Learning Mandarin

[Kymus]

I just saw this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=troxvPRmZm8

and there's a FB page for it here: https://www.facebook.com/ShaoLanChineasy

It's a simple concept and I think that gnerally Chinese characters are taught in this manner.

Bonus: The chick's hot

[hskwarrior]

http://books.google.com/books?id=PUi...a%20Wu&f=false

[Kymus]

http://books.google.com/books?id=PUi...a%20Wu&f=false

That hurts my brain

[rett]

http://books.google.com/books?id=PUi...a%20Wu&f=false

I actually have that book. I got through a few chapters, sort of. It's interesting and full of cool observations but presupposes that you already know Chinese or are interested in comparative lexicology. It would probably be good to read during second or third year of academic studies of Chinese.

[wenshu]

http://www.slow-chinese.com/

[GeneChing]

NO-MEIN
China would really like you to stop saying “tofu”


A man eats noodle at a restaurant in Shanghai March 2, 2009. China said on Monday food security remains "grim", despite campaigns launched after several health scares, the most recent last year's tainted milk formula which killed at least six toddlers and made almost 300,000 sick.
What should we call this? (Reuters/Aly Song)

WRITTEN BY Nikhil Sonnad
OBSESSION Language
December 07, 2017

This year, the Chinese government announced that it would up the ante in its long, hard battle against Chinglish. No longer would it accept the humiliation of tourists ridiculing poor English translations—especially for the foods of China’s storied cuisine.


Mmmm. (Reddit)

The government’s policy to clean up English took effect at the beginning of this month. It issued official translations for 3,500 phrases covering 13 topic areas, including this list (Chinese) of words and phrases for the topic “accommodation and catering.” That all-important section is also oddly political; several translations on it suggest that China is looking to wrest ownership of some Asian foodstuffs from competing nations and languages.

Here is the list:

(China Standardization Administration)

“Overall, I think they have done a decent job in coming up with acceptable English equivalents for hundreds of terms that foreign visitors to China are likely to encounter,” writes Victor Mair, professor of Chinese language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania.
But consider “tofu.” That term, which has become natural to English speakers, comes from the Japanese “tōfu.” The Chinese government insists it be referred to as “doufu,” the Mandarin pronunciation, even though “tofu” would be clearer for travelers in China.
For other terms in the list, the translations try to make it clear that the foods come from China. One example is “Sichuan pepper,” referring to the numbing spice often used in Sichuanese cuisine. The Chinese term for this is hua jiao, which just means “flower pepper,” and is not tied specifically to Sichuan. This might have been a good opportunity to provide a more generic translation, which would be useful because these “peppers” (they are technically a member of the citrus family) are not exclusively used in dishes from Sichuan. But putting a Chinese province in the name does emphasize their Chineseness.
One last thing. In some cases, it looks like China wants to try to make people more familiar with the sound and pronunciation of Mandarin, by opting to use the actual term and not a translation. That is the case for “lamian noodles.”
“Lamian” is a cognate with Japanese “ramen.” Using “ramen” could be confusing, as Mair points out, because the dish is prepared differently. Yet it’s strange that Beijing ignores the common English translation “hand-pulled noodles” for “lamian.” It also ignores the more familiar Cantonese term “lo mein.” Using the Mandarin term, “lamian,” instead of using “hand-pulled” or “lo mein” emphasizes that this is an official and China-specific dish.
Exposing people to Mandarin is probably a good thing. Many English speakers have a sense of the sound and feel of the Japanese language, for example, through popular culture, food, and other sources, but Mandarin remains a bit of a mystery.
That said, China will certainly have a hard time getting tourists to say “doufu” instead of “tofu.”

Tofu in Mandarin

[GeneChing]

‘Shaolin’ is Chinese word most understood by foreigners, survey says
by Catherine Jessup Feb 19, 2018 17:25 CHINA INTERNET MEDIA


Hundreds of Shaolin monks hold prayer on a river bridge in Henan Province. China News Service

A new study has revealed which Chinese words are most used and understood by people in English-speaking countries, with 'shaolin', 'yin yang' and 'yuan' topping the list.

