The Oxford Chinese Dictionary was released in 2010 by Oxford University Press and is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary in the world. For some students of Mandarin, this may seem like a treasure trove of words and phrases (over 300,000) to learn, but others may be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of words found in this new dictionary.
The dictionary contains small boxes explaining Chinese cultural concepts, which can sometimes be as important as learning the words. At over 2,000 words, this book isn’t well-suited for packing in your backpack and hauling to class, but for home use, you may enjoy using it to learn a few words and phrases on your own.
The decision on whether this dictionary is for you may depend on how you view your Chinese studies.
The bottom line- if you enjoy exploring words and phrases, think language learning should be approached with curiosity and fun or want to learn not just the words in your textbook, but words that people actually use, then the Oxford Chinese Dictionary could be right for you.
If you are struggling with your Mandarin classes and like to keep things straightforward, or tend to get easily overwhelmed or distracted when studying, you may want to stick to smaller Chinese dictionaries for now.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Friday, December 3, 2010
The Importance of Learning About Chinese Culture
When you study Chinese, you’re not only learning a language, or at least you shouldn’t be only learning a language.
To really get into the mindset of the people who speak it, you probably need to study a bit of Chinese culture along with practicing your tones and sorting out stroke order. The Chinese do, after all, have thousands of years of culture for you to investigate and explore. Learning about Chinese culture can help you with your Mandarin Chinese lessons in a few different ways.
You can understand the people you’ll be conversing with much better when you understand their culture. This cannot be underestimated. Making Chinese friends will help you improve your Mandarin more than almost anything else, but if you don’t get them and they don’t get you, there’s no room to develop those beneficial kinds of friendships.
You can appreciate your travels in China much more. Whether you plan on visiting for a week or two, taking a year off to travel the country end-to-end, or moving to Shanghai for business, the more you understand about Chinese people and their culture, the more you’ll be able to absorb in your time there.
Your mind will be opened to new ideas. You’re already in learning mode while you study the Mandarin language. Why not learn some cultural things,too, while you’re in this prime learning mode?
To really get into the mindset of the people who speak it, you probably need to study a bit of Chinese culture along with practicing your tones and sorting out stroke order. The Chinese do, after all, have thousands of years of culture for you to investigate and explore. Learning about Chinese culture can help you with your Mandarin Chinese lessons in a few different ways.
You can understand the people you’ll be conversing with much better when you understand their culture. This cannot be underestimated. Making Chinese friends will help you improve your Mandarin more than almost anything else, but if you don’t get them and they don’t get you, there’s no room to develop those beneficial kinds of friendships.
You can appreciate your travels in China much more. Whether you plan on visiting for a week or two, taking a year off to travel the country end-to-end, or moving to Shanghai for business, the more you understand about Chinese people and their culture, the more you’ll be able to absorb in your time there.
Your mind will be opened to new ideas. You’re already in learning mode while you study the Mandarin language. Why not learn some cultural things,too, while you’re in this prime learning mode?
Sunday, November 7, 2010
What Parts of Chinese Language Learning are Most Challenging?
Learning Chinese is frequently described as “challenging,” and some parts of the language certainly fit that description.
Sounds
Let’s face it- Mandarin Chinese has sounds English doesn’t. This doesn’t mean that native English speakers can’t pronounce Chinese sounds, just that it will be more difficult to differentiate between them. A good Chinese tutor or a friend who can help you hammer out the differences between sounds can make a big difference when you’re trying to say “shu” instead of “xue.”
Tones
Tones are the bane of most first-year Chinese language students. There are four different ways to inflect every word and each one changes the meaning. Again, personal one-on-one help is useful to get these right.
Characters
Even with the tones and strange sounds, the speaking part of Chinese may actually seem simple when you’re faced with memorizing thousands of Chinese characters. Flashcard programs and repetition are ideal for learning Mandarin characters.
Fortunately, not everything about learning Mandarin Chinese is hard. The basic beginners grammar is far easier than English or pretty much any of the European languages. If you’re having trouble with some aspect of Mandarin, just remember- in the end, being able to fluently read, write and converse will be worth all of the expended effort!
Sounds
Let’s face it- Mandarin Chinese has sounds English doesn’t. This doesn’t mean that native English speakers can’t pronounce Chinese sounds, just that it will be more difficult to differentiate between them. A good Chinese tutor or a friend who can help you hammer out the differences between sounds can make a big difference when you’re trying to say “shu” instead of “xue.”
Tones
Tones are the bane of most first-year Chinese language students. There are four different ways to inflect every word and each one changes the meaning. Again, personal one-on-one help is useful to get these right.
