Learning Chinese

cynthia   Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:02 am GMT
Do you think learning Chinese is more difficult than English? If you think it is true,what is your reason? If you don't think so,and what is your reason? Also would you please just share your experence about learning these two language? thanks for everyone^^
Shiny   Sat Oct 28, 2006 3:57 pm GMT
Mandarin is my mother language, so I can't tell which is more difficult correctly.

But I will say, Mandarin is more difficult than English, especially the pronunciations and wirtings. But the grammar of Mandarin is simpler.
meesh   Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:53 pm GMT
There is a reason as to why you're getting so few responses, Cynthia ^_^.

For one thing, most people on here speak/learn European languages like German, French, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Swedish, etc. And since people don't know much about Mandarin, they are pretty reluctant to answer your question.

Another thing, people on this forum absolutely abhor the question "Which is more difficult" or "Which is more useful" or "Which is better" because language is a multi-faceted area, preventing it from being classified or compared to each other as whole languages. It might be better if you ask "Which language has easier grammar" or "Which language has easier pronunciation." The second question is also a little bit unacceptable because "ease" of pronunciation depends on what your mother tongue is.

But anyway, back to your question ^_^

In my own opinion, I think Mandarin would be easier to learn because of the grammar. English has complex grammar with too many exceptions to the rules. Mandarin may not have the strictest grammar rules, but I think it would be significantly easier to learn Mandarin grammar.

As for pronunciation...I think English would be easiest for most of the people that participate in this forum. People who speak European languages would have an incredibly difficult time pronouncing Mandarin words. To make pronunciation even harder, people would have to practice the tones of Mandarin!

I, myself, speak Vietnamese, which is a tonal language. Vietnamese might not be that close to Mandarin, but the fact that I can differentiate between tones and the fact there are some (albeit very few) cognates, it would be easier for me to learn Mandarin.

just my $.2

^_^
busky102   Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:48 pm GMT
Don't learn chinese, it's a waist of time. It will take you years to get pretty fluent in chinese. Even though chinese is huge, i would recommend you to take a Language based on the Latin principles, i'm talking about english, spanish ect...
hunah   Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:30 pm GMT
am a 36 year old American male from the USA. For those of you who read www.eslcafe.com, you are familiar with me and my misadventures. I am also married to a PRC citizen. I have lived here for 2 1/2 years.

I live in dialectland, also known as Zhejiang. My wife speaks dialect, but also knows Mandarin. Her mother cannot speak Mandarin. If you stick her mother in Beijing, she might as well be in Marked Tree, Arkansas. I have not been influenced greatly by Putonghua. I know words, and some minor sentences. That's it.

I wish learn Chinese and be fluent at it. If for nothing else, it would allow me to speak to my Chinese family members and friends much better. I want to learn the language also because it might be a bridge to bigger opportunities in the corporate world, or I can become a member of a cause concerning Chinese people that I care about. The question is, is it good to learn this language? Can a foreigner get a masters in Chinese here and teach at a University in the west? Also, for insanity purposes, can a foreigner go to law school here? What a great ability, to be a foreigner and understand legal practices here. This would be an asset, right?

But, don't make fun of chinese people, it could be an awful language, but don't make fun.
Presley.   Sat Nov 04, 2006 2:52 am GMT
«chung chaoi zau yaya linaio naousssss choi choie cacao zuang tuang

im i speaking chinese? or honkongnese hehe »

Um, I really think you should stop wasting YOUR time learning English because you obviously SUCK at it. If you speak English natively, then you are obviously educated poorly, and don't belong on this forum where intelligent, analytical conversation is expected.

Also, you should also stop wasting OUR time with you attempt to be funny. Same goes for you, "cucuso". Hey, did you know that "kukuso" means "eating shit", in Japanese? Of course, you probably won't know the difference between China and Japan so I don't quite understand the reason to why I'm wasting my time...
kawaii   Sat Nov 04, 2006 3:41 am GMT
Difficult as it is, Chinese is very useful for those who want make a fortune in 21st century. Even if you are not interested in business or making money, Chinese also give you a portal to a great civiliztion with a history of more than 4000+. Just think how people in Europe enjoyed French when they were talking about history, arts, and cultrue in 18th and 19th century, that is what is happening in East Asia when people are discussing arts, history and culture.

Anyway, you can also refuse to learn such a difficult language, but someday your teacher, manager, or business partner will persuade you to learn some chinese, that is no fun, it is a tredency in this century.

By the way, Chinese grammer is easier than English.
Christina   Fri Nov 10, 2006 7:19 am GMT
You are right! Now learning Chinese is becoming hotter and hotter. Comparing with the Garmma, speaking, writing, I think it's culture that bothers people most. Do you have some problem in doing business with Chinese? Do you feel frustrated since you can hardly figure out what they really mean through those ambiguous words? That’s the Chinese culture. Don’t worry I can help you. I am a native Chinese, and now pursuing master degree in Management. I would like to introduce some China behavior culture, hoping it can give you some help. I am always right here waiting for you!