The report, created by government body China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, surveyed people in 8 major English-speaking countries on which Chinese words they knew. They also examined the content of over 300 articles on English-language news platforms for Chinese words written in pinyin form.

They found that overall, usage and understanding of Chinese-language words written in pinyin has been on the up over the last two years.

The words on everyone’s lips

Martial arts got the upper hand on the top 100 list of commonly used words. The number one spot went to 'shaolin', a word referring to one of the world’s oldest and largest kung fu disclipines and a Buddhist monastery widely known for its martial arts training. Two other martial art forms, wushu and qigong, followed suit at number 6 and 8 respectively.

Many English speakers seem to have Chinese philosophy on their minds: ‘yin yang’ was the second most commonly known word according to the survey. They were also aware of ‘qi’, the concept of a vital force present in all living things, which underpins precepts of martial arts and Chinese medicine.

On a less spiritual note, the survey made clear that money talks: ‘yuan’ took the number 3 spot, while ‘renminbi’ was the ninth most used and understood Chinese word in English.

Understanding of Chinese social issues is also growing, if the inclusion of the word ‘hukou’ - the household registration system which determines where in China citizens are entitled to claim basic rights including healthcare and education - is anything to go by.

The top 100 also featured several words that could be filed under the category of ‘Only in China’: ‘laowai’ (a nickname for foreigners), ‘guanxi’ (socially and professionally useful connections) and ‘hongbao’ (red envelopes filled with cash gifted during Chinese New Year).

Thread: Learning Mandarin
Thread: Need Linguistc Help

[GeneChing]

'Shaolin' the most well-known Chinese word overseas
China Plus, February 26, 2018

"Shaolin" is the most popular Chinese words for people from eight English-speaking countries, according to a survey released by China International Publishing Group (CIPG).


A monk performs Shaolin Kungfu on a street of Rome, Italy. [File photo: Xinhua]

According to the report at cankaoxiaoxi.com, among the top 100 Chinese words, over 40 percent relate to traditional Chinese culture, such as Wushu, a type of martial arts, Qigong, and Yin-Yang.

"Dumpling" is the most well-known Chinese food for people from the English speaking countries surveyed, with "jiaozi" even appearing in the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Chunjie, the Chinese word for Spring Festival, was the number one Chinese word searched online by people outside China. Other words related to Spring Festival also caught the attention of foreign netizens. These words include Hongbao, the red envelopes stuffed with cash given as gifts during the holiday, Chunyun, the Spring Festival holiday travel rush, and Chunwan, the Spring Festival gala.

Interesting that jiaozi made the OED. I suspect none of my non-Chinese non-Kung Fu friends know that word.

And the most popular Chinese term overseas is ...
Martial arts references take out four of the top 10 spots in publisher’s survey
PUBLISHED : Monday, 26 February, 2018, 6:25pm
UPDATED : Monday, 26 February, 2018, 6:56pm
Yujing Liu



“Shaolin”, the name of a branch of martial arts, is the most popular Chinese term abroad, according to a survey by a Chinese publishing group.

Shaolin was followed by “yin yang”, “yuan”, “the Forbidden City” and “ni hao” (hello), the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration said on February 17.

Chinese supermodel Liu Wen slammed on Instagram for referring to ‘Lunar New Year’

The administration said it analysed mainstream media reports and polled 1,260 people online in eight countries to assess the use and recognition of 150 Chinese terms.

The eight countries were the United States, Britain, Australia, the Philippines, South Africa, Canada, Singapore and India.


“Mahjong” was number 10 in the publisher’s survey. Photo: Xinhua

Apart from shaolin, three other Chinese martial arts terms made the top 10: “wushu” (martial arts), “qi” (essential force), and “qigong” (tai chi-like exercises).

“The wide distribution of martial arts-related terms is due to a specific form of communication – films,” the administration said.

