Learning Chinese: Mission Impossible
Posted on July 3, 2009
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Trying to learn Chinese can be a difficult task at the best of times. The fact is :It is just one of those languages which is particularly challenging for us Westerners. Urban and Rural areas and also generations can vary further in dialect, but for the sake of our sanity and not to intimidate anyone who wants to learn Chinese, let’s just say there are only two dialects!
First of all consider the alphabet of the Chinese language. You will begin your lessons in Chinese looking at and perfecting the styles of the letters in the Chinese alphabet. If this is too much for you then some classes are designed to let you use the English alphabet and learn Chinese by spelling phonetically. It may seem like a good corner to cut and you will obviously be able to speak more fluently in less time,however,you will also not be able to tell the difference between a male and female rest room!
The Chinese are also very particular about the composition and about 3000 characters are commonly used in modern Chinese society. A great deal of time is spent by Chinese children ensuring that their characters are written with meticulous precision. Much of this is because of the fact that some characters are in fact pictorial symbols of their meaning. These nuances that one finds when exploring other cultures can be fascinating and tend to make learning Chinese a very rewarding experience.
Once you’ve perfected the art of the Chinese alphabet, its time to start considering the sounds of the language. As a former exchange student, I believe that it is possible to eliminate an accent as I have come across a number of people from a range of different cultures who have mastered the art of their chosen language, without even a glimmer of an accent. Listen carefully when learning Chinese so that you are able to pick up on the sounds that the native Chinese person makes and also where they place the emphasis on their words, as this is the key in perfecting your accent. This way you will have a better chance of being successful in your attempt to learn Chinese .
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