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One of the things I have enjoyed most about working in China is using the Chinese language on a daily basis. I have studied Chinese formally for about five years; I have used it regularly in research or work for another four. Over the years, I have come to appreciate how wonderfully rich a language Chinese can be when it comes to obscuring communication. This is a conversation I have had many times in China: "Hello, Mr. Wang? How are you? I was just calling to check about that project we were working on. How is it coming along?" "Hi, David. I've been meaning to call you but I haven't been able to get in touch. Basically, the project seems to be going all right. I don't expect any real problems." "What do you mean? Might there be some difficulties?" "Well, it's hard to say. I think in principle, there's no problem. But sometimes, it's really hard to tell." "If there is a problem of some sort, just let me know; I'll be happy to help resolve it." "What can I say? This kind of project requires a process. Let's take it a step at a time." "I guess so. Do you think it will work out?" "Probably. In any event, I want to check into this in the next couple of days. Later on, I'll get back in touch with you." "Why do you suppose this is taking such a long time, Mr. Wang? " "It's a long story. I can't really go into it now. How about this: why don't I check it out and give you a call back?" "Okay, when should I expect to hear from you then?" "I think I'll need a little time to investigate this. Let's talk again after a while. How does that sound?" "What do you think are the chances this project will fall through?" "I'm just not sure." "Well, Mr. Wang, thanks so much for your time. I appreciate your letting me know where we stand on the project. I look forward to talking to you again." After exchanges like this one, it would occur to me that I'd talked with my counterpart for ten or fifteen minutes and yet I knew no more than I did before the call. |
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模糊话  我在中国工作，最喜欢的事情之一是日常工作中使用汉语。我正式学汉语已有５年，经常地将它用于研究或工作又是４年。这些年里，我发现在阻碍交流时，汉语是一种多么令人惊奇的、丰富的语言。下面的对话便是我在中国多次经历过的。
“喂，是王先生吧，你好，我打电话是想问问，我们正在进行的项目进展得如何了？” “大为，我一直想给你打电话，可总没联系上。基本上，这个项目好像还可以，我估计应该没有什么太大的问题。” “什么意思呢？会有什么困难吗？” “唉，这很难说，原则上我认为没有问题，可有时这种事真的不好说。” “如果有什么问题就告诉我，我会很乐于帮忙解决。” “怎么说呢？这种事需要一个过程，让我们慢慢来吧。” “我想也是，你认为能做成吗？” “差不多。不管怎么样，我想这两天我还是打听一下情况，到时候我再跟你联系吧。” “王先生，你为什么认为需要这么长的时间呢？” “一言难尽，现在跟你说不是很方便，要不然，这么着，我进一步了解一下情况，然后我们再通电话。” “好吧，那么什么时候听你的电话？” “我想我得需要点时间去研究，过一阵子再说吧。你说怎么样？” “你认为这个项目失败的可能性有多大？” “我实在不太清楚。” “好吧，王先生，非常感谢你花了这么长时间，谢谢你告诉我这个项目的进展，我希望能和你再次交谈。” 在经过这类的交谈后，我就会想到，虽说我与对方谈了１０分钟或１５分钟,我并没有比打电话前多知道点什么。 More... |
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