他们也不能强迫一个Google的自我审查作为他们与Google.cn谷歌公司的技术和政治原因。

所以我们这里有什么是病毒大量传播的一种手段，完全失去了控制，并与潜在激怒中国当局可能仅次于大纪元。

一个实时仿真

对于那些仍然不同意我的说法，我用我的老工程的超级计算机，做一个即将发生的事件，从昨天开始，当大多数中国的Gmail用户访问到GBuzz实时仿真。 已经发生2月12日第4步骤：

第一步：GBuzz铺开在中国流行的博客，并在数小时内得到少数数百流意见。 讨论的第一个科目之一，是Buzz将是否被堵塞或不。

第二步：一些中国用户开始怯生生地测试与未修改漫骂和禁忌，如系统Caonima和Malagebi的。 兴奋：没有评论将被删除或封锁！

第三步： - 12h后，一些中国用户已经发送一个奇特的倾向越来越少穿的衣服，甚至冬季打回大陆硬淑女的美丽图片。

第4步：博客有像韩寒或AiWeiwei发现GBuzz并开始广播。 不仅是他们的职位，但最糟糕的还是，流动的意见是，中国当局接触。 现在在数以万计的评论线程。

第5步：下一个大的病毒事件击中了中国互联网，看到所有的评论将被删除其他博客和微博客，甚至更多的人开始蜂拥到GBuzz。

步骤6：现在大多数网民都了解，GBuzz是其桂枝茯苓丸的自由一天。 未经审查的照片陈冠希或醉酒的党员干部，再循环广泛，人们甚至写的表演的评价。 超过50％的话GBuzz全球普通话字符，其中约10％是某种形式的妈/逼字建设（ 母亲/阴户 ）。

步骤7：FOS的初期是相当繁忙，但人民最终实现自由沟通的优势。 中国互联网和世界其他地区之间的鸿沟正在迅速消失，谷歌BUZZ已经写在世界历史上一个页面。

I N 与此同时，某处在中东王国...

...邪恶5Mao队出售给党的网民已经赶上与GBuzz呼吁他们在宣传部门的老板，从他们的白酒梦想唤醒，并显示在繁文缛节和修枝剪桂枝茯苓丸总部...

结论

OK，我觉得你现在的精神。 和结论是这样的：有没有办法GBuzz将继续留在中国的开放。 唯一的问题，其余的回答是会发生什么其他的Google服务，特别是Gmail和Google.com（G.cn已经注定在我的书）。

我在这里看到2个可能性：

1 - 谷歌BUZZ可以在技术上被阻止不阻止Gmail，尽管在他们的整合。 桂枝茯苓丸可以实现＃嗡嗡所有的嗡嗡声网址上出现的字符串，通过使用智能网址块。 容易仍在，因为他们是在与谷歌谈判，他们可以要求G到GMail的其余开放，促进交流阻塞GBuzz。

2 - GBuzz下去，并采取了谷歌在中国的所有服务，一劳永逸。 尤其是这是可以实现的，如果谷歌和中国政府之间的谈判并不顺利，因为我最近应该。 发生这种情况已经在伊朗 ，我一定最中共领导人，甚至不眨眼。 或有没有人认为他们所关心的外界舆论对中国的言论自由吗？

因此，这仅仅是一个2路的窘境，我没有看到任何其他的解决方案。 谷歌对中国内政的最终结果很快会来到，沉淀由意外GBuzz诞生。 无论是谷歌和中共可以等待更长的时间，压力两侧安装。 到底是近了，系好安全带和打开你的VPN。

和新年虎年

现在我要关闭电脑，离开办公室，并采取一定在东南亚的热带目的地的航班，我打算花我的新年假期。 当我回到上海22日，谷歌Buzz将在中国，我将只是时间来收拾残局。 我期待着新整个虎年职位的系列。

的所有新年快乐，恭喜发财！

我已经离开了一会儿，因为我所有的假期时间已经由上海的两个有趣的故事，其中的一个电视连续剧，另一种新型吸收。

串行是WoJu，蜗牛的家，愚蠢地翻译成英文为的窄Dwellingness，或任何。 它已经在中国红热，因为其在11月的第一次广播。 爱丽丝刘单位“和“ 优酷Buzz博客最近遮盖。

由于这些博客指出，这一直是最具爆炸性的成功，我们还记得在中国的电视连续剧。 In less than a month it sparked heated debate on the internet, attracted millions online and off, and with that came the hideous hand of the censors. One reason for its rapid success is the central theme about the problems to buy a house, which just hit the spot among the young Chinese audiences.

但是Woju是远远比房地产和腐败的故事。 这是一个扣人心弦的戏剧，丰富的次要情节不断发展具有非常现实的字符填充，围绕一个中心三角恋。 A sharp critique of the modern Chinese society, and by far the best product I have ever seen on the mainland TV. 最初它是一种新型的中国作家 ，我们应该看未来，更加紧密地溜溜，在2007年出版的。

下面是我的串行的印象，现在我已经完成了第15章。 我将集中在两个主要的兴趣点：希望了解中国的人的信息内容，并独立于其他因素的产品质量。 In the end are also some funny things I observed related to censorship and others.

