|
|
Reasons
To Learn Chinese
+ Chinese, is one of the
Sino-Tibetan languages,
or more accurately it is a
group of different dialects
of which Mandarin (Putonghua)
is one. Taken together there
are more native speakers of
Chinese than any other
language.
To put this in
perspective there are
approximately 915 million
speakers of Mandarin
(without including any of
the other dialects such as
Cantonese), compared to
Spanish, the fourth most
widely spoken language in
the world with around 400
million speakers.
+ You don’t have to
learn Chinese characters to
learn to speak Chinese.
Pinyin is a method of
writing Chinese in the roman
alphabet. Hanyu pinyin
spells the sound, and
includes tone marks to help
give the correct
pronunciation.
+ Chinese literature.
The dialects are not
mutually intelligible but
the written language is
shared between them all.
Although you do not need to
learn to read Chinese
characters to speak the
language, by doing so you
open the door to an
enormously diverse and rich
literature. In fact, the
earliest
record
of
writing
was in
Chinese
characters
although
very
different
in form
from
modern
characters
(of
which
there
are many
thousand).
+
The
Chinese
economy
is the
fastest
growing
economy
in the
world,
and so
in the
work
environment
even
speaking
a little
Chinese
will
give you
a
competitive
edge, if
your
company
invests
in China
or is
considering
doing
so.
|
+
Language
and
culture
are
linked
and
learning
something
of the
Chinese
language
will
help
give an
appreciation
of the
cultural
heritage
of
China.
More on learning: Learn chinese, learn in chinese, learning cantonese, learning mandarin, learning chinese, learning in chinese, how to learn chinese, how to learn chinese in how to speak chinese, learn chinese through, learn mandarin, learn language, pronunciation chinese, speaking chinese, chinese lesson, learning cantonese
|
+
China is
accessible
to the
foreign
visitor
in a way
that it
has not
been in
the past
and
travel
to and
within
China is
becoming
easier,
but to
make the
most of
this
opportunity
for
travel,
language
at a
basic
level is
important.
Mandarin
is
spoken
throughout
China.
+
China is
becoming
increasingly
important
in the
world
and may
be the
dominant
economic
power in
the not
so
distant
future.
+
Food.
You can
eat in
the
tourist
restaurants
in
hotels
but if
you want
to see
more of
China it
is more
better
to try
the food
and
experience
the
culture
in local
restaurants.
+ In
2008 the
Olympics
are
held in
Beijing.
In 2008
many
foreign
visitors
will
descend
on China
to watch
the
Olympics.
It is an
ideal
opportunity,
if you
are
lucky
enough
to be
going,
to stand
out from
the
crowd by
being
one of
the few
who has
learnt
at least
a few
words of
Mandarin.
+
Like any
other
language,
it is
possible
to learn
a few
words
and
phrases
in
Mandarin,
enough
to be
polite
without
spending
years in
further
education.
Linguata
would
help.
Author Frank Middleton is a freelance author and writes occasional articles for www.linguata.com a site with a practical realistic and fast approach to learning words and phrases in a foreign language, using a combination of sophisticated testing and simple games.
|
|
Chinese school aims to
expand
Challenge
School began five years
ago in Mei Zhang's
Foster City home, where
she taught Chinese to a
handful of local
children.
Today, the enrichment
program has as many as
85 students, depending
on the time of year. The
school provides language
and cultural instruction
in Hillsborough and San
Carlos; a new classroom
will open this fall in
Belmont.
Tonight, the Foster City
Planning Commission will
decide whether to
approve the school's
plans to expand its
space in an office
cluster at 558 Pilgrim
Drive. The plan calls
for turning the vacant
office next door into
rooms for Chinese music
and arts instruction.
Zhang's proposal comes
at the same time local
schools are adding
Mandarin language
programs or are building
upon existing ones.
Burlingame Intermediate
School is introducing a
Mandarin program this
fall for
seventh-graders, while
the San Mateo-Foster
City School District is
adding a preschool
immersion program to its
existing Mandarin
curriculum at College
Park Elementary School.
The idea for Challenge
School came to Zhang,
who grew up in China's
Sichuan Province, when
her daughter's command
of Mandarin began to
fade. Zhang found that
her own mother was
having trouble
communicating with her
granddaughter. Many
Chinese-immigrant
parents in the area have
the same problem, Zhang
said. Their children,
second-generation
Americans, learn to
speak English and lose
their grasp of the
Chinese language and
their ties to the
culture. So parents
enroll their children in
Challenge's summer and
after- school programs,
which cover everything
from language
instruction to Chinese
calligraphy, cooking,
geography and music.
"We also want our kids
to have the language as
a tool for the future,"
said Zhang, pointing to
the benefits that
Mandarin will have once
her current students
enter the work force.
About 30 percent of the
students at Challenge
School come from
families with no
connections at all to
Chinese language or
culture. Their parents
simply recognize the
usefulness of learning
Chinese, Zhang said.
"The rise of China in
the world makes it
imperative that American
students learn Chinese
and appreciate Chinese
culture," said Dave
Pine, vice president of
the Burlingame
Elementary School
District board of
trustees, who recently
returned from a nine-day
trip to China along with
a group of U.S.
educators.
"You're going to see
great growths in
Mandarin offerings in
the next several years,"
Pine said.
Zhang said that though
the school is expanding
in size, she plans to
keep the number of
students to a maximum of
120, in order to
preserve a healthy ratio
of students and
teachers. That could
help her case with the
Planning Commission,
which expressed concerns
last month that the
school's growth could
cause traffic
congestion. Zhang said
the school has never had
problems with traffic,
because parents arrive
in staggered groups to
pick up their children.
Oakland Tribune by Aaron
Kinney, Copyright ANG Newspapers.
Cannot be used or
repurposed without prior
written permission.
Provided by ProQuest
Information and Learning
Company. All rights
Reserved.
The Chinese speak eight major
dialects: Putonghua (Mandarin), Yue
(Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
(Taiwanese), Gan, Xiang, and Hakka and many
sub-dialects. In addition, ethnic groups such as the
Mongolian, Naxi, Tibetan, Yi, Uygur, and other
ethnic groups have their own native languages. The
language spoken in Beijing is often referred to as
Mandarin or Putonghua. Putonghua, which means
"common language" is the country's main language and
is spoken by more than 70 percent of the population.
Putonghua is also referred to as the "Han language"
(Hanyu) or simply Chinese. Because of the increased
economic migration across China during the past two
decades years, the use of Mandarin has increased.
|