| What does this say? | |
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| Jul 7, 2008 20:11 | #11   |
 | Could "好(hǎo)人(rén)" also mean "good person"? DESTRUCKDOZ , Yes, you are right. "好(hǎo)人(rén)" means " good man","good person" "a man of integrity". Destruckdoz, I am curious if your parents have never talked with you at home in Chinese Mandarin. ( Your parents are both from China, right?) |
| Jul 7, 2008 21:42 | #12 |
| Hi Leonardo, Please, call me Danny, its my real name. Or 林正成 is cool too haha, I'm kidding. My parents were born in Hainan in south China. So they originate from China. But we don't speak mainstream Cantonese or Mandarin. I can't find any information on the internet about what we kind of dialect we speak but its somewhere between Cantonese and Mandarin that very little people speak this dialect. I do know that the people who speak this dialect live predominantly in Guangxi, Guangdong and Fuijan and that we are a subgroup of Hakka but the number of people still speaking this dialect is disappearing very quickly. Such as in my own family, my sisters and I were taught to speak this type of Cantonese Mandarin and nobody outside our family can understand us. Such as in the local Chinese community, people are always correcting my Cantonese as if Mandarin was my mother tongue and vice versa. Also many of my uncles and aunts are not teaching this dialect because its becoming obsolete here in America and instead teaching mainstream Cantonese. I strongly agree with what my Aunts and Uncles are doing because since my sisters and I only know this rare dialect, we are hugely disadvantaged because we can only understand a third of what most people are trying to tell us. But I am glad that my parents taught us this dialect because even though we are learning the mainstream Cantonese and Mandarin in our early 20's because this rare dialect is the foundation that is making it a little easier to learn the mainstream language. But its not the same if you speak mainstream Cantonese and Mandarin to learn my dialect because its insanely confusing because you get lost at where the Cantonese ends and the Mandarin begins. Oh and Thank you again, Leonardo for the helpful translations. Thank you to Discovery as well and anybody who looked. Danny |
| Jul 7, 2008 22:04 | #13 |
| My pleasure, Danny! Your story reminds me of my thread 'Overseas " Chinese Bananas". In mainland China, the term "banana Chinese" refers to the descendants of the Chinese immigrants into foreign countries who look excactly Chinese externally (Yellow skin), but typically Western internally (ways of thinking and behaving). You are a "banana"! ^_^ (No offence, just joking!) |
| Jul 14, 2008 00:15 | #14 |
| No offense taken Leonardo, But there is a similar name I was called "美国男孩" when people are surprised that I can read some Chinese characters or that I can write my name in Chinese haha. Leonardo, can you tell me this, Does that letter look a bit sloppy and not make sense very much? I thought it did but I cannot verify it. |
| Jul 14, 2008 21:53 | #15 |
| Hey Danny, "美国男孩" means "American boy". I can't figure out any derogatory sense from the letters. I think it is a respectful way of addressing. As you said, people are surprised that you can read some Chinese characters and even write your name in Chinese since you grew up in the USA. I am wondering how the native Americans address you because I guess you look exactly like Asians or Chinese ( Yellow skin and has the Chinese features). Do they call you " 中国男孩（ Chinese boy)"? |
| Jul 14, 2008 22:09 | #16 |
| Hey Leonardo, I don't think there was any derogatory intention in it. The Americans here that are white or a shade darker or lighter usually just call me "Asian" because here people seem to never get the ethnicity right. Such as calling a Chinese man Japanese or Haiwain man a philippineno, you kind of get the idea. Its an interesting place, America. So many ethnicities that people call each other most of the time either "White, Black, Dark, Asian". By the way, does that letter look a bit sloppy and not make sense very much? I thought it did but I cannot verify it. Thanks again, Leonardo. Danny |
| Jul 23, 2008 02:15 | #17 |
| GUEST54220 | 帮“后学”(---this is personal name) 带橙和苹果过来，他的中文不是很好,但是他很好人(但他人很好). Please help "HouXue" to take some oranges and apples，His Chinese is not well, but he is a Kindhearted man. |
| Aug 6, 2008 20:07 | #18 |
| Aha,Danny....these writing were in Old chinese charactor,I thought the person who wrote is might be a taiwanese,hongkongnese ,or either chinese 70s.... :) |
| Aug 12, 2008 09:22 | #19 |
| 后学 means "student" in Classical Chinese but the letter was written in a strange way....cuz we usually put the sender`s name at the top-left of the letter like you westerners do.. |
| Aug 22, 2008 02:00 | #20 |
| GUEST19155 | 这应该是个台湾或是香港人写的字吧 |
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