First, I respect you for deciding to learn the toughest language in the world. Yet, it is the language used by most of people around the world. The time you spend to learn Chinese is not a waste, but an investment.
You can get easily suitable job opportunities or promotions in the Chinese organizations. Even, you can access to many scholarships offered by the Chinese Government. You will get more business opportunities as China is the second largest economy in the world. And also, You will learn one of the world's ancient and richest cultures, over 5000 years old.
There are about 13 sub-languages within the Chinese language. Yet, the most spoken is, Mandarin (about 850 million). Mandarin has the largest number of native speakers in the world. It is the official language of China and Singapore.
I'll give you a start up guide regarding how you should learn Mandarin Chinese.
- The Four Mandarin Tones
Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. There are 4 main tones:- First tone (High-level tone)
- Second tone (Mid-rising tone)
- Third tone (Falling-rising tone)
- Fourth tone (Falling tone)
When studying about the Four tones, it is a must to know of 'Pinyin'.
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Mandarin Chinese characters into Latin Script. It makes easier you to pronounce those tones as well as allows you to read and write Chinese without using Chinese characters.
Tell you an example, I'll use 'ma',- mā - mother
- má - hemp
- mă - horse
- mà - scold
So, if you try to learn Mandarin Chinese without considering the four tones, chances are that you will end up calling your mother, "Horse"!
- Mandarin Chinese Pronunciation
This is very essential because in Mandarin Chinese there are 37 unique sounds - 21 consonants and 16 vowels.
You will have to get familiar with these sounds along with pronunciation of words because they are unintuitive to English speakers.
It is better if you can refer to a Chinese-English Pocket Dictionary which has Pinyin system. So you can practice pronouncing Chinese words.
- Grow your Vocabulary
Knowing the meaning and pronunciation of certain words doesn't make you a Chinese speaker. You have to learn phrases to speak Mandarin. For that you have to consider these points.- Greetings
- Pronouns
- Numbers
- Etiquette conversation
- Calendar and time
- Directions
- Restaurant, Hotel vocabulary
- Shopping vocabulary
- Banking vocabulary
- Phone conversation .etc
- Improving Mandarin Grammar
Grammar is called to be the toughest part regardless what the language is. But also if you digest it, the correct way, in an understanding manner, then you're on the go.
Learning the grammar will help you become a fluent speaker.
Consider following points in order to move on with grammar.- Sentence structure
- Nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs
- Negatives
- Questions
- Past, present, future tense
- Starting with Chinese characters
Believe me, the Chinese character system is the hardest part of learning Mandarin. You will have to know more than 1500 characters to read a Chinese paper, unlike English. Here is the flow to get started.- Identify Chinese Characters
- Begin to read Chinese Characters
- Write Chinese Characters using Pinyin System
- Write Chinese Characters using Real Chinese Characters
- Get familiar with the Chinese Culture
As you progress in your mastery of Mandarin Chinese, you will need to get familiar with the Chinese culture.
Knowing only how to speak, read and write Mandarin won't make you a Chinese expert.
Know some facts regarding the Chinese Culture.- History of China
- Feng shui
- Yin-Yang
- Kung-fu
- Chinese names .etc
ADVICE!
For a beginner, I would like to recommend a trusted website that will provide you with online-learning of Mandarin Chinese.
Culture Alley - Learn Mandarin Chinese Online
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