A simple explanation of Chinese characters

Re:A simple explanation of Chinese characters by isolate on Wednesday December 16, 2015 @03:12AM (#10742973)

> You can't use tones to communicate things like irony, anger or doubt. You have to play on volume.

You can't use Chinese tones, but you can still modulate your speech tonally to convey emotion while respecting them.

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Re:A simple explanation of Chinese characters by westiseast on Wednesday December 16, 2015 @08:42AM (#10744155)

Yeah - my son has a hundred ways to say 没有 that are playful, angry, bossy, funny, etc. It is part of the language, you just use different vocal variations than the classic English ones like 'raise your tone to indicate a question', or 'use harsh dropping tones to indicate anger'

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Re:A simple explanation of Chinese characters by agrand on Wednesday December 16, 2015 @04:30AM (#10743217)

This, and the use of particles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence-final_particle

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