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Chinese (pg. 2)
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| body125z |
tell that antiracist guy sonix to give u lessons...
with 10 chinese lessons 1 free anti racist lesson together with a black guy |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Moral Hazard
ya rly...
Chinese is a nationality and a language family but not a single language. The Chinese languages are; Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, Min, Xiang, Hakka, and Gan. Most Chinese people speak Mandarin or Cantonese. |
+1. Here's a more detailed explanation, which is essential if you want to know what exactly it is that you're studying. Anyway, let me tell you a couple of things about Mandarin:
Probably the most difficult thing to pick up at first is the pronunciation: Mandarin consonants are very different from what we're used to in English, not to mention the tones (which aren't as complex as in Cantonese, but are still exotic to most of us). In that case, practice some of the syllables, and tune your ear :D
Once you're through with the pronunciation, it's time to actually do something with these sounds. Pimsleur's language courses are excellent if you want to acquire fluency and you're a beginner. If you're serious about learning the language, try to buy it.
Most people, when they learn a foreign language, mix up "language" with writing (thinking, for that reason, that "Chinese is difficult"). Well, Chinese Hanzi might seem a bit complicated at first, but you're probably going to get addicted to them in a couple of years. Think of them as numbers: the symbol "2" not only it tells you that it refers to a pair, but also gives you the pronunciation (in this case, "two").
Finally, the grammar shouldn't be too complicated. As far as I know (and I admit I don't know much about Chinese grammar) it's not really complicated - you don't seem to conjugate verbs and words behave in sentences as if they were tiny building blocks.
Now that you know a thing or two about the language(s), here are a few links that might help you out :)
Random resources:
http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/online.htm
http://www.learnchinesenow.org/
http://chinese.hm68.com/
http://www.learnmandarinonline.org/
http://www.longjiang.org/pinyin/
http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/ccol/content.htm
http://www.chineseon.net/
http://www.languageguide.org/mandarin/
http://www.chinawestexchange.com/Mandarin/
http://www.chinese-outpost.com/language/
http://learnchinese.elanguageschool.net/
http://www.yourdictionary.com/languages/sinotibe.html
http://www.101languages.net/chinese/
http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php
http://www.pristine.com.tw/resources/lexicon.php
http://zhongwen.com/
http://www.tigernt.com/dict.shtml
http://www.dictionaryhk.com/
http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/dictionary.html
http://www.chinesedic.com
http://www.chinese-dictionary.org
http://www.esaurus.org
http://www.kanjinetworks.com
edit: I haven't had the time to proof read this post so just move on if there's anything that doesn't make sense. Oh, and learn Russian instead :toothless |
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| Jeremy H |
| quote: | Originally posted by Moral Hazard
Lesson one... Chinese is not a language. If you're likely to go to Taiwan I suggest you learn Mandarin and/or Taiwanise. |
Lol, I know. Call it a language family then. The university itself calls the course "Chinese" though.
| quote: | Originally posted by Scottaculous
I use and recommend using Rosetta Stone. Being able to repeatedly hear the sounds is paramount. The speaking portion of their program is buggy though. I'm Chinese and still fail. :conf: |
Thanks, I'll try that :) |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by body125z
learn greek |
Д > Δ :D |
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| body125z |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
� > � :D |
hehe Ð = english p and Î is english ks |
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| Jeremy H |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
+1. Here's a more detailed explanation, which is essential if you want to know what exactly it is that you're studying. Anyway, let me tell you a couple of things about Mandarin:
Probably the most difficult thing to pick up at first is the pronunciation: Mandarin consonants are very different from what we're used to in English, not to mention the tones (which aren't as complex as in Cantonese, but are still exotic to most of us). In that case, practice some of the syllables, and tune your ear :D
Once you're through with the pronunciation, it's time to actually do something with these sounds. Pimsleur's language courses are excellent if you want to acquire fluency and you're a beginner. If you're serious about learning the language, try to buy it.
Most people, when they learn a foreign language, mix up "language" with writing (thinking, for that reason, that "Chinese is difficult"). Well, Chinese Hanzi might seem a bit complicated at first, but you're probably going to get addicted to them in a couple of years. Think of them as numbers: the symbol "2" not only it tells you that it refers to a pair, but also gives you the pronunciation (in this case, "two").
Finally, the grammar shouldn't be too complicated. As far as I know (and I admit I don't know much about Chinese grammar) it's not really complicated - you don't seem to conjugate verbs and words behave in sentences as if they were tiny building blocks.
Now that you know a thing or two about the language(s), here are a few links that might help you out :)
Random resources:
http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/online.htm
http://www.learnchinesenow.org/
http://chinese.hm68.com/
http://www.learnmandarinonline.org/
http://www.longjiang.org/pinyin/
http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/ccol/content.htm
http://www.chineseon.net/
http://www.languageguide.org/mandarin/
http://www.chinawestexchange.com/Mandarin/
http://www.chinese-outpost.com/language/
http://learnchinese.elanguageschool.net/
http://www.yourdictionary.com/languages/sinotibe.html
http://www.101languages.net/chinese/
http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php
http://www.pristine.com.tw/resources/lexicon.php
http://zhongwen.com/
http://www.tigernt.com/dict.shtml
http://www.dictionaryhk.com/
http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/dictionary.html
http://www.chinesedic.com
http://www.chinese-dictionary.org
http://www.esaurus.org
http://www.kanjinetworks.com
edit: I haven't had the time to proof read this post so just move on if there's anything that doesn't make sense. Oh, and learn Russian instead :toothless |
I actually was at a meeting with the exchange students from Taiwan in our school this evening and got the chance to try a little pinyin just for fun :p And discuss the language in general..
They totally agreed with you about pronunciation being the hardest thing to learn and that the grammar isn't too hard. And also that non-asian people often have a hard time even hearing the difference between certain sounds. So I'll guess I have to start practicing soon :)
A big thanks for the extensive reply :) |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jeremy H
I actually was at a meeting with the exchange students from Taiwan in our school this evening and got the chance to try a little pinyin just for fun :p And discuss the language in general..
They totally agreed with you about pronunciation being the hardest thing to learn and that the grammar isn't too hard. And also that non-asian people often have a hard time even hearing the difference between certain sounds. So I'll guess I have to start practicing soon :)
A big thanks for the extensive reply :) |
不客气 :) |
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| Halcyon+On+On |
| quote: | Originally posted by body125z
antiracist |
Is that even an insult? |
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| Zild |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
Is that even an insult? |
No. |
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| body125z |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On
Is that even an insult? |
non racist |
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| nchs09 |
| ya my school also calls it chinese... wierd |
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