A New Initiative

Cathy is encouraging me to post more often so I have decided that I will post short notes about things that happen more regularly for those interested.

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Although I live in the Canton region of China, the primary language spoken here is Mandarin with a small percentage of Cantonese. The monkey wrench, however, is that the local pronunciation of Mandarin sounds so much like Cantonese to me I can't even determine which language people are speaking. 

Mandarin is a language with 5 tones. The same word can be pronounced 5 different ways to produce a variety of different meanings. Given my inability to even identify the sound of the language entirely, I have decided that I am not in a hurry to study it seriously.

A returning teacher has just discovered that he has actually been telling cab drivers that he is a teacher with the incorrect tone. One of our Chinese Canadian colleagues swears that he is actually saying that he “shit his pants”. His girlfriend thinks that this announcement makes the drivers drive faster.

One of the new teachers has apparently been asking the staff at the grocery store deli counter for knowledge instead of cheese. Again the words sound identical to the untrained ear. I forgot to ask him if the deli counter had any knowledge to give.

              

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