Orchid XP v7 wrote:
> Darren New wrote:
> 
>> Same with Mandarin. I learned to say "My aunt scolded my mother's 
>> horse". It's "ma ma ma ma".
> 
> Is that why it's called "mandarin"? ;-)

No. (Yes, I know it's a joke.)  "Da" is big. "Ren" (or "rin") is man. 
"Man" is an area of china. So "mandarin" is the "important (big) people 
from the Man area".

I always amuse my wife when we go in a chinese restaurant and I write 
"big man" (Da-ren) on the waiting list. Of course, it's the only version 
of the characters pronounced that way that's simple enough for me to 
remember how to "spell".

-- 
   Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
     On what day did God create the body thetans?

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