writing....

[Canadian Ice]

Hey there...

I hope this isn't a dumb question...but here goes....lol

If I was to use the google translater or something like it...would it be ok to write the letter in the words and not the characters...like would she understand that...or do I need to put it in characters.

Like....Ni hao ma instead of ?

Are the words.... Ni hao ma ...pinyin syllables ?

am a newb...lol

Rick

[Neil]

Nina could understand pinyin and could type pinyin and her computer would automagically convert it to Chinese symbols.  I've heard that it is not the most common or popular way that people type Chinese symbols - my second visit she was typing strange (to me) combinations to create Chinese symbols.  Education will play a huge part in her knowing pinyin.  

Most ladies would likely know common words in pinyin like Ni hao ma, etc.  If you write an entire letter in pinyin you will confuse her, guaranteed.

[Scottish_Rob]

Neil is right.  I once sent Kathy a full letter in Pinyin and she could not understand it

[mustfocus]

Hi Rick, welcome to the forums.

Neil is right.  Even if your lady understand pinyin, when you type it, the accents are not there...and remember that many characters do sound the same (minus the tone).  So the words might come out wrong.  When I use translation software, I let the site (whichever one you like to use) translate the thing into chinese, but then for any character I didn't recognise (you start to recognise more characters as you use them) I would verify from a different site.  Keeping that in mind, in some cases, you would have to use a combination of characters to make a word.  The other thing you have to consider is that sentence structures are different.  So your sentence might not come out in ways you expect.  

NEVER trust any translation program 100% if you do not read chinese.

[Canadian Ice]

Ok I wonder if I have this correct then....pinyin is really only the voice part of the language...how the symbols sound.

probably not even meant to be written....most likely made up for Westerners.

maybe the symbols are like the ancient cave drawings...the drawings could be translated into sentences.....oh i know its too late for me am rambling now lmao.

Goodnite all,

Rick

[Willy The Londoner]

Correct Rick.  Most will have no idea what you are writing in Pinyin.  But you will have that problem with any of the online translators unless you keep to simple phrases.   3 4 or 5 words are usually ok but go above that and problems creep in.  
it is best to try a few and see how she gets on with them.
I used to use http://www.freetranslation.com

Willy

[seagull]

I study Mandarin and a very handy tool is the MBDG dictionary. You can type in English or pinyin and it will come up with both simplified and traditional Chinese characters.

http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php

[Canadian Ice]

Thanks guys..

Curious about another thing...when writing Chinese...I do not see alot of ?   ...  :   ;  !  

Example:

??
?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

Doesn't look that good to me...thoughts please.

Thanks again

Rick

[shaun]

I have just had 3 horrible days talking with Peggy on the internet in Shaoguan.  The internet is terrible there.  The are about 3,200,000 people there so there is not much investment from the government into the internet there.

Today I tried mpo4747's link into  mdbg.  It was so much better than google.  I found that I used a combination of mdbg and google to talk with her.  She also got her daughters computer.  A newer one.  She had been using a much older one with windows 95.

You need to make sure your translation is saying what you want it to say which takes a lot more time and patience.  Peggy lives in Shenzhen and uses a new computer with windows XP.  The internet quality is much better too.

I broke maxx's 24 hour rule several times because of frustration with the internet and computer.  We resolved the problems this morning.  It is imperative you understand what the internet is like where your woman lives or is at, what kind of computer and software she has and how your translation looks in your normal language before you communicate with your woman.

Peggy calls Shaoguan a small town.  It has 3.2 million people.  It is anything but small but it is their mentality and I can almost bet the government looks at it that way too and does not invest much money into it.  Specifically for me the internet.

Be careful and do not forget the 24 hour rule.

[David S]

I have used an online translator. (google)

I've found the best way is to write what you want to say.  Cut and past it into the translator and then take the results from the translator and convert it back to English to check it.  Sometimes a word or phrase won't come out right.  So go back to the original copy and edit it.  Then do the process over and over until it comes out like you want it to.

I remember one time I wrote "I am upset about..."  when I used this checking process it came back as "I am offended about..."  Offended was quite a strong word.  So I changed it to say. "I am sad about..." and when I checked it, it indeed did say; "I am sad about..."  I felt sad was a much more appropriate description of my feelings then offended.

I know it takes time to do all this, but in the end it will avoid confusion and reduce a lot of time you spend explaining yourself when you could be whispering sweet nothings.

[Canadian Ice]

Its amazing ...I know exactly what you mean...using the MDBG traslater I did the same thing trying to write short phrases...very short it was fine back and forth...if the phrase got longer the meaning changed and sometimes bigtime.

LOL...I suppose i could compose a letter of short phrases...or even a section of the letter...then she would know I am trying hard to get to a lvl of partial communication.

Thanks

Rick
Ok Shaun am biting...whats the 24 hour rule?...

Rick

[Canadian Ice]

Maxx's 24 HOUR RULE,

LIVE IT! LOVE IT! LEARN IT! The 24 hour rule says, No matter what crazy thing your women says to you in a letter, webcam, chat or on the phone you are not to comment on it for 24 hours.

Love it...thanks for clearing that up ...and I will surely try and do that.

Rick

[shaun]

Yes it does take a lot of fixing later.

David S.  I discovered the method you are talking about almost a year ago.  It works well until you are in a web-chat.  Extra long periods between comments will kill the conversation quickly.  I wouldn't survive and I can listen to Peggy all night long.

When I send a comment to her I have two other tools I am using.  The web-cam so I can see her reaction which is somewhat delayed.  We also do voice communication which there is less of a delay.  If your comment is wrong you will get an immediate negative reaction.  When Peggy and I started talking I was clueless as to some of the things that were said.  After about 3 weeks one day she said, shy are you so mean to me and then nice.    So I asked what I was saying and she said you will tell me I am ugly and you hate me then later you will tell me I am beautiful and you love me.  Right then I proposed an agreement with her.  If I said anything to her that was hurtful or offensive then she needed to tell me right then so that we could see if it was a translation error.

Now 7 months later she will say sometimes, did you mean to say %^&*(@#_^ and I will say yes which she follows with a good.

We all make mistakes and the 24 hour rule is one we should speak in our sleep.  I didn't.  The other thing is understand what kind of technology you are dealing with.  It is important.

[Canadian Ice]

Thanks guys

Rick