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Chinese language use in Firefly/Serenity? | Understanding Chinese

conejo — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:21:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Chinese language use in Firefly/Serenity?
Poster: conejo
Post title: Understanding Chinese

[quote]Erica Salvaneschi wrote:
BUT apparently understading Chinese is cool enough, you actually don't need to speak the language - see Dr House and all the Ocean's 11 crew :D
[/quote]

Yeah... there are a lot of things where people just randomly understand Chinese. And I am thinking... yeah... right. lol

Chinese language use in Firefly/Serenity? | firefly is awesome

Erica Salvaneschi — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:02:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Chinese language use in Firefly/Serenity?
Poster: Erica Salvaneschi
Post title: firefly is awesome

Hi Patti,

I'm so glad I found another Firefly fan!

their Chinese is not so good I think XD there's plenty of times where I have no clue what they are saying - at all.
But that's the point! One of the most difficult things to reproduce are notoriously Chinese tones. Firefly is set in a future where people appear to be bilingual (English/Chinese); but as the language spreads, we know that it changes and it simplifies itself. The Chinese spoken in Firefly is not "pure" Mandarin, thats how wester people will speak it in like billion of years to come :D (cant really remember the year when its set!)

anyway, still better than the bad attempt at speaking Chinese taken by Olivia Dunham in Fringe, first series - she asked some bad guy where somebody's wife was, iirc

BUT apparently understading Chinese is cool enough, you actually don't need to speak the language - see Dr House and all the Ocean's 11 crew :D

Chinese language use in Firefly/Serenity?

conejo — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:27:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: Chinese language use in Firefly/Serenity?
Poster: conejo

Hello. Forgive me for posting in the Chinese-language forum in English... I am trying to direct this question to native Chinese-language speakers.

Have any of you seen the sci-fi show Firefly? (and the subsequent movie Serenity)
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This show is set in a futuristic world in which basically Western and Chinese cultures have merged to some extent, and English and Chinese are the standard languages in use... a lot of people speak Chinese, and some Chinese words are used in everyday conversation by people who are culturally Western.

Anyway, I watched this show, and I was really curious about whether the Chinese the people use in the movie is even intelligible... Does it make sense? Did they do a good job with the Chinese in the movie? What do native Chinese speakers think about the show?

(Please post your answer in English... I don't understand Chinese. Thanks!)