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17082 Posts
On July 24 2010 02:05 Cambium wrote:
white ppl in general have trouble with
r, q, x, z/zh, s/sh, c/ch, -n/ng, probably a few more...
s/sh isn't that terrible (it appears in a lot of Western languages as well), but sh/x is just depressing.
EDIT: There are also different levels of difficulty with the 'r' sound. R followed by a/e/o are the easiest. I find people have a lot of trouble with 'ri' and 'rui'. It's sad and amusing at the same time.
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TossFloss
Canada606 Posts
On July 24 2010 01:03 alffla wrote:
yea teh leet newbs post is really informative . well acutally im not that sure about the rent part but it seems about right. ffffff how do people survive like that like even if ur splitting rent with some ppl maybe 1000-1500 per month and if ur salary is 3000 so ur left with 1500 then like you said around 40 for meals everyday then maybe wanna spend a bit on other stuff so ur left with only a few hundred rmb every month.
wtf
3000 is for a western standard bachelor or single-room apartment in the Beijing business core (Chaoyang district and Dongcheng district). Many locals either live in employer provided housing, with roomates, or in housing on the outskirts of the city and spend hours a day commuting on the subway lines.
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TossFloss
Canada606 Posts
On July 24 2010 02:10 Empyrean wrote:Show nested quote +On July 24 2010 02:05 Cambium wrote:
white ppl in general have trouble with
r, q, x, z/zh, s/sh, c/ch, -n/ng, probably a few more... s/sh isn't that terrible (it appears in a lot of Western languages as well), but sh/x is just depressing. EDIT: There are also different levels of difficulty with the 'r' sound. R followed by a/e/o are the easiest. I find people have a lot of trouble with 'ri' and 'rui'. It's sad and amusing at the same time.
Just hire a tutor. If you have the will to learn you can master syllable pronunciation in a year.
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17082 Posts
On July 24 2010 02:14 TossFloss wrote:Show nested quote +On July 24 2010 02:10 Empyrean wrote:On July 24 2010 02:05 Cambium wrote:
white ppl in general have trouble with
r, q, x, z/zh, s/sh, c/ch, -n/ng, probably a few more... s/sh isn't that terrible (it appears in a lot of Western languages as well), but sh/x is just depressing. EDIT: There are also different levels of difficulty with the 'r' sound. R followed by a/e/o are the easiest. I find people have a lot of trouble with 'ri' and 'rui'. It's sad and amusing at the same time. Just hire a tutor. If you have the will to learn you can master syllable pronunciation in a year.
Mandarin was my first language so I don't really worry about it 
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TossFloss
Canada606 Posts
On July 23 2010 12:59 teh leet newb wrote:
Keep in mind that teaching English in China pretty much requires that you know some Chinese. Not to mention that living there will be a pain in the ass if you don't know Chinese. I know people will say it's possible, but it's a lot harder, and you'll be like 100x more likely to get ripped off.
Almost all the foreign teachers I know who have lived in China for 2+ years can at best understand and use basic survival Chinese, but cannot hold a conversation and are otherwise illiterate. Schools do not want you to use Chinese in the classroom which may be explicitly stated in your contract.
Chinese is probably the hardest language to learn in the world, maybe only rivaled by Arabic. It will probably take you at least a decade just to master the 5 tones. You'll have to invest a ridiculous amount of time, and if you're going to work as well, think of it as adding another full-time job.
I masted the 5 tones after two years of living in China; that is I can speak and intuitively differentiate tones when listening. I agree that Chinese is a hard when compared to European languages, but it is not as difficult as you are making it out to be.
As far as living expenses go, Shanghai should be slightly more expensive than Beijing. Keep in mind that the average Chinese college graduate makes about ~2000 RMB/month (that's like $300 USD). So although food/transportation here may be considered "cheap" by Western standards, it's definitely different when you consider how much locals make. Food will run you about ~40 RMB/day if you eat the cheapest fast food every day. 40 * 30 = 1200RMB. Commuting will probably run you another ~10 RMB/day, so there goes another 300RMB or so. Throw in rent, which is probably going to run you at least 3000RMB or so. This isn't even counting laundry, household expenditures, etc. China's a great place to visit, but actually living there and making a living is not easy.
So after further networking and a year or two of resume experience you should easily be finding jobs that pay 10,000-20,000 RMB depending on how many hours you want to work.
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On July 24 2010 02:14 TossFloss wrote:Show nested quote +On July 24 2010 02:10 Empyrean wrote:On July 24 2010 02:05 Cambium wrote:
white ppl in general have trouble with
r, q, x, z/zh, s/sh, c/ch, -n/ng, probably a few more... s/sh isn't that terrible (it appears in a lot of Western languages as well), but sh/x is just depressing. EDIT: There are also different levels of difficulty with the 'r' sound. R followed by a/e/o are the easiest. I find people have a lot of trouble with 'ri' and 'rui'. It's sad and amusing at the same time. Just hire a tutor. If you have the will to learn you can master syllable pronunciation in a year.
Honestly, if you work hard at it, you'll learn the language. My high school added a Chinese class two years ago (or three? I don't remember) and quite a few people who had never heard Chinese before took it. Today, I can talk to some of them using some basic vocabulary, and not only do they understand me, but some of them are pretty damn good with their intonation.
EDIT: Of course, after you spend all your effort learning Mandarin, you have the issue of being in Shanghai. A lot of people there speak the Shanghai dialect, and while they also can speak and understand Mandarin, the occasional cab driver or someone will try to rip you off if you can only speak Mandarin.
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TossFloss
Canada606 Posts
On July 24 2010 02:25 DTK-m2 wrote:
EDIT: Of course, after you spend all your effort learning Mandarin, you have the issue of being in Shanghai. A lot of people there speak the Shanghai dialect, and while they also can speak and understand Mandarin, the occasional cab driver or someone will try to rip you off if you can only speak Mandarin.
People try to rip each other off all the time. It doesn't just happen to us foreigners. Chat up the cab driver with some small stalk. Ask about his family and let him know how much you enjoy China, he'll be less likely to cheat you if you try to establish a connection. But as always be guard. Know the route, distance, expected time; and know to spot fake currency.
Most people in Shanghai speaks Mandarin. You will have no problems practicing your Chinese while living in one of China's most economically developed cities.
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EPT