It said the internationalisation of China’s currency explained the popularity of “yuan” and “renminbi”, which was ninth.

The tenth most popular Chinese term was “mahjong”.

Thread: Learning Mandarin
Thread: Need Linguistc Help

[GeneChing]

Mandarin the most popular language in the world. 1.1B speakers compared to 983M English speakers.

Billionaires and royals are rushing to teach their kids Mandarin
Abby Jackson Nov. 8, 2017, 2:21 PM


From Jeff Bezos to Ivanka Trump. Chip Somodevilla/Getty

Learning a second language has been proven to offer a swath of cognitive, health, and educational benefits. It improves brain development, can protect against dementia, and help with attention span.

And Mandarin seems to be the hot language at the moment, with some high-profile wealthy families starting to push the language to their kids at a young age.

Chinese is the language with the most native speakers in the world with about 1.2 billion. There are two main dialects that make up the Chinese language — Mandarin and Cantonese — and 1 billion of the total speak Mandarin. The sheer size alone means the language will continue to be important for business in the future.

Read on below to see some of the wealthy families who have spoken publicly about teaching their kids Mandarin.

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos


Danny Moloshok/Reuters

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie have four kids and have experimented with many different subjects to educate their children.

"We tried all sorts of things ... including off-season travel, kitchen-science experiments, chicken incubation, Mandarin lessons, the Singapore math program, and lots of clubs and sports with other neighborhood kids," MacKenzie told Vogue.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan


AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg picked up Mandarin a few years ago, and improved so much, he was able to do a 30-minute question and answer session in the language. His wife, Priscilla Chan, is the daughter of Chinese refugees who fled Vietnam. She speaks fluent Cantonese.

The couple have already introduced Mandarin into the house for their daughter Max. Zuckerberg uploaded a video on Facebook that showed his AI personal assistant teaching Max to speak Mandarin.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner


AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have three children and hired a Mandarin-speaking nanny to help bring the language to their home.

Their oldest daughter Arabella, 5, displayed her language skills by singing the Chinese "Happy New Year" song in Mandarin earlier in 2017.

Prince William and Kate Middleton


Richard Pohle/WPA Pool/Getty Images

The royal couple have two children and a third on the way. Their oldest son, Prince George, 4, began his first day of school at Thomas' Battersea in London. The school will teach Prince George Mandarin.

But he's not the only one who has picked up some Mandarin phrases. Prince William wished China a happy new year in Mandarin a few years ago.

[Jimbo]

How times have changed. Back in 1982, I was 19 and looking for a Mandarin teacher in San Diego, because I was planning to move to Taiwan. Believe it or not, I could not find any language schools that offered Chinese, other than one school that offered a class in Cantonese. They thought my request for Mandarin was odd. But they gave me the phone number of a retired Chinese language teacher who had taught Mandarin back in the 1960s and '70s. I ended up contacting him and taking private lessons with him once a week at his home. He was originally from Hong Kong and was around 80, but AFAIK, he was the only Mandarin teacher in the whole city at that time! The lessons did help in giving me a basic grasp, especially when watching subtitled KF movies at the local Chinese theaters, but I didn't really become conversant until I actually moved to Taiwan, took months of classes at the Mandarin Daily News Language School, as well as immersing myself in living over there. I actually became good at it; able to speak it without any American accent (but with the Taiwanese-Mandarin accent); go weeks without speaking a word of English, and able to comprehend when reading some Chinese books.

Now Mandarin is literally everywhere, and it seems like "everybody" wants to learn it, or can speak at least a few words and phrases.

My Mandarin has gone downhill now, since I've barely had any opportunities to speak it since leaving Taiwan. I can still understand a lot of it, better than I can speak anymore. Been thinking of getting a Rosetta Stone course to brush up and get better at it again.

[GeneChing]

Read my latest feature for YMAA - Is it Chi Kung or Qigong?



In honor of World Tai Chi Qigong Day.

World-Tai-Chi-amp-Qigong-Day
Learning-Mandarin