Malay ?

[Shadow]

Ok so it's not Oriental per se - it's Asian and I believe the two can be distinguished, but I thought I'd share my LIMITED grasp of Malay with you ...

"Apa Khabar" = How are you ?
"Khabar Baik" = I'm fine thanks !
"Selamat Malam" = Good Night
"Selamat Tinggal" = Goodbye

Also ...

"Nasi Goreng" = a Malay Rice Dish served with Teriyaki Paste and an Egg (along with prawns/shrimp and other bits and bobs);
"Nasi Lemak" = Rice cooked in coconut milk (a traditional Malay breakfast).

There you go - that's all my knowledge, shared !!

!?!?! Shadow !?!?!

[drocko17]

regardin to oriental languages...
i ALWAYS wanted to know how chinese computer keyboards are...

[princealbertofb]

regardin to oriental languages...
i ALWAYS wanted to know how chinese computer keyboards are...

Chinese script language would be impossible to put on a keyboard, as there is a very large number of different characters (all with varying numbers of strokes) which is why, I believe, Chinese speakers and computer-users use a phonetic code called PINYIN, which transcribes their language into Roman lettering. There are four tones in Mandarin Chinese and these are also part of the equation. It seems to me that Chinese script can be obtained on a computer by typing in the PinYin and it will suggest the most common character first, then the second most common etc for words that have the same PINYIN code. There are probably several shortcuts to it too... But we'd best ask someone who actually uses Chinese characters using a simple Roman lettering keyboard and a computer.

(knowledgeable, haha ) PA

[princealbertofb]

So how many strokes do you think the Character "AI" has? Ai means LOVE by the way.

9?
10?
11?
12?

[wouldlikemuscle]

Kucing means cat

That's summat I learned when I stayed in Kuching. Sarawak's capital on the island of Borneo.

[Shadow]

And I know ('coz we do work there) that Malaysia broke up into Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak for a while, and then reformed into Malaysia ... mile:.

... and Albert ? I'd guess 12 ?

!?!?! Shadow !?!?!

[Enigma]

So how many strokes do you think the Character "AI" has? Ai means LOVE by the way.

9?
10?
11?

12?

I'd say 12

[princealbertofb]

Well it may look like twelve strokes but in fact it's 10! Look at the rooftop under the three short vertical strokes: it is written with just two strokes, the horizontal one ending with a downward brush curve. As for the lowest part of the character, that again is made of only two strokes, the one on the right being made of a horizontal stroke that then bends down and crosses the left to right diagonal stroke.

Did you know that Chinese characters were arranged in the dictionary by the number of strokes? The original sign for AI (love) had more strokes than that, but in the People's Republic of China they simplified it. I believe in Hong Kong and in Taiwan they still use the old characters which were not simplified. From my dictionary it looks as if the more complex character for AI has thirteen strokes as it includes the sign for the heart, which has been simplified to become just one horizontal stroke under the rooftop. Let me see if I can find you the sign for the HEART (xin);
and here it is!!

See? That is 4 strokes. mile:

[Enigma]

Ah I see it now. Starts at the pointy end and finishes at the blunt or round one. Damn clever theses Chinese.

[princealbertofb]

Yes and writing is an art form in China too... because the characters are so beautiful, and so full of meaning.

I'd like to show you the characters for YING GUO REN (in other words: ENGLISHMAN [or person]) and for YING YU (the English language)
The character YING was chosen for its phonetic closeness with the ENG of ENGLAND (the GUO part means land, realm, country) but actually the character for YING means flower or talent, thus England appears to be the Land of the Talented or the Land of Flowers. The simple 2-stroke character is REN for man / person.


YING YU (English, the language), the first character is YING again, the second is YU the one meaning language (spoken). It is made of three parts: the part on the left is the key for the spoken word, the upper right one is FIVE (don't ask me why, I think it's a phonetic thing again) and the lower right one is the sign for mouth, a fitting sign since we're talking about oral language.

:scatter: