One of the most important steps I took in learning Chinese was to find a cell phone that I was able to use properly, in other words one that did not require knowledge of Zhuyin Fuhao (注音符號, or Bopomofo) to type characters. The small, cigarette-length periods of time in the day are perfect for sending an SMS to a Chinese-speaking friend or checking a couple of dozen flash cards, and having a dictionary with you everywhere you go makes learning far more interactive.
Cell Phones and PDAs:
PHOTO COURTESY OF SONY ERICSSON
Sony Ericsson, sogi.com.tw, from NT$2,000
Palm, pdaking.com.tw, roughly NT$12,000
There are few cell phones that can type traditional characters while using the Hanyu Pinyin (漢語拼音) system. After experience with several manufacturers, including Nokia and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Smart Phones, Sony Ericsson and Palm Treo products come out on top.
PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
Sony Ericsson’s input system requires knowledge of Mandarin’s tones, but does help by giving a choice of characters that commonly follow the first one. It is also pretty quick at switching between input methods on the fly and includes support for both Bopomofo and Hanyu Pinyn. While it does open the possibility of sending text messages, dictionaries and flash cards are out of bounds, except on the more expensive Symbian OS models.
After using a number of PDAs, or personal digital assistants, the move to a Palm-powered cell phone meant SMS messaging became a core learning resource. Jumping between a text message and dictionary definition, and then loading new words into flash cards makes mobile communication convenient and fun. The Treo’s PalmDragon Chinese-input system supports both written input on the touch screen and phonetic input on the keyboard and also allows installation of third-party software. However, for the more fashionable students of Chinese (they do exist), Palm’s rounded-brick design for the Treo looks ugly and old-fashioned.
For those prepared to wait, Palm recently launched the Centro line of products in the US, which offer improved styling, reduced bulk and lower prices. But these are not yet available in Taiwan. Apple’s iPhone also does not have a confirmed release date for Taiwan, and while it does support display of Chinese characters as standard, it does not yet have an official input system. A small army of amateur enthusiasts are rallying to develop input methods, but it may be best to wait for a formal release of the product in Taiwan or China before risking “bricking” the unit.
PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
Flashcards:
Supermemo, supermemo.com, US$19.95, Palm and Windows Mobile
Software flash cards help make the tedious activity of rote learning more like a computer game, statistically tracking the characters learned. The downside is that it is easy to slip into the trap of focusing excessively on vocabulary growth, rather than the more important activities of building patterns of words and phrases. The tool that I use is Supermemo, and although it has its downsides it has formed part of my daily routine — indeed, the Chinese-learning community has already gathered vocabulary lists from National Taiwan Normal University’s textbooks, and it’s quite a motivating feeling to be able to “activate” a new chapter from the books as you progress through Chinese-language study.
Dictionary:
Pleco, pleco.com, US$59.95 to US$119.95, Palm and Windows Mobile
Pleco rules the roost when it comes to mobile dictionaries, and is accordingly very popular at institutions like National Taiwan University’s Language Center. At its heart are dictionaries tailored for students of Chinese, which include useful examples set in context. The input method system is also both Pinyin-friendly and tolerant of mistakes when entering phrases. The devil is in the details, though, and the most important detail for me includes the search history that remembers the previous 30 items — fantastic when you are reviewing a conversation from earlier in the day — and single-touch switching between simple and traditional characters; a boon when visiting China.
Several different versions are available, depending on which dictionaries you select to include in the installation, but beginners will probably not need the premium-level dictionaries.
Downloads:
ChinesePod, chinesepod.com
ChinesePod provides a daily downloadable podcast MP3 file that can be loaded onto your iPod or MP3 player. Its 20-minute duration makes it perfect for an MRT commute. Presenters Ken Caroll and Jenny Zhu avoid the dull standard textbooks and instead deliver content that is witty and relevant, whether it is arguing with a taxi driver or discussing the Olympics. Different levels are available, and in addition to a basic free podcast, they also offer subscription-based access to their premium services, which include podcast transcripts and access to discussion forums where users are able to ask for help or exchange advice.
New technologies cannot deliver immediate mastery of the Chinese language, but as part of a routine that includes formal tutoring and informal conversation with native speakers, they can provide increased relevance and the motivational kick we all occasionally need.
June 2 to June 8 Taiwan’s woodcutters believe that if they see even one speck of red in their cooked rice, no matter how small, an accident is going to happen. Peng Chin-tian (彭錦田) swears that this has proven to be true at every stop during his decades-long career in the logging industry. Along with mining, timber harvesting was once considered the most dangerous profession in Taiwan. Not only were mishaps common during all stages of processing, it was difficult to transport the injured to get medical treatment. Many died during the arduous journey. Peng recounts some of his accidents in
“Why does Taiwan identity decline?”a group of researchers lead by University of Nevada political scientist Austin Wang (王宏恩) asked in a recent paper. After all, it is not difficult to explain the rise in Taiwanese identity after the early 1990s. But no model predicted its decline during the 2016-2018 period, they say. After testing various alternative explanations, Wang et al argue that the fall-off in Taiwanese identity during that period is related to voter hedging based on the performance of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Since the DPP is perceived as the guardian of Taiwan identity, when it performs well,
A short walk beneath the dense Amazon canopy, the forest abruptly opens up. Fallen logs are rotting, the trees grow sparser and the temperature rises in places sunlight hits the ground. This is what 24 years of severe drought looks like in the world’s largest rainforest. But this patch of degraded forest, about the size of a soccer field, is a scientific experiment. Launched in 2000 by Brazilian and British scientists, Esecaflor — short for “Forest Drought Study Project” in Portuguese — set out to simulate a future in which the changing climate could deplete the Amazon of rainfall. It is
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on May 18 held a rally in Taichung to mark the anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20. The title of the rally could be loosely translated to “May 18 recall fraudulent goods” (518退貨ㄌㄨㄚˋ!). Unlike in English, where the terms are the same, “recall” (退貨) in this context refers to product recalls due to damaged, defective or fraudulent merchandise, not the political recalls (罷免) currently dominating the headlines. I attended the rally to determine if the impression was correct that the TPP under party Chairman Huang Kuo-Chang (黃國昌) had little of a