East Asian Language Learning meetup report (1207)

Hi! Here is the summary of our regular practice on 12/07.

[Chinese team]
Topic: “China to Face Severe Challenges in Foreign Trade next year”

We listened to the video news http://www.voanews.com/chinese/programs/tv/59070652.html “中国明年外贸出口将面临挑战” and practiced repeating sentences and comprehension Q&A. You can find the English translation news here: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-06/china-to-face-severe-challenges-in-trade-next-year-mofcom-says.html

[Selected vocabulary]
白皮书(báipíshū) White Paper
国务院(guówùyuàn) the State Council
商务部(shāngwùbù) Ministry of Commerce
外贸司(wàimàosī) Foreign Trade Department
严峻(yánjùn) severe, serious 如：面临严峻的挑战(face severe challenges)
经济体(jīngjìtǐ) economy, economies 如：发展中经济体（developing economies）详细解释见：http://baike.baidu.com/view/2056323.htm
外需(wàixū) external demand
内需(nèixū) domestic demand
依赖(yīlài) rely on
升值(shēngzhí) appreciation 如：人民币升值（yuan appreciation）
竞争力(jìngzhēnglì) Competitiveness 如：提高竞争力；竞争力减弱
失控(shīkòng) (失去控制) out of control
Those who want to know more about China’s State Organizational Structure can refer this page: http://www.cecc.gov/pages/virtualAcad/gov/statestruct.php

[Japanese team]
Topic: Japanese holiday season and end-of-the-year party

We mainly talked about how Japanese people spend the Christmas holiday season, and how Japanese people (mis-)interpret the tradition of Christmas. We also learned some important concepts of
Japanese politeness, especially, where to sit at party.
http://language.tiu.ac.jp/materials/jpn/nemoto/nemoto07.html

[Selected vocabulary]
郊外（こうがい – の） suburb
都会（とかい – の） urban, city
上座（かみざ） the seat of honor, top table (the most important seats your boss/seniors/etc. are supposed to sit on)
幹事（かんじ） party organizer
忘年会（ぼうねんかい） end-of-the-year party
浮つく（うわつく） = 気持ちがうきうきして、落ち着きがなくなる。軽薄な感じがする。
地位階層（ちいかいそう） social status
神父（しんぷ） priest
無秩序（むちつじょ – な） disorganized, chaos
倫理（りんり） ethics
展望（てんぼう）foresight, outlook
不透明（ふとうめい – な） unclear, opaque
悲観的（ひかんてき – な） pessimistic <-> 楽観的（らっかんてき）
情緒（じょうちょ） mood, emotion
敬虔（けいけん – な）devoted, religious

[Korean team]
Topic: The attack on Pearl Harbor and traditional food culture in Korea

December 7 was the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, so we read a Wikipedia article (http://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%A7%84%EC%A3%BC%EB%A7%8C_%EA%B3%B5%EA%B2%A9 ) about it in Korean and learned some new words related to the military as well as the historic event itself. We also learned about the traditional food culture in Korea- 이열치열(soothing heat with heat).

[Selected vocabulary]
진주만 Pearl Harbor
해군 navy
육군 the army
공군 air force
해병대 the Marine corps
특공대 special forces, commando unit
기습 raid, ambush (기습공격: a surprise attack)
치욕 humiliation, disgrace
애국심 patriotism
선포하다 declare
배탈 Stomach ache
식욕 appetite
구두쇠 miser
무덥다 extremely hot
따뜻하다 warm
뜨겁다 hot
마늘 garlic
파 scallion
생강 ginger
양념 seasoning

Welcome to join us this week: http://www.meetup.com/East-Asian-Language-Learning-through-Interpretation-Methods/events/43719692/