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I'm not using contractions

Having taught English to college students for several years, John at Sinosplice.com has noticed that his Chinese students rarely use contractions when speaking or reading English. Where a native English speaker might write the sentence "I'm a college student" the Chinese student would still read it "I am a college student".

"Obviously, these are not heinous mistakes, but it does make me wonder why for something so simple, the students don't just read what's written there," writes John.

After trying his hardest to link this phenomenon to some deeper meaning involving the Chinese use of characters John comes to realize that it's not just the Chinese that do this.

"Contractions are something of an ordeal for any learner of English; being Chinese has nothing to do with it," writes John.

Soviet roots

After leaving his Chinese language lessons, Lee (www.leeinchina.com) was excited to learn a bit of history behind the Chinese language.

The classes normally teach business phrases but this particular session touched on how to address a taxi driver. Learning that the proper way to address a taxi driver is shi fu, meaning "skilled worker", Lee was curious as to the etymology of the word, a curiosity his teacher gladly explained.

The phrase formed during a time when China was influenced by the ideas of Stalin, Lee writes. Like the USSR, people in China would often refer to each other as "Comrade" or tong zhi. In order to get a good job at a factory during this time, one had to go through an apprenticeship where they would work under a more experienced worker for two years. The teacher was referred to as a "skilled worker", shi fu.

Many of China's Soviet mannerisms faded since 1980s, including the reference to friends and others as "Comrade". The phrase shi fu, however, continued being used although it has since lost most of its previous meaning and is now politely used to refer to anyone doing a job.

Philharmonic balance

Richard Brubaker, founder and director of China Strategic Development Partners and blogger at All Roads Lead to China (www.allroadsleadtochina.com), writes about China's need to stretch beyond just exporting goods in order to balance itself out.

He says China needs an economy that brings more people to the city, balances the ebb and flow of raw materials and provides more opportunities for the inner provinces.

So far the Chinese government has been doing a good job of this, Brubaker writes.

"When recently discussing this with some visiting academics, and looking at their faces when discussing all the balls that are in the air, I closed the discussion by saying that what you are watching is the NYC Philharmonic. The central government (at the time in the middle of the NPC) is the maestro, there are dozens and dozens of musicians on stage, and we are all privileged to be watching the greatest show on earth."

(China Daily 04/04/2008 page19)