David and Jeremiah ask: “What’s the point of putonghua?”
Say, What? Advice Learned the Hard Way for Cross-Cultural Communication
Chuan, Chuanr, Chuan'r, Chuan'er? How to Correctly Transliterate Beijing's Favorite Street Snack
Audio: A couple of characters talking about Chinese characters
David Moser (Beijing Capital Normal University, Sinica Podcast) and Brendan O'Kane (Paper Republic, University of Pennsylvania) join Jeremiah to discuss David's new book, A Billion Voices, the history of language reform and national unity in China, the best way to learn Chinese, and the debate over whether it's okay to hate on Chinese characters.