内容

这个序列是中国通，有抱负的中国问题专家的天堂。 任何试图了解中国的人都应该看它。 If the characters are not exactly real (no fiction can ever be) their worries, their problems and their motivations are a hi-fi amplified reflection of those moving the young citizens of China today. It is a concentrate of Chinese reality.

All the elements we have been speaking for the last years are there, not a single one is missing: guanxi building, cadres' 二奶 (lovers), shanghai men bullied by their wifes, working parents who can't see their babies, illegal high-interest loans, collusion between developers and local officials, the conflict between shanghaiers and outsiders, the overnight rich of Wenzhou, the ethics of the new China, the 拆迁 or "destroy and move", the "nail people" who resist, the shanzhai mobile phones… you name it.

和所有是如此精确，你甚至可以看到多少的人物都在自己的工作收入，高利贷什么兴趣问，要花多少钱的党的干部要得到他的第一个小二奶（情人）。

There are surely better books that depict the Chinese society in the past, but the subject is changing so fast they are all outdated. I do not think there is any other work of fiction today that reflects more precisely the Shanghai society circa 2010.

"Hello, I'm Secretary Song of the Municipal Party Committee (and I just shagged your girlfriend)"

If you are learning Chinese, the series is a double must for its great idiomatic mandarin. If you are not, then stand by for the DVDs with English subtitles, hoping the pirates get a human translator with his TOEFL levels this time. There is definitely a market for this, and I wouldn't be surprised if they come up with a movie next year, provided the government doesn't stop it.

质量

但更重要的是比上述所有产品的质量。 It is good fiction and good entertainment.

故事是由强烈的爱情三角形的中心美丽的女演员扮演，年轻的海藻李念 。 上面列出的所有元素，包括房地产热潮的赢家和输，倾向于解决此爱/恨的故事，在接触了两个不同的世界：laobaixing干部，中国城市的两个类。

But perhaps the best aspect of the serial, a breathe of fresh air on Chinese TV, is its absolute lack of moral lessons for the public. 这里没有英雄或恶棍。 The covetous developer, the unbearably vain wife, the fainthearted Shanghai husband, the enigmatic, outrageous Shanghai girl played by Li Nian. 他们每个人只是人类的弱点，并和我们一样的野心。 Every one of them can be up to the best and to the worst.

Even the corrupt official is all too human. 一个软弱的人在中年危机，在他手中的权力太大，不检查自己的行为和系统。 腐败，象爱情一样，发生的事件的自然过程，一个病态的社会​​和个人的邪恶计划不结果。 And Jiangzhou, the Chinese Gotham that stands for Shanghai, is the mighty whirlwind of action where all the characters are hopelessly adrift.

Censorship

Not surprisingly, the serial has been censored by the government. 然而，它已被审查的方式，罢工我假正经，如果不能清楚地白痴。

Since I am in Europe now, I have been able to watch the serial on YouTube and compare with the censored one available on the Chinese site YouKu. There was no censorship on the image above, where a Shanghai Party Official brazenly chats with the boyfriend of the girl he has just raped making free use of his political muscle.

Instead, the images below were censored:

看到原来的场景，下面审查的版本，在中国所示。

这是第一个串行正确的性场面。 In the original version you see the moaning face of Haizao in one quarter of the screen, while the other images correspond to the respective wife and boyfriend, who are shown at home worrying for their loved ones, while they are being made cuckolds of Olympic category.

Is the moaning face of Haizao more obscene than the happy Mr. Song shown above? Draw your own consequences. Also interesting is to note that the producers have participated in the censoring process, and the hot scenes are not merely cut out, but edited and substituted by other originals, as in the larger image of the wife above.

Other Details and Questions

I will come back with more details when I am done with the serial, but for the moment I have 2 questions for the public, and especially for the many Chinese I know who have already watched the whole 35 chapters:

1 - 串行秀为什么如此显着的海藻“Coogle”shanzhaied电话，它只是使其更现实，或者是报复，因为谷歌拒绝赞助？

2- There is one part of the plot I just can't understand: how can Haizao be a virgin when she first sleeps with Song, if she has been living with her boyfriend for years? 这是一个阴谋的差距，还是我错过了一些严重和令人担忧的中国文化元素？

In the first two posts of this series, we saw that Chinese is the last language in the World to maintain a complete set of independent vocabulary roots and a non-phonetic script to represent them, what we might call a separate Word System. For this reason I argued that Chinese may be the most difficult language to obtain full fluency, regardless of the linguistic background of the student.

But there are more interesting implications than the mere difficulty of the language, in particular cultural and political ones. Because the refusal to use loans and phonetic script is the result of conscious decisions. There is nothing in the language itself that forbids import of foreign words or use of an alphabet, indeed, there are already some exceptions of direct loans in current use that are written in latin letters, such as DVD or KTV .

Chinese has a parallel Word System diverging from the rest of the World, and the government has an active role in the maintenance of this system. However, this policy is not unilaterally imposed from above. It is certainly encouraged by the education system, but Chinese speakers seem to follow it naturally and often prefer Chinese roots even when not supervised. This is in contrast with the situation in many countries where the system tries to protect local terms, only to find that people still prefer “email” to “courier electronique”.

