Gee, I thought your Chinese was good. I would guess that you actually know the answer to your question.[/quote]
I zhidao, I just don’t liaojie why so duo people yong zheige term in Zhongwen instead of gancui using the Yingwen in an English conversation. And tongshi as a little joke.
Gee, I thought your Chinese was good. I would guess that you actually know the answer to your question.[/quote]
I zhidao, I just don’t liaojie why so duo people yong zheige term in Zhongwen instead of gancui using the Yingwen in an English conversation. [/quote]
Because it expresses something that cannot be captured quite so exactly by any approximate equivalent in English. Like “chabuduo”, “paisay” and so on, which encapsulate something uniquely Taiwanese that will surely be well understood by any foreigner who has lived here for more than five minutes.
Languages absorb foreign words all the time, even if just in a local context, and become richer from doing so. I can hardly see the need to get up in arms against it as defiling the “purity” of a language, as some Frenchies, for example, are wont to do when English words start creeping into common usage by their countrymen.
An Eskimo woman standing next to you alone at a bus stop points at a cloud and casually remarks, “Good thing that isn’t filled with airplanes.”
Do you
a) Burst out laughing, agree wholeheartedly, then respond with a ribald comment about polar bears
b) Politely ask her what the fuck she’s talking about, maybe even twice, then when it becomes no clearer, wait there in awkward silence hoping she’ll just disappear
Gee, I thought your Chinese was good. I would guess that you actually know the answer to your question.[/quote]
I zhidao, I just don’t liaojie why so duo people yong zheige term in Zhongwen instead of gancui using the Yingwen in an English conversation. [/quote]
Because it expresses something that cannot be captured quite so exactly by any approximate equivalent in English. Like “chabuduo”, “paisay” and so on, which encapsulate something uniquely Taiwanese that will surely be well understood by any foreigner who has lived here for more than five minutes.
Languages absorb foreign words all the time, even if just in a local context, and become richer from doing so. I can hardly see the need to get up in arms against it as defiling the “purity” of a language, as some Frenchies, for example, are wont to do when English words start creeping into common usage by their countrymen.[/quote]
I know my Chinese may not be as good as some others here, but doesn’t it just mean “girl” or “young woman”?
NIHOW Poagao! Naruwan!
To answer your question, it COULD mean ‘young lady’, but it depends on the tones. You see, it could also meet ‘laughing street’.
That would explain a great many things.
can we erase this whole thread and send OP back into the lift with a camera this time?
that way we can be clear on if its the OP or the laughing street who should be flamed…
Omni wrote [quote]Because it expresses something that cannot be captured quite so exactly by any approximate equivalent in English. [/quote]
Absolutely, old chap. It captures the youthful nature of the women here, both for negative and positive aspects. So, when an immature woman in her twenties starts stalking you, “psycho xiaojie” seems apt. Conversely, some delightfully girlish, silky skinned beauty of the same age can be described as a “luscious xiaojie.”
Absolutely, old chap. It captures the youthful nature of the women here, both for negative and positive aspects. So, when an immature woman in her twenties starts stalking you, “psycho xiaojie” seems apt. Conversely, some delightfully girlish, silky skinned beauty of the same age, can be described as a “luscious xiaojie.”[/quote]
I’m not an English teacher, but AFAIK the “youthful nature” of someone is usually described using the term “young.”
Poagao wrote: [quote]I’m not an English teacher, but AFAIK the “youthful nature” of someone is usually described the term “young.”[/quote]
Well, yes, if you are satisfied with cha bu duo English. There is more to it. However, I don’t have time to explain it; I have to run off and do my yearly health check (i.e. be subjected to the indignation of having natives tell me to lose weight and drink less). Cheerio.
I’ve said it a million times already, but I’ll repeat myself just because…
Taiwan’s mental health facilities are lacking. The woman you met on the elevator is probably clinically depressed. Depression is a disease, and those who suffer from it are unable to engage in friendly chit-chat. They are often self-absorbed and may be very rude to people, as she was to you.
Anyway, she needs medication and counseling, but she’s not going to get any here in Taiwan. But she may need your pity.
Please send your donations to:
www.unhappytaipeipeople.com.tw
Money is welcome, but so are depressing English words for them to practice and give them something to focus on, like “impatient”, “impolite”, “impertinent”, “impudent”, etc…
Well, yes, if you are satisfied with cha bu duo English. There is more to it. However, I don’t have time to explain it; I have to run off and do my yearly health check (i.e. be subjected to the indignation of having natives tell me to lose weight and drink less). Cheerio.[/quote]
Ah, ok, I got it. It’s because my English isn’t good enough, not my Chinese.
