Site Clues Visitors In On Language, Culture

Tag : ipod hong kong

Seeing the Olympics as an opportunity for growth and expansion byhelping people navigate the confusing streets of Beijing during theOlympic hoopla, Praxis created a ChinesePod mini-website that isdownloadable to an iPod or iPhone to be used at the time and place of need ( www.chinesepod.com/olympics ), geared especially for visitors to the XXIXth Olympiad.

Its goal: to help the rest of the world better understand,appreciate, and negotiate the quintessentially "foreign" andconfusing (at least to Westerners) Chinese culture and language.And one of the best features of this new system is its mobility.

The website includes interactive maps to allow users to searchvenue and national names in English, Chinese and pinyinRomanization (Mandarin in the Latin alphabet), and match venueswith the games scheduled there. Icons identify key terms for eachOlympic event.

For new learners, there are basic materials on the city and theGames. For intermediate and advanced Chinese learners, there areinteractive tools with the vocabulary, concepts and culture tipsthey need to help them make the most of their Olympics experience:knowing when Chinese crowds are chanting for the Hungarians(Xiongyali!) vs. the Italians (Yidali!), following rapid-firecommentary on an attack move (jiqiu!) in a hot game of volleyball,or just finding the best places to drown an Olympics-sized thirst.

This language learning system will make it easier for hundreds ofthousands of visitors to explore the city and culture of China thissummer — and for months and years to come. For many, it willbe an important first step toward understanding this rising globalpower — not to mention the realization that more Westernersmust learn to speak Chinese.

Let the Games — and lessons — begin.

Stacie Nevadomski Berdan is the author of "Get Ahead By GoingAbroad" and an expert on international careers. She lives inGlastonbury.