Anyone living in China long enough realizes how aware Chinese are of their long history and their status as a different civilization. This discourse is irritating for Westerners, because it reminds too much of ultra-nationalistic creeds back home. But it has one essential difference with those creeds: in the case of China, it is true. As we said before , China is justified to see itself as a cradle of civilization, and it is the only such culture that has survived practically independent from World mainstream till modern times. This cultural awareness is the main reason for the preservation of the language as we know it, surviving different regimes and even periods of chaos.

When we study Chinese we are not merely learning another language, we are learning the words of a parallel World, the last independent system of vocabulary and writing that humanity still has. It is the most similar experience available on Earth to learning the language of another planet. If Chinese is really so hard to learn, this should provide enough motivation for anyone to try it.

Political considerations

普通话本身并不是一个非常困难的语言，是什么使得它很难是其复杂的Word系统，这是没有必要的大部分（即语言可能仍然存在贷款和一个字母）。 该系统使得它很难外国人和中国沟通，这是中国教育的一个严重障碍。 在上个世纪的发展，一直是中国的主要优先事项，以恢复她昔日的辉煌，已拆除低效的文物，无闪烁，就像北京的城墙，。 中国的词和字符，最后以保持这些阻塞的纪念碑，是迄今为止最古老的所有。 这是一个奇迹，他们已经存活直到今天。

字符的未来似乎更安全方便的方法，在键盘上输入字符的发明，但他们的持久性是没有保证的手段。 许多著名的语言学家认为拼音作为主要书面语言和消除人物的日常生活，而不是鲁迅，或已故的约翰·弗朗西斯至少使用。 虽然我很佩服这些人，他们的工作，我完全反对他们的位置作为一个原则问题。 我不认为任何人都不会相信我在这个年龄的经济学家，甚至在新中国哲学 ，但我必须这样说的：效率是不是最高值。 事实上，它甚至不是在本身的价值，但只是一种手段。 和悲伤的手段将是恢复中国的伟大，如果有留下什么恢复。

我认为这是明确的大多数中国人的今天，他们的话语系统是太珍贵了，为了提高效率，放弃它。 然而，一些合理的让步，可这可能确保系统的长期生存。 特别是，接受外国贷款为新技术的话，可能会促进国外研究和认真开始真正的中国人才外流的外国人才纳入中国的访问。 完全接受了拉丁字母代表语音外国专有名词（已经被用于非正式）也将是对效率的一个步骤，在不牺牲系统的心脏，将所有想学英语的中国有很大的帮助。

除了考虑的实际问题，同样重要的是心态背后的中国词语系统。 所有的语言在世界不断增长的常用词汇有很大一部分，是人类共同的文化和大多数文化的认同，因为这部分只会成为更大的技术进步，合理的解决方法是采取一种共同的语言沟通。 通过决定远离除了这个系统，对中国的语言选择代表世界各地反对的立场，并以某种方式延续了传统的古村，甚至在全球联网的年龄隔离。 中国互联网社区和偏狭的误解 ，从它出现的文化之间，在一定程度上，这种选择的后果。

在中国的关系中发挥的语言与世界的一部分可能不是第一重要的。 但即使在今天，这部分是不是可以忽略不计，在通信技术的进步，没有人知道多么重要，它在未来将成为。 最终，它最多只能到中国来决定他们自己想要的是什么语言。 我们只能等待，看看，希望他们找到一种方式留在我们的连接，同时保留其独特的遗产词。

上星期五，我写了一个很长的职位，我结束了包括太多的想法。 的主要点位了，结果掩盖，但它是简单地此：在学习一门语言，词汇起着至关重要的作用，不仅是因为中国这个极其困难的先进水平，但也越来越难与时间。

我不认为这是开创性的研究，但有趣的是，因为大多数人都没有意识到这一点，也对在悫语言和政治两个领域，我们要培养这个博客的限制其影响。 下面是结论充分的论据，例子和详细信息，请参阅以前的职位 ，其意见：

• 要学习一种新语言所需的主要知识是在三个方面：语法，语音和词汇。 语法和语音不同，基本上是从词汇中，前两个是无限的情况下适用的规则，而后者则是原始数据。 我们可以打电话给他们的语言代码和数据元素。 代码元素是有限的，而不是增长。 几乎是无限的和不断增长的数据元素，它不完全掌握母语甚至点。

• 学习一种语言时，代码元素发挥至关重要的作用水平在初级和中级，但先进水平的通信真正的障碍，因此进步是数据。 例如，在德国先进的学生有时可能会使用错误的词尾变化，并在西班牙，他们可能无法区分“RR / R”的声音。 这些东西往往不妨碍沟通，因为人类的语言是高度冗余。 我永远不会明白“佩罗”（但是）当一位发言者说，“perro”（狗）。 最终，在代码元素的含量口音相同的缺陷：大部分的时候，他们仅作为元数据相关。

• 但同时一定程度以上的代码是高度冗余，数据仍然在每一个级别所必需的。 从这个伟大的文章 ：借用短语“浴池找到有效的治疗静脉炎”是毫无意义的名词一方或双方是未知的。 缺少一个单一的词往往可以掩盖整个段落或文章的含义。

• 被动的话在现实生活中使用的数量远远超过了典型的语言水平标准名单。 这是因为半专业词汇，如离子 ，J acuzzi或矩阵不包括词汇表，因为它们被认为是太罕见了。 当然这些话是很少使用，但有这么多，作为一个整体，他们其实很经常使用。 This Data element is so large that it cannot be memorized in a classroom, and the only way to acquire it is through many years of immersion.

• The reason why most language learners never realize this problem is because they are “cheating”. In most languages in the World, this high level vocabulary is practically identical and it doesn't need to be learned. There is a certain limit level for each language above which most modern words are international and the Data is no more specific of the language .

• 这个词汇衔接的限制水平为每一种语言不同，但它没有这么多的依赖于语言的家庭或原产地域，而是取决于的大小和的扬声器社会的发展。 这是中级以上是非常容易的原因，即使非印欧语系语言，如巴斯克：社区是不是大到足以支持复杂的条款，所有更高的数据是从国际通过。 大多数人往往误解和太重视语言家庭的概念，他们来到这个荒谬的名单，如。

• 国际化的词汇越来越多，在电信和全球化的进展，尤其是因为，英语已成为科研的唯一语言。 在科学发明新的瑞典方面，例如，有小点，当所有的科学界的读/写他们的论文中英文。 通常情况下，尽管在政治努力，以促进本地的词汇，语言的经济恢复更高的数据传输回Internationalese。

• 这是唯一一个在世界上的语言，历史，政治和人口的原因，一直保持这一趋势的一个例外：语言是中文（普通话，粤语或其他人，这里是无关紧要的差异）。 它构成了高层次的数据并行系统，在其余的Word共同很少说话。 日本和韩国是他们借鉴中国和国际体系，但现代的话越来越国际和这些语言的融合，其余部分例外。

• 除此之外，中国有一个可笑的困难的书写系统，其功能的语音脚本缺乏独特。 这种化合物的词汇问题：不仅有更多的学习比在任何其他语言的话，但每个字包含更多的信息，因为它需要与其相应的字符相关。

• 此外，因为没有标准化的方式来抄写外国专有名词，甚至地方和个人的名字往往被“翻译”成中文，有时完全离开原来的语音，并成为中国在自己的权利名称。 这增加了在中国的语言已经非常庞大的数据元素。

这一切都需要我们的结论：中国是最困难的语言，在一个高层次的学习，无论学生的起源。

这是特别有趣，因为到现在为止这个问题的正确答案是：“取决于你自己的母语”。 与日本/韩国学生可能是个例外，这个职位需要，中国实际上是别人最难的。 成反比的是，它也很难对中国学习其他语言，虽然这是由其他语言功能的语音脚本的事实减轻。

另外一个有趣的结论：中国不仅很难，它实际上是越来越困难。

随着世界变得越来越相互关联和技术占据了我们的生活更加重要组成部分，新的半专业词汇在日常语言中的增加部分。 参照国际概念，如“垃圾邮件”或“等离子电视”的表达式，越来越多地指的是当地的文化遗产表达的地方。 在这个意义上，我们可以说，在世界上所有的语言都趋同，而中国是一个岛国，其余所有分歧。

再有，我们可以从中得出的政治结论，但我致力于写短职位，因此，我们将离开的第二天。 欢迎评论和更正我的论点以上。

来自于生活的每一个学生的普通话点时，他觉得写的语言困难的呼叫。 时间终于来到了，我的 主人，我会按照路径 。 事实上，我打算走得更远。 我证明，中国是世界上最困难的语言。

我知道我危险的地面上行走，日语学习者节是一定要在我爱上所有其declensions的重量。 为了使这是一个公平的游戏，我会先定义我理解的困难：一个普通人需要的时间没有以前接触相关语言，实现一个功能的水平，其中功能理解为能够执行每一个正常的活动，在普通话没有明显的缺点，如：写论文，举办正式会议，以正常速度阅读，在嘈杂的酒吧聊天。 我以我的法语作为这个级别的标准衡量自己的水平。

当然，这个标准和“重大缺点”的整体概念是主观的和难以衡量，但对这个职位的目的，它应该是足够的。 请注意，这里的关键因素是实用工具 ：我特意关注较少，如口音方面只要在正常的沟通方式，因为它没有得到支付。 原因是，我考虑到语言作为沟通工具，而不是一个标志的状况，出身或其他可能的功能。 在中国，任何可能使用模仿口音失去了大多数外国人，因为五官立即给他们带走。

除了口音，像中国古典的重要领域给予我的“功能性”的定义，重量很少，原因很明显。 它是真实的，通过这个定义，我削弱我而言，最困难的语言，但我们可以负担得起的，因为我们最强大的武器仍然在储备。

还有一件事之前，我继续：这次演习已经试过很多次了，喜欢这里 ， 在 这里和这里 。 我忽略了以前的结果，因为他们这样作为老师的看法或某些常规参数没有任何在现实生活中的使用比较标准。 每名学生可以自由选择他自己定义的困难和功能水平，但在我看来，在这个岗位，总结，大多数人自然会是一个“ 的水平，需要在本地环境中使用的语言无缝”接受。

我的论点如下通过3个阶段的学习中文的过程：首先，我证明，中国是容易的，然后我证明，这是很难的。 最后，我会放弃的原因，中国是世界上最难的语言。 如果您已经熟悉学习普通话，你可能想直接跳到第三章。

