| what's the most difficult part of learning Chinese? | |
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| Feb 5, 2007 21:09 |   |
 | Always hear that the most difficult language to learn in the world is Chinese, maybe writing is more challenging, right?? what do you think about it? I am a Chinese and major in English, wihch, i think, as a second language, the most difficult parts are listening and speaking. But English is a little easier to learn than Chinese, right?? This section in this forum indeed offers us a good chance to learn from each other their native languages respectively. Let's have more discussion and Q&A on our language learning. What do you want to learn most on Chinese?? I'm willing to give help on anyone's Chinese learning. :))) |
| Feb 5, 2007 22:40 | #1 |
| Hi Melody, I have themost difficulty with listening for a number o reasons. A) Dialect B) speed ofdilivery C) context and tones With my spoken Mandarin my problems are of course with A) tones B) tenses and C) imperatives and I simply forgot new owrdsand phrases if I do not use them a lot or immeiately after learning them. |
| Feb 5, 2007 22:41 | #2 |
| And I almost forgot, learning to read and write is a big help in remembering things and elping to understand the nuances of the language and culture. |
| Feb 5, 2007 23:50 | #3 |
| Hi Melody, I have so much respect for an individual who can speak both Chinese and English !! I feel they are both very difficult languages to learn, each in their own right !! Aside from the spoken language, I thin the Chinese written language poses another set of problems, in that it is not an 'alphabet' such as in the Western languages. It must be approached quite differently. I still feel that most Chinese are the smartest people on the Planet !!! LOL :) |
| Feb 6, 2007 09:12 | #4 |
| Whats the most difficult part of learning Chinese? Everything! :( Many times friends have taught me a few phrases, I spend hours practicing, then I go out and try them for real. Rarely does anyone understand... it's quicker to go to the fridge to get a 'bing pijiu' than try to get someone to understand what I am saying. It is difficult to make the basic sounds which are so different from English and other Euro languages, and I cannot tell the difference between the tones (maybe that relates to my total inability to sing), and the characters are fascinating in their complexity (and I am coming to the conclusion that I might be able to learn to read quicker than speaking!). And then there are the Engl:Chinese dictionaries (book or electronic)... great if you can read Chinese characters, but I need Pinyin. If only I could get a small Chinese language brain implant. But no worries, I have a great excuse - most of the time I am with people who want to improve their English, that is why I was (and will be) in China, so that's what I do. And when I am out on my own (often) I buy ineteresting food that I would not have bought if I understood Chinese, I end up in hotels I would most definitely have avoided, I travel to places I had not intended to and see unexpected things and meet interesting people I would have missed. And it is amazing what 'conversations' you can have with local people if you buy a beer at a small shop, grab one of the plastic stools and sit down and smile at the passers by! |
| Feb 6, 2007 16:24 | #5 |
| And then there is the aspect of the different dialects, and the two main ones in particular !!! My wife speaks fluent Mandarin and fluent Cantonese, which she refers to as “Beijing-talk and Guangzhou-talk“. They sound different and many words are very different. The only thing I have going for me is that I can comfortably pronounce most of the sounds. Unlike Spanish, where I cannot ‘roll’ an RRRRRRRR to save my life !! LOL |
| Feb 6, 2007 19:47 | #6 |
| Yes, dialects are very annoying. As a Northwest Chinese, I can't understand dialects of South China. Thanks Qin Shi Huang for his great idea that to unify Chinese characters! Thus, we can communicate according to the same character. |
| Feb 7, 2007 20:23 | #7 |
| Dear, glad to see all your replies! Most of you said tones of Chinese are very difficult to be told the difference. Yes, exactly. One Chinese character has four diffrent tones, and the meaning varies based on the change of tones. If you read or speak a Chinese word in another tone (not the correct tone), it turns to be another word which may cause misunderstanding. But there is a way to work well on this nodus - imitation. This is what I think the most important for westerners to learn Chinese. If you have a/some Chinese frend(s), try to imitate what they say and how they pronounce a word. Pay special attention to his tones and try your best to imitate until you two are exactly the same. Then you've got the correct pronounciation!!! Anyway, whenever you learn a Chinese word or phrase, try to use them often in your daily life or, if you do not have a language environment, just make a simple sentence with them and recite it more, which may help you to memorize