Why Learn Chinese

1. Why Learn Chinese • Mandarin Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world. Learn to speak Mandarin and you can speak with millions of people around the world. • Business - Business people who speak Mandarin have a huge advantage in tapping into the Chinese market. It is much easier to develop all-important relationships if you can speak Mandarin. • Travel - China and Taiwan offer exciting travel opportunities. Getting around is much easier if you can speak Mandarin. • Culture - With thousands of years of history, Chinese culture is endlessly fascinating. Whether your interests are in history, architecture, music, or cuisine, a knowledge of Mandarin will enrich your understanding of Chinese culture. • http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/why_learn.htm

2. Is Mandarin Difficult? • There is no doubt that written Chinese is difficult to learn – even for the Chinese! The spoken language is much easier. • In many ways, Mandarin Chinese is much easier to learn than European languages. Here are some features which make Mandarin easy: • no subject/verb agreement • no plurals • no conjugations • no tenses • simple numbering system which is applied to dates and time expressions • simple conditional sentences • simple prepositions • http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/why_learn.htm

3. History of Mandarin • Due to its geographic size, China has always been a land of many languages and dialects. Mandarin emerged as the language of the ruling class during the latter part of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). • The Capital of China switched from Nanjing to Beijing in the latter part of the Ming Dynasty, and remained in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912). Since Mandarin is based on the Beijing dialect, it naturally became the official language of the court. • Nonetheless, the large influx of officials from various parts of China meant that many dialects continued to be spoken at the Chinese court. It was not until 1909 that Mandarin became the national language (guóyǔ) of China. • When the Qing Dynasty fell in 1912, the Republic of China maintained Mandarin as the official language. It was renamed pǔtōnghuà (common speech) in 1955, but Taiwan continues to use the name guóyǔ (national language). • http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/intro_mandarin.htm

4. Written Chinese • As one of the Chinese languages, Mandarin uses Chinese characters for its writing system. Chinese characters have a history dating back more than two thousand years. The early forms of Chinese characters were pictographs (graphic representations of real objects), but characters became more stylized and came to represent ideas as well as objects. • Each Chinese character represents a syllable of the spoken language. Characters represent words, but not every character is used independently. • http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/intro_mandarin.htm

5. More Written Chinese • The Chinese writing system is very complex and the most difficult part of learning Mandarin. There are thousands of characters, and they must be memorized and practiced to master the written language. • In an attempt to improve literacy, the Chinese government began simplifying characters in the 1950’s. These simplified characters are used in Mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia, while Taiwan and Hong Kong still use the traditional characters. • http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/intro_mandarin.htm

6. Romanization • Students of Mandarin often use Romanization in place of Chinese characters. Romanization uses the Western (Roman) alphabet to represent the sounds of spoken Mandarin, so is a bridge between learning the spoken language and beginning the study of Chinese characters. • There are many systems of Romanization, but the most popular for teaching is Pinyin. • http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/intro_mandarin.htm

7. Chinese Characters • The Chinese writing system is quite a challenge, but this is another reason to learn it! Despite its difficulty, learning to read and write Chinese will give you a lifetime of intellectual stimulation. The real beauty of the language is revealed in the writing. There are thousands of Chinese characters, but they are not randomly constructed. There is a system to their design, and understanding that system makes it much easier to learn new characters. • So take the challenge and learn Mandarin Chinese! It is your ticket to a lifetime of reward. • http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/why_learn.htm

8. The Four Tones • Mandarin uses four tones to clarify the meanings of words. Since many characters have the same sound, tones are used to differentiate words from each other. • The four tones in Mandarin are: • high level – first tone ¯ • rising – second tone / • falling rising – third tone v • falling – fourth tone \ • http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/why_learn.htm

9. Chinese Greetings • Hello 你好 n ǐ hăo • Mr. 先生xiānshēng • Miss 小姐xiăojie • Mrs.女士/太太nǚshì/tàità • Good-Bye 再见 zàijiàn • Thank You 谢谢xièxie • May I ask… 请问qǐngwèn • You Are Welcome 不客气búkèqi • Iamsorry对不起 duìbuqǐ • Itdoesn’tmatter 没关系méiguānxi

10. Mandarin NumbersBy QiuGui Su, About.com Guide

11. More Mandarin NumbersBy QiuGui Su, About.com Guide

12. Week Days • Monday xīngqīyī星期一 • Tuesday xīngqīèr星期二 • Wednesday xīngqīsān星期三 • Thursday xīngqīsì星期四 • Friday xīngqīwŭ星期五 • Saturday xīngqīliù星期六 • Sunday xīngqītiān/xīngqīrì星期天/日

13. Months • January yīyuè一月 • Februaryèryuè二月 • March sānyuè三月 • April sìyuè四月 • May wŭyuè五月 • June liùyuè六月 • July qīyuè七月 • August bāyuè八月 • September jiŭyuè九月 • October shíyuè十月 • November shíyīyuè十一月 • December shíèryuè十二月

14. Mandarin ColorsBy QiuGui Su, About.com Guide