中文是容易

简单的汉语语法和单词的第一个列表在一个基本水平，容易发音和记忆（音）在非常温和的学习曲线。 我已经多次在西班牙学习西班牙语的学生比较，几乎总是在中国普通话的学生更快地开始使用简单的句子。 除了语言本身，我怀疑，对中国的好奇和健谈的性质是它的一个重要组成部分。

如果你已经在中国已经足够长的时间，你可能已经看到一些学生，了解到中国在1年的奇迹。 我会见了一些他们自己，并在某​​些情况下，我对结果感到惊讶。 这些人基本上是自然的传播者，他们并不需要的色调或人物，因为他们使用普通话，这是上下文中非常强大的工具。 他们的语调和身体语言的信息渠道万吨，使他们能够受理带几个小时就结束中国的成人，而你坐在那里恨恨地想知道哪里放了。 这是一个真实的故事，顺便。

当然，不是每个人都可以成为这样一个伟大的传播者，但这里的要点是：一个人的某种和为某种目标，中国其实也可以在浸泡时了解到一个简单的语言。 这是一种肤浅的层面上被称为当你听到有人说：“他讲14种语言的流利”。 它只是最基本的字符，几乎没有语法和长期无音记忆的日常词汇列表。 这是行不通的，甚至靠近我的功能级别的定义，但它是有用的，有益的，对于大多数人来说，这是他们所需要的。

正是出于这个原因，每个外国人来中国，特别是好奇和交际的，我强烈建议学习中国的谈话没有字符。 在这第一个层次，它具有经济意义，他们认真研究。

由于长时间暴露在说普通话的环境，一个喇叭没有字符可以去很长的路要走。 然而，严重的学生普通话，非字符的路径是不可持续的。 除其他原因，因为它会使其无法读写，有效地离开了限制大面积的知识。

中文是难

步入下一阶段之前，潜在的学生应该三思。 因为它需要时间的投资比例几乎任何其他语言的研究，甚至等复杂的事业，例如，获得博士学位。 在绝大多数情况下，它没有经济意义，它根本就不是一个理性的选择。 所以，如果你决定去那里，只是确保你有不合理的动机。

在这个阶段中出现的困难，如字符和声调，已优秀的文章 上面 提到的 ，所以我不会赘述。 我只想强调的因素的背景和相互依存的，我觉得有时被低估。 的想法，总结，是这样的：这两个diabolically中国口头和书面的困难代码变得更加困难，因为他们往往​​是不能自我在学生的头脑，但依靠相互学习，然后他们都依赖于上下文的一个很好的协议。

这是该系统的最荒谬的部分，因为直觉人会想象，（半）表意文字的脚本是从语音独立。 事实是，他们不仅没有独立的，但整个系统的效率低下，中国人自己很大程度上依赖于他们的口语语言来解释字符。 这就解释了，例如，为什么它是那么容易提出与字符的平均中国不能读，或为什么他们可以读1报纸知道只有2000 *字符，但你不能，他们成功地使用他们的口语语言要记住/猜缺少的字符。

在其他方向，对书面材料的依赖，学会说话是很常见的任何第二语言，作为能够读取在发音显著的方式的话，使他们更容易记住。 在中国现有的材料，在适当的拼音（与tonemarks拉丁字母）几乎是零，和一些字母和声调的趋势，不同地区之间，使得它几乎不可能学习他们正确只是从听。 更糟的是，自己是中国人的扬声器上的字符来解决歧义，往往是与人民和地方，或当他们解释了一个新词的名称：“我的名字是江，”他们说，“美女子江“，指的字符姜2部分。 含糊不清往往发生在很多像普通话的语境语言，更当一个外国人参与。

这个讲话和写作之间的相互影响，有许多中国特有的其他后果：例如，它是不可能写下来，甚至读外来词，没有一个人物的先进知识，很难理解书面形式，并在谈话中都熟悉的名字。

所有这些因素（以及其他许多我没有提到）为外国人提供的极其困难的学习环境。 这是最主要的原因是不可能达到功能级别后，口头和书面语言上的一种平衡的方法，加上沉浸在中国文化。 它解释了为什么一个字符的渊博知识的汉学家永远不会说话的语言功能 ，也不旧中国双手语文沉浸在几十年的生活。 他们都站在同一条腿比别人短的摇晃平台。

总之，学习中国的努力是类似2，需要并行**追求不同的语言学习。 与这两种语言是一个很大的困难比法国（英语为母语）。

然而，这仍未能打动日本，已经磨他们的武士刀来后，我的头的学生。 我会承认，到了这里，日语仍然有一个很好的机会击败普通话。 移动到下一节看到我的将军。

中国是世界上最困难的语言

现在是，当我们进入第三阶段，在功能级别的学生，没有任何“重大缺点”与母语相比。 至于我担心的是，这个阶段只是假设：我从来没有见过一个外国人到了那里。 我不是说这个人不存在，我只是说，在中国3年后，我还没有遇到任何，就是它是多么难得。

在既定标准的措施方面，我可以词组，它想：我仍然不能满足水平的一个单一的外国人，能说流利的中国竞争，与我在法国自己的水平，这是我的第四语言，作为一个成年人学习在3年内在法国度过的。 我有一个口音和一些人造阿美族 ，但我可以读取和写入，快速和复杂的，任何类似的背景，我的法国同事，我不记得我最后一次在电视上的东西没有得到。 我挑战任何人给我弄一个非中国本土的扬声器，可以说或写，就像我在法国做，甚至在水平相当。 对不起，如果我听起来自大，我只是写，因为它是基础的论点如下。

