Chinese Class FHS

Software, Apps, and URLs

to aid with translating between Chinese and English:

  • for Android and iPhone: the PLECO app.
  • Website that seems popular and versatile: www.nciku.com
  • If you don't know the tones translate.google.com might work for you too. Try this example:
    • go to http://translate.google.com/#zh-CN|en|
    • select Chinese as input and English as output.
    • check "Allow phonetic typing"
    • type taiguile
    • You'll see "did you mean 太贵了 " ? Click on that character string, to get the English.
    • To see the tones, click the Ä button (you might need to click on the blue 太贵了 again).
  • To look for a common word like "nan" the above may be difficult: you'd need to choose one of many characters before you can get the translation. It could be difficult, or south, or male. This website can handle diacritic-less inputs:
  • If do not have network access and want to hear the pronunciation of the resule, try Jibbigo for $25 on Iphone or Android for speech-to-speech translation. Thanks to Prof. Alex Waibel at CMU Silicon Valley Campus for this. (update: his company was bought by Facebook, so Jibbigo may be in peril)

Buying the book

Course Schedule lists it as ISBN 978-0-07-174994-7. Following is some information from 2011 on purchasing this book, so it may be out of date.

  • The cheapest I found is here at ABE Books: http://m.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=0071424113
    • I received it 5 days after ordering, and it was sent from bayCityBooks.org in Benecia, California. Maybe they have more copies available.
  • Some other sources mentioned:
    • Canadian Amazon site.
    • On this page they have some newer editions, but no photos, so I can't verify whether it's correct http://m.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=scurfield&n=100121501
    • Amazon has the newest editions, but ridiculously expensive, and pages aren't quite the same. But it includes a CD...
    • Amazon advertises the old edition for only a penny! http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0071424113/ref=mp_s_a_8?qid=1317087623&sr=8-8
    • The newer edition but $60 http://m.abebooks.com//9780071613408/Teach-Beginners-Mandarin-Chinese-Scurfield-0071613404/plp
    • New edition, used book http://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780071613408
    • similar prices, East coast distributor http://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780071613408
    • Shipping from Australia: http://www.abbeys.com.au/book/teach-yourself-beginners-mandarin-chinese-book-9780071613408.do
    • new edition, nearly-new book, price $213! http://www.textbookx.com/detail-book-9780071613408-Teach_Yourself_Beginners_Mandarin_Chinese.html

[1] We don't want recordings unprotected on the web, and encrypted zips are difficult to use with Mac, iphone, android. So I'm putting all the audio behind a password-protected pages. Unfortunately Google Sites would require each reader to have a gmail account. So I'm using a free Wikispaces account, and you all can edit as well as hear, so it's fully collaborative. That site, not this one.