sneaky_pete
Member
im debating whether or not to take mandarin chinese next semester. does anyone have any experience with this? inputs would be great. thanks
Mandarin chinese?
- Thread starter sneaky_pete
- Start date
sneaky_pete
Member
umd only offers mandarin...
exile_ch
Member
I actually live in China at the moment, so here's my advice:
IF you do it, don't half do it because it's going to be fucking hard at the beginning, trust me. You'll need lots of hours of memorizing and practicing before you'll be able to reach the basics of it.
There's 4 tones that you'll need to understand, because lots of similar 'words' differs only by the way you say it.
Then you'll have to learn pinyin which is somewhat of an alphabet to help us learn the language. But many letters or group of letters are pronouced differently. H sounds like R, ZH sounds like DJ, Q will be TS etc etc.
Then there's the actual characters. There are more than 30'000 different of them but you'll need "only" 3000 to 5000 for your daily life .
So that's that.
One good thing is the grammar which is pretty simple.
Now if you really are motivated, Mandarin can be a huge asset and an added value in your future professional life. China is set to be the 1st economic power in less than 10 years and people who can understand and liaise with that country will be more and more needed.
IF you do it, don't half do it because it's going to be fucking hard at the beginning, trust me. You'll need lots of hours of memorizing and practicing before you'll be able to reach the basics of it.
There's 4 tones that you'll need to understand, because lots of similar 'words' differs only by the way you say it.
Then you'll have to learn pinyin which is somewhat of an alphabet to help us learn the language. But many letters or group of letters are pronouced differently. H sounds like R, ZH sounds like DJ, Q will be TS etc etc.
Then there's the actual characters. There are more than 30'000 different of them but you'll need "only" 3000 to 5000 for your daily life .
So that's that.
One good thing is the grammar which is pretty simple.
Now if you really are motivated, Mandarin can be a huge asset and an added value in your future professional life. China is set to be the 1st economic power in less than 10 years and people who can understand and liaise with that country will be more and more needed.
i'm not even sure about that, i think it's mainly the memorizing and understanding of intonation that makes it difficult, as mentioned above, grammar is apparently pretty easy ...
and yeah, if i was a language/social study kid i'd probably give mandarin a try, but i'm more of a science guy and not such a lingo-wizard ...
and yeah, if i was a language/social study kid i'd probably give mandarin a try, but i'm more of a science guy and not such a lingo-wizard ...
Oldmann1584
Active member
I live in China and I don't even take it for 3 reasons
1) its hard as fuck (it's harder than learning arabic thats for sure, which is what I learnt before I moved to China)
2) the teachers give like 10x more work, just cause they're hardcore (and asian)
3) there are so many damn characters you wont even learn a fraction of it in one semester. I have friends who have taken it for 6 years and still can't speak it completely fluently (like 85% fluent).
also I have chinese friends who can't write chinese they can only speak it because there are like 3000 characters to learn.
anyways if you aren't planning on moving out here or using it everyday i wouldn't bother, especially if its only for one semester.
1) its hard as fuck (it's harder than learning arabic thats for sure, which is what I learnt before I moved to China)
2) the teachers give like 10x more work, just cause they're hardcore (and asian)
3) there are so many damn characters you wont even learn a fraction of it in one semester. I have friends who have taken it for 6 years and still can't speak it completely fluently (like 85% fluent).
also I have chinese friends who can't write chinese they can only speak it because there are like 3000 characters to learn.
anyways if you aren't planning on moving out here or using it everyday i wouldn't bother, especially if its only for one semester.
mmmpoundcake
Active member
i have been taking chinese for... 8 years now?
1) dont half ass it like everyone said, i did and i really didnt, its like skiing your foundation and fundamentals will help you out.
2) it is extremely difficult, remember, you have characters, pinyin, and english meaning of Chinese.
3) tones. These have fucked me. with so many characters things that sound the same mean totally different things. like ma. means mom, question word, and horse.
1) dont half ass it like everyone said, i did and i really didnt, its like skiing your foundation and fundamentals will help you out.
2) it is extremely difficult, remember, you have characters, pinyin, and english meaning of Chinese.
3) tones. These have fucked me. with so many characters things that sound the same mean totally different things. like ma. means mom, question word, and horse.
vincentlee223
Active member
If you're learning how to read and write, that will be very hard. Learning how to speak is alot easier. I can speak both mandarin and cantonese but I could not for the life of me learn how to write it. Not only is there a character for every single word, there is also a certain way the strokes of a character are directed and put on the page. Nonetheless, mandarin is becoming extremely important to know so if you atleast learn some conversational skills, it will be good for you.
whoa-dere
Active member
Yea grammar is similar to english. It sucks that I can't write it now, I haven't wrote chinese in a few years and last summer when I went back I discovered that i can barely read it. If I can still write/read fluently oh how attractive would my resume be. And do you guys know what kinds of jobs other than translator someone with language skills can get? I'm planning to major in engineering..
Caspaaa
Active member
I took it last year. Here is the bottom line when it comes to learning it.
1. Grammar is super easy, there is no verb conjugation like that of other languages, the difference between "I run" and "he runs" is that you change it from I to he. The verb stays the same.
2. Pronunciation is HUGE. Tones can mean the difference between saying something offensive or kind. The tones are a pain in the ass.
3. Memorizing characters is pretty difficult too, simply because there are so many. If you continually practice it and practice writing them you will get them down with ease, just like memorizing english vocabulary.
4. Speaking is not all that difficult, although you must be careful with the tones and pronunciation once again.
Yes, it is a difficult language. Yes, it is very rewarding. Quite frankly, I enjoyed it. It was a bit of work but fun to me.
1. Grammar is super easy, there is no verb conjugation like that of other languages, the difference between "I run" and "he runs" is that you change it from I to he. The verb stays the same.
2. Pronunciation is HUGE. Tones can mean the difference between saying something offensive or kind. The tones are a pain in the ass.
3. Memorizing characters is pretty difficult too, simply because there are so many. If you continually practice it and practice writing them you will get them down with ease, just like memorizing english vocabulary.
4. Speaking is not all that difficult, although you must be careful with the tones and pronunciation once again.
Yes, it is a difficult language. Yes, it is very rewarding. Quite frankly, I enjoyed it. It was a bit of work but fun to me.