但是，让我们到这个职位的实际点：为什么中国在世界上最困难的语言？

这种说法的主要依据，做词汇。 我认为，在大多数学习汉语的研究，这个因素已经大大低估。 在我看来，它是唯一最重要的一个学生去功能级别的障碍。 之前，我解释为什么，让我给一些背景：

在原产地，有深厚的文化原因，从事实上，中国作为一个文明的摇篮，其扬声器。 实际上，它可以精确地说，中国是人类文明的摇篮之一，并一直保持一种活的语言，这一天只有一个。 语言学家会说，语言已经改变，因为商代时代完全，但是这是一个纯技术性的反对。 文化上，它仍然是相同的人相同的语言，它是这种感觉的扬声器，这带来了一系列的态度，是中国特有的。

这些“态度”，包括不承认拉丁或希腊文化参考，并推而广之，不接受在英语或其他外国基层创造的新词。 这是问题的核心。 这使得事情，学习汉语的外国人，也为中国人学习外国语言极其困难。 和它的影响超越了语言学习的范围。

Regarding the practical consequences for the student of mandarin, consider this: the active vocabulary required to obtain a standard level of language—for example, the vocabulary required for highest level of HSK— typically contains no more than a few thousand words, which are more than enough for everyday general conversation. And yet, the HSK11 people that I have met were not even close to competing with my French.

The reason is that for people with a higher education, the passive vocabulary really needed to attain a functional level is much larger than the vocabulary required in any standard test of proficiency. Think of vector , ion or metaphysical . None of these words enter the standards lists of vocabulary because in theory they are technical terms, and yet they appear in normal conversation and you are expected to recognize them even if you have no idea what an ion really is. You acquire these words through a lifetime of living inside a culture.

So what happened with my French? Obviously, I just learned the few thousand words necessary to get along, and from then on it was extremely easy… because the vast pockets of specialized vocabulary were for the most part already known to me. And that is because, once you have learnt to decode phonetics and grammar, and above a certain level of vocabulary, all the languages in the World become almost the same—except for Chinese, that is.

And as a consequence of this Chinese differentiation, the only practical method for most people to achieve functional level is to spend a lifetime in immersion, in order to acquire the vocabulary in all those fields that are not studied in language school and can only be learned through experience. In summary, for a student to become functional it would take, following our three phases above:

1. Exceptional communication abilities, talent and motivation.
2. Years of full-time study to learn reading and writing.
3. Even longer – min around 10 years? – in 100% immersion in China.

Essentially, we are speaking of a person who is dedicated to Chinese as a career, who has a talent for language and who lives in a total Chinese environment for many years. It is not impossible that this person exists, and we might even have someone in comments below who responds to this description. But the conjunction of those 3 conditions in one single person is extremely rare, and for the vast majority of students, functional level in Chinese will always be out of reach.

Excuse the long post, I wrote it out of frustration the other day when I got stuck in the middle of a sentence containing ionic treatment, partly because the word for ion, 离子 (li2zi3) like many other technical words, does not give you any clue when it is out of the context of physics. I would like to see what the Japanese (who are pretty good at saying “ion” phonetically) have to answer to this. 将军。

And Chinese has won the dubious honour of being the most difficult language in the World.

NOTES:

*There has been much discussion about this and the number is probably wrong. The point is that even when you get to know more characters than a native Chinese, he will still be able to read much better and faster than you. This is frustrating.

** I am using terms very loosely here, Written Chinese is not in itself a language but a representation of Chinese. It is not really studying 2 languages, but I find this comparison useful to give a feel of the raw amount of data that needs to be stored into your head.

聚苯乙烯。 If you are interested in this debate, see the summarized and hopefully more clear post here .

So Obama is in China, and even if he is not my president he is still my favourite president. Here is my first-hand analysis of the visit.

The most important news, surprisingly gone unnoticed by all observers, is that Obama wants to become Euro-bama in Chinese. That is how I read the new spelling of his name in characters, as proposed by the website of the white house :

欧巴马 (oubama) will replace 奥巴马, where 欧 is the Chinese character for Europe, making the name sound in Chinese like Euro-Bama.

Some might say that the new spelling is chosen for greater phonetic similarity, or because it is standard in Taiwan, but when have politicians listened to the linguists? There is a clear political motivation in the naming of Euro-Obama, and I see a bright future in the project.

I think I speak for a large number of Europeans when I say we are very happy to see this plan finally in execution. Mr. Obama, please sweep away all our bunch of incompetent presidents and prime ministers, and become King of the European Union. Then, perhaps, in the next meeting with China you can represent our united interests, instead of having each European tribe sending its little pathetic chief for the CCP to cleverly divide and manipulate a la Sun Tzu .

One of the things I like of being European is that you can be thoroughly unpatriotic against the UE, and nobody cares. Dear commentators of the Washington Post , please do not worry anymore. America is not in decline yet, and it will not be for a long time. Among other reasons because it is needed by European countries that are too incompetent to unite in international politics. And indeed, when the Chinese people see Obama, they see a leader of the West as much as they see a leader of America. Because seen from here, the concepts of West, Europe, America, or Euramerica (欧美）have never been all that distinct.

