Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2008 August 18

= August 18 =

Manchu loanword in Mandarin Chinese
Does anyone know a common Mandarin Chinese word which was borrowed from the Manchu language? Sonic99 (talk) 02:16, 18 August 2008 (UTC)
 * This article has a section "3.2 Loanwords from Manchu Language" (Tones are missing from the Mandarin romanizations, although characters are provided). This paper talks more generally about Manchu influence in Mandarin and has a section "Manchu Loans into Chinese", which notes, "A look at the Běijīng fāngyán cídiǎn 北京方言詞典 (Dictionary of the Beijing Dialect) . . . yields a list of approximately two hundred possible loanwords." Also, "Chinese lexicography has tended to shy away from nonstandard and dialectal terms, and that is precisely where loan items would appear." The only loanword mentioned that could be considered "common" is 哏哆(?) hēnduo "to reproach" from Manchu hendu "to speak". Strad (talk) 04:15, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Regarding reading comprehension.
Hello Wikipedia editors and contributors,

I would like you to answer a simple question regarding reading comprehension, if that is possible. Are there any reliable methods and/or techniques to significantly improve it? If so, could you please tell me what they are? I would sincerely and greatly appreciate it.

Many thanks in advance,

― Ann ( user 14:04, 18 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, there are research-backed methods and techniques. Books have been written about this.  Which dimension of reading comprehension are you most interested in, literacy acquisition (making sense of words and sentences) or reading for understanding (making meaning from texts)?  Obviously, a learner has to master the former before she can master the latter, though even learners struggling with literacy can also learn to make meaning from very simple texts.  You might try following the links on this page:


 * http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/compre.htm


 * Marco polo (talk) 18:37, 18 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Hello Marco polo,


 * Whoah, that's amazing. Very complete list, thanks a bunch for your help. To answer your question, I personally am interested in both literacy acquisition and reading for understanding.


 * Any other Wikipedia editors want to put their two cents in here as well?


 * ― Ann ( user 20:35, 18 August 2008 (UTC)


 * When reading, a great way to increase Reading Comprehension is to move your finger along with what you're reading. That way, the brain has something to focus on that just a wall of test. To test this, move your eyes alone and try to make a circle. You'll find it jumpy, and more octagonal shaped. Now, try the same excersize with your finger. See? --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 01:43, 19 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Not to be too harsh, Luke, but reading is far more than simply looking at the words and comprehension isn't improved by focusing on the letters more strongly.
 * What does help is asking questions of the text like "what is this text about?", "what are the main ideas, conclusions, and arguments?", "are the writer's conclusions sound or mistaken?" and "what consequences follow from such conclusions?"
 * And in case anyone is wondering, these questions are cribbed from page 96 of How to Speak How to Listen (1983) by Mortimer Adler, who also wrote How to Read a Book. — Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi]  06:54, 19 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Greetings Ye Olde Luke and Æµ§œš¹  [aɪm ˈfɻɛ̃ⁿdˡi] ,


 * Thanks for your input, it's appreciated.


 * ― Ann ( user 01:14, 21 August 2008 (UTC)