| A Guide to use toilets in China | |
|---|---|
| Jul 24, 2013 11:05 | #21   |
 | Dear BBQQ Tehere are many theories about the origin of water closet where closet means a small room, cabinet, cupboard or even a cubicle. Perhaps you have heard of skeletons in the closet where closet means something we do not wish others to know. Water is sometimes associated with human waste especially urine, thus we often heard people say passing water for urinating. Some lexicographers termed water closet because it has water to flush such as using cistern. Whatever the theories are, each terminology has its own meaning such as latrine usually meant for large communal trench for urination. Water closet usually is smaller than bathroom. Bathroom also has its own history where people use tubs in the room for bathing instead of public bath. Like I mentioned before, still in some architectural drawings, architects used WC instead of Toilet. There is nothing significant which word to use, but on flights usually you can see the words written Lavatory instead of Toilet. In certain euphemism, some people of the past used various words for toilet, such as powder room, John (for male toilet), even seeing a grandma. You will be surprised to know these funny words used in certain community. For non English speaking natives hearing these words indeed tickled our funny bone. Wan |
| Jul 24, 2013 22:08 | #22 |
| Wan, You are really a knowledgeable man. Thanks for sharing so much information about toilet. Sometimes it is difficult for non-native English speakers to understand their idioms. |
| Jul 25, 2013 02:02 | #23 |
| Well, we were under British rule for a few centuries until we became independent in 1957 but the British still have the impact on us, including education. Until today our School Certificate Examination is Under University of Cambridge Examination Syndicate. My father was an army who fought against the Japanese during World War II but he was in British school with British education, and he could speak English well; so were my other six siblings who were both with British and post independent education, they taught me how to speak and use proper English as I never attended proper English classes. If you ask me to sit for CET 4, I would probably fail because I can't really understand English that well. When I went to China for the first time, my guide was a young graduate with English major and I felt strange how she fumbled with simple English words and some words I used triggered her to check with her friendly electronic dictionary. Wan |
| Jul 25, 2013 03:50 | #24 |
| No wonder you master English very well. It's normal that you fail in the CET 4. Even the native English speaker might fail in the exam too. Do you know why? There is always one correct answer. However, some questions might have several anwers. Wan, I thought the young graduate must be very nervous when he (or she?) served as your guide. |
| Jul 25, 2013 05:28 | #25 |
| Stammer shows one is nervous, but fumble? Means lack of vocab. Wan |
| Jul 28, 2013 04:17 | #26 |
| Quote:Originally Posted by WANHU Stammer shows one is nervous, but fumble? Means lack of vocab.Wan Ok. When I speak English, I translate what I am going to say from Chinese to English in my mind and then speak it out. Sometimes, I couldn't find appropriate words (lack of vocabs). |
| Jul 28, 2013 15:39 | #27 |
| It reminds me of a friend who wants to play table tennis (ping pong). As a beginner, he tried to play against a senior, and as expected he couldn't even return the ball to his opponent. He couldn't return the sidespin, underspin and topspin. One month later he took him a coach that trained him for three months. He learnt how to receive and return the balls back, and even how to place the ball to where he wishes with good flow of coordination: his brain-flexes-ball. His hand no longer translates how to receive and return the ball but rather by auto-flexes due to proper training. Dear BBQQ, you'll be like a ping pong novice, trying to translate the how to receive a sidespin ping pong ball sends by your opponent and thus it will take time to understand the position of your legs, your ping pong racket and so on. But a senior player will know how to return the moment she sees a ball coming. Practice more with a proper coach. You'll be an outstanding player. Wan |
| Jul 29, 2013 22:25 | #28 |
| Wan, Thanks for sharing a vivid story. Should I challenge a "senior player" first or find a good "coach" to coach me for some time? |
| Jul 30, 2013 15:18 | #29 |
| Dear BBQQ You can challenge anyone after understanding the game and whom you're against with. The same too how can you debate with a person when you have limited vocab? Wan |
| Jul 31, 2013 03:24 | #30 |
| That's true. I can debate with them in Chinese. But I can't debate with those English speakers because of my very limited vocabulary. |
Post a Reply to: A Guide to use toilets in China
Copyright © 1998-2024 All rights reserved.