After this important geostrategic consideration, you can continue to read what else is to read about the visit. Essentially nothing, because no real news have emerged yet, and most journalists and bloggers alike do their best to fill in their columns with China generalities. Apart from the links above, interesting questions are:

• Will Obama comment on the Human Rights Watch report about black jails and other human rights issues? Of course this will not happen, no more than Hu will elaborate on the new theories of the Liberation of Tibet. But it is interesting for the sake of debating.

• Perhaps more likely is that he mentions the environment, as this blog suggests . I am pretty sure the two leaders will mention it, actually, a different thing is how much of a commitment will come from the meeting. From the voiceless rest of the World we will be watching to see if the 2 giants finally decide to make a move and quit sending their fumes to our back yard.

• Finally, a lot of articles out there speak of Obama-mania and make a big deal of the Obamao icon, which has been circulating in China since before the election . My view is that young modern Chinese tend to like Obama, and he is marginally more popular than Bush was. But there is no such thing as the Obamania we saw in Europe, and most people here adopt a cold stance of “wait and see”. The minute 欧 mentions some delicate issue or meets some old lama, it will take no more than a minute of well phrased CCTV news to wipe the Obamania into thin air.

So already, quit the Obamaos and give me some Eurobamas, we are growing tired of politics over at the other side of this continent.

这在四川出差，实在是充满了惊喜。 Today we went to visit the Project, a giant industrial complex which will be, upon completion, the largest factory in the World to produce X. A typically Chinese megaproject on the bank of the Yangtze.

But the surprise came when we went to town for lunch, and I found out that the river that flowed into the Yangtze at that point was called the Wu. I hadn't realized before, because the industrial park takes a different name, but sure enough, our client confirmed this point: we were in the riverside town of Fuling.

If you have read the classic China book “River Town”, you know why I was so thrilled. 如果你没有，然后去和现在得到它。 因为你正在读我的博客，没准你是寻求了解中国的那些疯狂的西方人之一。 这款本本为你解释所有这些，在这个过程中，它可以让你进入中国内地的生活难得一见。 有趣的是，特别是如果你已经没有住在乡下。

这本书

I am taking this chance to do a little review of River Town, so I can start to catch up with my old plans of running a book reviews section. 考虑这本书是比较陈旧，已广为人知，只是我会坚持的要点，并尽量保持这个职位是合理的。

故事很简单，它会告诉他作为和平队在涪陵，今年长江第三层镇逗留期间作者的经历和感受。 没有什么情况下，除了它是中国内地在90年代，一切发生。 The book is enjoyable from the beginning, almost every page right to the end.

这里所承诺的关键点：

- 非常愉快的自然写作，地方和人民的生动描述。 我知道文学会议人类学最好的例子之一。 Memorable is the description of the Fuling streets and their “stick-stick soldiers” in the initial chapters.

- 作者是一个很好的观察员，与他有直接访问他的学生，他写下他们的意见，关于各种主题的优势。 One of the main highlights of the book is the contrast between the Fuling and the Western mentality, expressed on the background of the classics of English literature.

- 一些点为平衡起见，我喜欢少：这本书接近尾声失去一些力量（并不奇怪，伟大上半年后）。 作者的科学支队可以成为有点可气，有时感觉就像人类学家已经采取了作家。 The last dramatic scene with the mob doesn't help to fix this, and I couldn't help feeling that it was an unnecessary addition. 但是，只有我看来，我是在20世纪90年代涪陵从来没有。

河城

From what I have seen today, the town of Fuling is doing pretty well, changing so fast that it is almost impossible to recognize it in the descriptions of the book. 一件事，我们花了不到一个小时，从重庆市的中心，有资格作为密切郊区。 This is in great contrast with the backwater river town of the 90s.

现在的Fulingers将会有一些世界一流的生产设备，和一个良好的人口将在那里工作，与数千名来自中国各地的未来。 It feels strange to realize suddenly that I have become myself one of the characters (although a very secondary one) in the story of the transformation of Fuling.

似乎有永恒在中国唯一的一件事，那就是劳动人民群众，“laobaixing”。 Sure enough, the stick-stick soldiers are still there and in good shape, running up and down the stairs with massive loads hanging from their bamboo poles. For them, nothing has changed.

I know, I should be studying right now, and not writing posts. But I was just breathing slightly between two sessions of 模拟考试, and I reflected on the fascinating process of learning a new language, and on how, when you have been through it a few times, you end up developing your own secret methods to climb up the long steep ladder.

My approach to learning Chinese this year is based on the one I used with my previous languages: The reading method. It can only be used starting from intermediate level. In the case of mandarin, I would say this is not before 2 years of studying at a normal rate.

The method consists of acquiring first a minimum level of vocabulary to understand most simple texts, and from that point on dedicate your study time to the pleasant hobby of reading novels as captivating as possible. If you are a bookworm like me this works very well, because you end up putting in far more hours of study (reading) than you would if it were normal exercises. I know there are also many resources to read Chinese on the internet with cursor translator included, but computers tend to distract your attention very fast, whereas reading a good book gets your eyes glued to the characters for hours on end.