Well, yes, if you are satisfied with cha bu duo English. There is more to it. However, I don’t have time to explain it; I have to run off and do my yearly health check (i.e. be subjected to the indignation of having natives tell me to lose weight and drink less). Cheerio.[/quote]
Ah, ok, I got it. It’s because my English isn’t good enough, not my Chinese.[/quote]
Well you are “Taiwanese” after all. 
As do lass, lassie, filly, maiden, colleen, damsel, demoiselle, wench, gal, nymph, cummer, chick, bird and many other colourful alternatives, the use of which can add multiple shades of meaning and expressiveness to our speech and writing.
Why restrict yourself to using only a minimal set of the plainest words? Imagine the loss if Shakespeare or any other great writers and contributors to the English language had done so? How sparse our English language would be if it had never had the French of our Norman conquerors blended into it!
As long as your meaning can be clearly understood, then the greater the variety of language you use, the better it surely has to be!
But please don’t use the word “impotent”, because that’s just downright scary.
This forum is great, I didn’t expect to get a single reply to my frivolous little insignificant post, and I wake up to 6 pages of glorious retort.
As I said before, I can’t really describe in words how the encounter felt, in terms of how I measure her as “cold” vs. normal. Words alone certainly can’t account for that. You just get a sense for how nice people are. And for whatever old man necroflux’s opinion is worth, this woman was anti-nice. Cold. A bucket of sunshine dumped out and filled with the debauchery of a hundred cheating ex-husbands.
For the record this doesn’t bother me at all, it felt weird for about 20 seconds after it happened and that was it. As to why I posted about it… boredom? Maybe as a counter to bring equilibrium to all of the posts about fiery-hot xiaojies?
What I said was: 這麼不耐煩的電梯, 每兩妙要關門. And as I said before, yes my Chinese sucks, and yes this comment which is pretty pathetic in English was probably so slaughtered in translation it means nothing on the other end. (Edit: Upon asking a native speaking friend, this does indeed get lost in translation. My bad.)
I will bring a camera to the gym from now on and see if I can reproduce the encounter. 
As do lass, lassie, filly, maiden, colleen, damsel, demoiselle, wench, gal, nymph, cummer, chick, bird and many other colourful alternatives, the use of which can add multiple shades of meaning and expressiveness to our speech and writing.
Why restrict yourself to using only a minimal set of the plainest words? Imagine the loss if Shakespeare or any other great writers and contributors to the English language had done so? How sparse our English language would be if it had never had the French of our Norman conquerors blended into it!
As long as your meaning can be clearly understood, then the greater the variety of language you use, the better it surely has to be![/quote]
Most of those are English words…a few I didn’t understand and assume are French or something. But “xiaojie” isn’t generally understood among English-speakers. Also, to my knowledge, it doesn’t, outside your fervent imagination, carry any particular connotations that the words “young Taiwanese woman,” which everyone knows, can’t express just as well. I still don’t understand the purpose of using it in an English-language conversation.
How about teachers who constantly hit on their students? I knew this one teacher who completely filled his classes with sexual innuendo. I mean constantly. Thing is, he is this fat slob ex-lawyer greaseball and it would make my skin crawl just to overhear his “lessons”. What a fucking creep this guy was. Should he be punched in the mouth? I’d gladly oblige.
I think xiaojie has taken on a certain semantic meaning within this community that I used to color my little anecdote somewhat. Slightly derogatory perhaps as some have used it to describe the wives that undergo metamorphosis from the quiet girl to a maniacal control freak… but yeah getting any kind of semantic value out of it would depend on how you have personally encountered it on this forum. I may have overestimated it’s ubiquity in the context of Forumosa.com - but I don’t think so.
[quote=“smell the glove”]An Eskimo woman standing next to you alone at a bus stop points at a cloud and casually remarks, “Good thing that isn’t filled with airplanes.”
Do you
a) Burst out laughing, agree wholeheartedly, then respond with a ribald comment about polar bears
b) Politely ask her what the fuck she’s talking about, maybe even twice, then when it becomes no clearer, wait there in awkward silence hoping she’ll just disappear[/quote]
:bravo: I choose a). Assuming she’s cute. 