If you missed this highlight from 出彩中国人 (like the Chinese version of America's Got Talent) in 2014, it's high time you watched this 3-year-old dance.
Here are a few more ways to say "um" and "ah" and "like" in Chinese ... bad habits, maybe, but habits that are as engrained in Chinese speakers' speech as they are in ours! Thanks to Julie Tha Gyaw (a graduate of the Middlebury College Master's in Teaching Chinese program) for this post on Yoyo Chinese. Now here's an interesting piece of news that's been floating around for a week or so now... the Chinese government is cracking down on the use of puns in the media. Yep, puns. The reason behind this is ostensibly to preserve the cultural integrity of the Chinese language, but some observers speculate that the true aim of the new law may be to put a damper on the ever-evolving language that Chinese internet users invent to get over the "Great Firewall." The government may be able to remove puns from TV scripts and radio broadcasts, but I'd guess that most Chinese people will continue cracking wordplay-related jokes in their daily lives.
Check out this and other amazing photos of some of the most surreal-looking places in China! Which one do you want to visit? :)
Beijing is President Obama's first stop in an eight-day diplomatic tour of East Asia, and along with official duties related to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (or APEC) forum, his agenda includes a lot of one-on-one time with Chinese President Xi Jinping. What exactly will the two leaders discuss? Well, while his comments on sensitive issues like the student protests in Hong Kong have been vague, Xi and Obama have come to some agreement on two issues: they'll be loosening up on visa restrictions and tariffs on high tech goods.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been learning Chinese on his own for several years (his wife, Priscilla Chan, is Chinese-American and speaks both Mandarin and Cantonese; she was his inspiration for learning). Even though his Chinese is not perfect by any means, he has learned enough to give a 30-minute Q&A in Mandarin at Tsinghua University in Beijing! It's tough to stand up in front of hundreds of people and talk... let alone speaking in a language that's not one's native tongue.
Although their numbers are dwindling, protestors are still out on the streets in Hong Kong. This video gives a good overall explanation of the situation & the background that led up to the protests. The first annual ping pong tournament was a great success on Friday! The 8th graders are still busily spreading the word about the trip and sharing their online fundraising campaign, so check out and pass on the link!
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