For more information about me, please link here:
http://www.echineseonline.com/j.do?sid=Christina&type=1&personal=1
tutu   Mon Nov 13, 2006 3:38 pm GMT
is the japanese alphabet based on chinese or viceversa ?
Presley.   Tue Nov 14, 2006 12:26 am GMT
Yes. Both of the Japanese alphabets, Hiragana and Katakana, are progressive phoneticizations of Chinese characters (Han Zi, or in Japanese, Kanji).

The Korean alphabet, or, Hangul has its roots in Chinese characters as well. (Chinese characters are called Hanja in Korean.)

In turn, a small handfull of Kanji which were simplified in Japanese, were later used by the Chinese when they simplified their writing system in the 20th century. However, this is an insignificant and yet controversial issue, so...
Sergio   Tue Nov 14, 2006 1:27 am GMT
Hola Presley,

Creo que es muy poco común conocer a alguien que hable como lenguas maternas simultáneamente coreano y japonés. Según lo poco que he leído, estos idiomas son similares en cuanto a su estructura, pero parece que no provienen de la misma raíz, ¿no es verdad?.

Quizá para ti los dos son igualmente fáciles (o difíciles), pero desde mi punto de vista tengo algunas preguntas para ti:

1.- ¿Cuales son sus similitudes más marcadas entre los dos?
2.- ¿Cuáles son sus diferencias más típicas entre los dos?
3.- ¿Qué es lo más difícil en cada uno de ellos?
4.- ¿En Corea es usual aprender los Hanja hoy en día o sólo Hangul?

I find these languages, together with Chinese, incredibly interesting in all what they are. You can answer me in English by the way, I wrote you in Spanish because I am in a hurry right now, and I know that you understand Spanish very well.
Sergio   Wed Nov 15, 2006 11:03 pm GMT
Hi Presley,

I don't know if you read my previous post. I am looking forward to reading your comments on it. :-)
Presley.   Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:26 pm GMT
Hola, Sergio.

Tenía la gripe ayer, y no podría responder a tus preguntas. (Correct me if my Spanish is incorrect.)

To answer your questions, the grammar in Japanese and Korean are practically identicle. There are only very (VERY) slight and minor differences. As far as vocabulary, Japanese and Korean share virtually all of the words which are derived from Chinese, so it's a pretty good chunk. (I can't really say the exact number off the bat, but I'm sure you'll find it somewhere in Wikipedia or something.)

From PERSONAL (I don't wish to offend anyone who is overly sensitive to the "level of difficulty" topic, but I am fluent in both.) experience, I would say that Japanese would probably be easier to pronounce, especially if you speak Spanish. Korean has crazy vowels and consonants which are almost impossible to pronounce unless you speak it from a young age.

In Korea, Hanja is not quite as essential in daily use as it is in Japan. South Koreans usually learn Hanja in school and have a pretty good knowledge of them, but it is not nearly as widely used. The main purpose of learning Hanja would be to understand the root meanings of certain words. It is almost purely for academic and intellectual purposes. (Alothough it does have cultural significance as well.) I read somewhere that North Koreans do not use Hanja.

Hopefully I was able to be of some help.
Sergio   Fri Nov 17, 2006 1:57 am GMT
Hola Presley,

As you asked me, there is only one correction to your sentence in Spanish: podría (conditional) should be pude (indefinido).

Thank you very much for your answer, it was very helpful. I am namely very interested in both languages since a couple of months, and perhaps I will start seriously to learn some of them, or who knows, even dare to try both of them. Then I will of course come to you with a mountain of questions :-)

I was trying to figure out how one of the crazy vowels in Korean should sound like. The explanation says, it sounds something like "aw" in "lawn", and is romanized as "eo".

Do your parents speak to each other in each of these languages or do they forcely use a third language as a bridge?

How good are you at reading the Kanjis, if you attend an american school where Japanese is not taught? or don't you read Japanese at all? and Korean?
Presley.   Fri Nov 17, 2006 5:21 pm GMT
Thank you for the correction. Spanish verbs are a pain to me.

Yeah, the vowel "-l (eo)" is kinda like if the "eo" in French. It's almost in the middle of "a" and "o", but it also sounds a bit like "u". It's very difficult to explain. The "–(eu)" is just as weird.

My dad speaks Japanese and some English, and my mom speaks Korean, moderately proficient Japanese, and some English. My parents usually speak in Japanese, but they argue - and yell - in their own seperate languages. (It's actually quite funny.)

I was born in Japan and spent my first ten years there, so by that time I had some schooling in Japanese. I was still later forced to attend Japanese school on Saturdays and Korean school on Friday nights in addition to my normal American school throughout the week. Also I watch Korean and Japanese broadcasting on T.V. (channel 18 KSCI is you live in Southern California), so I have can read and write in both. Since I quit Japanese school, my proficiency in Kanji has decreased slightly, but I'm not terrible.