Learning Mandarin – Difficulties and Opportunities

Mandarin language research is problematic. Mostly because Mandarin is different from other languages that people inside west have aimed to get to grips with before trying to learn Chinese, not because learning Mandarin is much more. Mandarin is strange associated with ways. The writing system is obviously completely different. Is undoubtedly no alphabet just as the one that Germanic and Latin derivates have. Instead a graphic defines every word; or rather a string of what referred to as strokes. For example, three stokes that together make a square means mouth, one combination of strokes that kind of depicts a woman holding a kid means mother while on. But the differences don’t end there. The grammar is largely made up of the items is called airborne debris. For example; adding a syllable pronounced ma after a sentence turns it proper question, adding guo after a sentence means that which it happens in the past. Combining these basic examples; you go shanghai guo mummy? Communicates the question: perhaps you gone to Shanghai? The differences are however much more explicit that this type of. Even the sounds of spoken Chinese are completely different from western counterparts.

Chinese spoken words are not only based on syllables as western words are. Genuine for mother in English is just 6 different sounds noted by each character; M, O, T, H, E and R. In Chinese there is two syllables, not four characters, ma and ma. The twist is that “mama” can be pronounced in twenty-five various ways. Each of the two syllables, ma and ma, can be pronounced with 5 different tones, developing a total matrix of 5 times 5 possibilities, and 1 means mother. The tones are called tones but might not tones while A minor or G, they are pitch modulation. Quite tone is a slightly steady high set up. The second is a rising pitch. 3rd tone goes down and then -up. The fourth is a sharp decline in pitch from high to low. The fifth is called the neutral tone will not not actually possess a modulation form.

All that sounds bloody difficult, of course you can is, at least at first. Exactly how do you best go about coming to grips with this? Because of course it’s very possible. In fact I know one lovely French girl called Julie, her Chinese is much better her English. Furthermore know a very talented German videographer that has lived in China combined with the three years; he often searches for that English word to describe something and upward saying it Truly. Basically, I would argue, that Chinese isn’t so much bloody difficult as is certainly bloody different.