Characters
Even with the tones and strange sounds, the speaking part of Chinese may actually seem simple when you’re faced with memorizing thousands of Chinese characters. Flashcard programs and repetition are ideal for learning Mandarin characters.
Fortunately, not everything about learning Mandarin Chinese is hard. The basic beginners grammar is far easier than English or pretty much any of the European languages. If you’re having trouble with some aspect of Mandarin, just remember- in the end, being able to fluently read, write and converse will be worth all of the expended effort!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Learning Traditional Chinese Characters vs Learning Simplified Characters
One question that often comes up when deciding between two different Chinese classes is whether or not to learn simplified or traditional characters.
In general, mainland China uses simplified characters while Taiwan, Hong Kong, many overseas Chinese and older texts use traditional characters. So part of your decision will be based on where you plan to use your Mandarin knowledge and whether or not you are more interested in historical aspects of China or modern business in the Middle Kingdom.
Another consideration is the beauty and complexity of the written characters themselves. Traditional Chinese characters are by far more complex and beautiful than the simplified versions. If you want to impress people with your impeccable Chinese calligraphy, traditional is the way to go.
Some proponents of traditional characters point out that these versions contain more of the history and culture of China within the characters themselves. Pieces of the characters mean specific things, so learning traditional will give you a better appreciation for where the written language came from. For some, this also makes it easier to memorize the meaning of the character.
On the other hand, the simplified versions often contain a phonetic version, a piece that gives some indication of the sound of the character. For some learners, this makes it easier to remember how to pronounce the simplified form.
In the end, the choice of simplified characters vs traditional characters comes mainly down to what you plan to do with the language. Someone planning to do business in mainland China will find themselves illiterate should they be familiar only with the traditional Chinese characters, while someone interested in studying historical texts or working in Taiwan will be equally disadvantaged if their only exposure is to simplified Chinese characters.
In general, mainland China uses simplified characters while Taiwan, Hong Kong, many overseas Chinese and older texts use traditional characters. So part of your decision will be based on where you plan to use your Mandarin knowledge and whether or not you are more interested in historical aspects of China or modern business in the Middle Kingdom.
Another consideration is the beauty and complexity of the written characters themselves. Traditional Chinese characters are by far more complex and beautiful than the simplified versions. If you want to impress people with your impeccable Chinese calligraphy, traditional is the way to go.
Some proponents of traditional characters point out that these versions contain more of the history and culture of China within the characters themselves. Pieces of the characters mean specific things, so learning traditional will give you a better appreciation for where the written language came from. For some, this also makes it easier to memorize the meaning of the character.
On the other hand, the simplified versions often contain a phonetic version, a piece that gives some indication of the sound of the character. For some learners, this makes it easier to remember how to pronounce the simplified form.
In the end, the choice of simplified characters vs traditional characters comes mainly down to what you plan to do with the language. Someone planning to do business in mainland China will find themselves illiterate should they be familiar only with the traditional Chinese characters, while someone interested in studying historical texts or working in Taiwan will be equally disadvantaged if their only exposure is to simplified Chinese characters.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Learning Mandarin with a Chinese Tutor
Learning Mandarin Chinese with a tutor is one way to quickly improve your skills, but you need to know what to expect before you start.
A tutor of Mandarin Chinese can help with pronunciation and listening comprehension in a way that a classroom teacher may not be able to. The dedicated one-on-one time spent with a tutor allows you to ask questions and clarify things that might have flown by during class time. Another advantage of a tutor is the ability to schedule classes whenever and wherever you want.
However, a Chinese tutor will typically cost more than group classes, and may be more difficult to find. You may not be able to progress as well as you like if you’re only speaking to someone for one hour a week in your target language.
Perhaps the best way to utilize a Mandarin Chinese tutor is to hire one in conjunction with regular Mandarin classes. That way you can have the best of both worlds and use the tutor for the things you really need help with instead of the basic vocabulary and grammar that you could learn in a cheaper classroom setting.
A tutor of Mandarin Chinese can help with pronunciation and listening comprehension in a way that a classroom teacher may not be able to. The dedicated one-on-one time spent with a tutor allows you to ask questions and clarify things that might have flown by during class time. Another advantage of a tutor is the ability to schedule classes whenever and wherever you want.
However, a Chinese tutor will typically cost more than group classes, and may be more difficult to find. You may not be able to progress as well as you like if you’re only speaking to someone for one hour a week in your target language.
Perhaps the best way to utilize a Mandarin Chinese tutor is to hire one in conjunction with regular Mandarin classes. That way you can have the best of both worlds and use the tutor for the things you really need help with instead of the basic vocabulary and grammar that you could learn in a cheaper classroom setting.
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