what you learn. I also want to say something about the dialects. Beijing-talk is not the real Chinese Mandarin but only the basis to shape the language. They are closer but different. However, never worry about the dialects that you think may trouble you. Even Chinese people themselves can not understand each other's local dialects if they come from different areas of China. But, actually, most of Chinese people, no matter they come from, can try to say the Chinese Mandarin. Like me, I was born in Shaanxi Province, but my native place is Henan Province. So I can say both Shaaxi Dialect and Henan Dialect. I never learn but I can. Of course, my Chinese Mandarin is out of problem. So take it easy and do not worry about the dialects. Chinese people will communicate with you (especially westerners) in Chinese Madarin as they can. What you have to learn is only the Chinese Madarin but not the dialects. Do you know a famous Canadian who live in China who can speak fluent Chinese Mandarin and even the Beijing Dialect - Da Shan (Mark Rowsell) ?? I think the language-learning environment is the most important for he has been already living in China for more than ten years. As a student major in English, I always dream to go abroad and live there for many many years, then I can also speak more fluent and native English, haha...LOL, right?? Plus, I will recommend you a very good TV program on CCTV-4 - 'Learn Chinese'. It is broadcast every morning at 09:50 and rebroadcast at 13:50 in the afternoon (Both are Beijing time). This twenty-minutes program are especially designed for westerners who want to learn Chinese,very interesting and instructive. Hope you will like it, and more disscussion are welcomed!!! :))) |
| Feb 10, 2007 09:39 | #8 |
| Thanks Melody, That's some good advice. I find I learn more when I have to commuincate with friends and locals who don;t speak English. If I am with someone who speaks any English I often get lazy and rely on them to communicate, but I have to laugh when I ask my bi-lingual friends watch and listen as I try to communicate my needs and see how far I get before the other person looks helplessly towards my friend for help in understanding me. Sometimes it is me who gives up first, but when I am out by myself which is quite alot things go pretty well depending on who it is I am talking with. Some people have loads more patience, interest and understanding. I am happy to report that I am now the proud owner of an English, Chinese & Pinyin Dictionary which is designed particularly for non Chinese speakers or readers. The software is called 'Pleco Dictionary' and for as little as $60US I can find words using English, Pinyin, or Hanzi characters. It has a flash card system where you can practice recognizing words you are learning etc. All you need is a hand held PC and you have the makings of a custom made dictionary. Now when I see a character I should know or don't know I can copy it in the recognizer and find out what it means - I just may begin to remember it in the future. Helps in reading menus too. I highly recommend it and wish I had found the software years ago. One of my friends was telling me today that our very colouful local Chongqing Hua really doesn't have any tones..............and I think I have to believe her. I am best understood when I just speak as quickly as possible ignoring the tones. When I try to use Mandarin with clear tones most locals "ting bu qing qu" and I end up repeating myself a number of times in as many different tones and speeds until something registers. Taxi dirvers are the funniest but it happens in shops a lot too. I think most people are just surprised that we can speak at all. I still get surprised comments when I say 'Xie xie' which by now flows very freely from my lips - automatic response. |
| Mar 7, 2007 00:25 | #9 |
| Hi there, I have found some say that Chinese characters maybe difficult to learn. In fact, most of the characters are composed of one part or several parts. The basic part should be learnt first, which you can find in the Chinese dictionary. And using them you can find a character. In addition, Chinese characters are composed of there forms generally, up-down, left-right, and outer-inner. I think these two parts are the most important to remember a character. |
| Mar 14, 2007 04:13 | #10 |
| Melody Chow, Ren Shi Ni, Hen Gao Xing! I like your excerpt on your homepage about attitude. Truly, in life, one decides whether or not they want tobe happy. You and I are freely choosing happiness and success rather than the dismal follies of the masses. The hardest part about learning Chinese, by far, is learning the characters. The English language contains 26 letters,comprising of all the spoken words. the Chinese language uses characters for an alphabet and it is hundreds, even thousands times more sophisticated. Never fear, day-in-day out efforts to learn Chinese will payoff, asI am now speaking in sentences to people, instead of just words.  |
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