The result of this method is that you end up with a vast passive vocabulary and excellent character recognition abilities. Then it is up to you in your socializing time to go out and try to use these words in conversation, at the risk of locals saying you sound pompous. Sometimes you can even lift full phrases from a novel, and it is fun when you manage to use them in real life. For example, when I was reading Lu Xun's “AhQ” I placed neatly my favourite line:

Little Yi:我讨厌我的老板，怎么办?

Uln:你先估量对手，口讷的你便骂，力气小的你便打。

Little Yi:天哪！

Uln:怎么啦？

Little Yi:你又在练习！

Uln:我？没有啊。。。

Admittedly, my use of the method is a bit radical. But the social phase is an essential part of it, because once you have used a word a couple of times successfully, it quickly moves into your active vocabulary, and after that it rarely leaves you again. This is only practicable if you live in a Chinese environment, it never worked when I was back in Europe.

Reading speed

The key tipping point in the reading method is that moment when you realize that you can read a story fast enough to actually enjoy it. This is a function not only of your knowledge of characters/words, but also of the interest of the book and of your own personal nerdiness. When I read my first novel “Brothers” last year, I was so excited to taste the Chinese popular literary style that I gladly spent two months ploughing through the 700 pages of chengyu-ridden Yu Hua.

Since then, I have much increased my reading speed, to a point where I can sustainably read non-fiction without falling asleep. The preparation for the high-speed requirements of the HSK has helped me a lot for this, and I must say that, in spite of all my ranting in the previous post , it does make sense to force students a bit. Because the ability to read characters at normal native speeds is one of the most difficult to acquire, in my opinion.

Note that, when I say speed, I am not referring to the speed that comes from knowing all the words in the text. It is obvious that by using less the dictionary it is possible to read faster. My point is that, even for simple texts where all the words are familiar, I still read almost 3 times slower than a native Chinese, even after 1 year of reading books. This is an issue that has appeared only when studying Chinese, and not in any of my previous languages that used latin script, so I have strong reasons to think that it is tied to the use of characters.

I think it probably has to do with the way the brain processes the characters, and the way people schooled in Chinese from an early age have developed differently in this field. The post about reverse pinyin last week pointed me in this direction, and a few experiments I have done with my Chinese neighbours as well. I hope I have the time to write a bit more about this next week.

In the meantime, if there is a non-native advanced reader out there, I would like to hear your experience. Does it eventually get better, and do you manage to read at the same speed as the Chinese? Or do you have the same problem I note here? 让我知道。

OK, off-line I go again. I already missed all Tuesday and Wednesday in an absurd meeting in Changsha so I need to catch up. I'll be back after the HSK, if I haven't showed up by Monday call the fire brigade.

I am back to Shanghai with some interesting anecdotes and some mildly funny pictures of Japan. Unfortunately, I will not be able to post any of that, because this week I am busy with work trips in China, and especially because this is the HSK week. It is just as well, I guess, after all this is not Japanyouren, and there are funnier travel bloggers out there if you are looking for a laugh.

Before I disappear for a week into my studying den, let me explain you again this business of the HSK. It is short for 汉语水平考试，or Chinese Level Exam, and it is the official standard to measure your level of mandarin, accepted by all universities in the mainland. It is also a very crazy exam, designed to squeeze out of the examinee's brains as much linguistic information as possible in 3 hours, and then put it down in measurable statistical terms.

As it happens, the HSK is an exam that does not mainly measure your level of Chinese. It measures your determination, endurance and sangfroid, and your faith in a better life after the bell. The good side of it, apart from hardening your soul, is that it gives you a good taste of the ultracompetitive Chinese education system and their university entrance exam. It is even reminiscent of the 科举考试 , the old imperial examination to select the bureaucracy, which famously caused some of the candidates to lose their wits and become heavenly kings . For a foreigner who is serious (deranged) enough to try to understand China, this experience is essential.

But back to the facts: This Saturday 17th is the HSK advanced, and I am going to fight for a level 9, out of 11 possible levels. I need to get this degree desperately, for the sole honourable objective of beating my own record. This is the Olympic spirit.

My practice essays with thoughts on the Four Books

Here are some details of the exam: the reading section contains text with a total of over 4,000+ characters, the equivalent of some 10 pages in a standard format novel, and on that text you have to answer 15 questions (not choose a,b,c,d, but actually answer with a sentence). There is a total of… 15 minutes for this part. I tested with a native Chinese friend and that is the time she took just to read the text at normal speed.

The essay writing is another scary part, because you get so used to typing with the computer that when it comes to handwriting characters you don't even know where to start. At least here you do get 30 minutes for an essay of 400-600 characters, so you actually have the time to read what you are writing, and to consider if you really want to express your own point of view in an exam which contains exercises like:

“ The concept of scientific development leads our people towards a more ——– society ” ( a-harmonious, b-harmonic, c-harmonium d-hormonal)

This example is not exactly literal, I am quoting from memory. The point is the HSK has a strong Beijing flavour, and some of the phrases are taken directly from CPC handbooks and the helmsmen's theories. In a way, it feels like the Four Books of the imperial examinations all over again: the Thought of Mao Zedong, the Theory of the 3 Represents, the Concept of Scientific Development… As the old saying goes: All things they've changed, and nothing has changed.