Chinese lessons

[brett]

Some things about Chinese appear simple (like sentence structure). And I am definately beginning to recognise certain characters.

I did actually manage to pick up quite a bit of Japanese without having formal tuition. But if find that the tonal nature of Chinese is really alien to my ears. I can tell if someone is speaking Mandarin or Cantonese, but so far that's it.

My lady tells me that my written Chinese is good. I think I am starting to learn how to write English sentences that translate well. I'll see if I can teach her the same.

My Mandarin course starts in October - I'm very lucky to work at a University with an excellent reputation for language tuition!

[Willy The Londoner]

Chinese gets easier as you listen to it more.   For the first 6 weeks here I did not feel that i was learning very well then suddenly i was starting to understand the odd word here and there.   Suddenly my learning takes on a new dimension and I strive to learn and use a new phrase every day.  It is just a matter of using ones that you can use more often whilst living here.

My new girl friend has a great speaking voice and her enthusiasm to teach me Chinese is only matched by her wish to speak English.  

I have no intention of learning to read and write the symbols at least not for a year or two.  When I am in conversation we are talking not reading so the reading will come later.  The ones I do learn are the bus destination signs.

Willy

[brett]

Yes I found the same with Japanese. The first time I went there I couldn't understand a thing. The second time I could figure out the social heirarchy of people and I could pick up bits of conversation.

I also learnt a bit of katakana and was able to figure out what I was ordering from the restaurant vending machines! Also I could remember the kanjii characters for the various station stops which was a relief as the cheaper private railway lines weren't big on English signage.

[Andy]

Chinese gets easier as you listen to it more.   For the first 6 weeks here I did not feel that i was learning very well then suddenly i was starting to understand the odd word here and there.   Suddenly my learning takes on a new dimension and I strive to learn and use a new phrase every day.  It is just a matter of using ones that you can use more often whilst living here.

My new girl friend has a great speaking voice and her enthusiasm to teach me Chinese is only matched by her wish to speak English.  

I have no intention of learning to read and write the symbols at least not for a year or two.  When I am in conversation we are talking not reading so the reading will come later.  The ones I do learn are the bus destination signs.

Willy

In China the buses are numbered or there is another system? I just wonder if I can use public transportation by myself if I ask someone which bus to take to certain place.

[Willy The Londoner]

In China the buses are numbered or there is another system? I just wonder if I can use public transportation by myself if I ask someone which bus to take to certain place.

The buses have regular numbers .. I remember one I rode on was for route 531

there are interchanges where many buses arrive and you have to check the number to get the right one for your route ... people are helpful but they might not always know english .... the bus fare was cheap, usually 1 yuan per ride

The buses I rode on had an automated voice to tell you next stop is ....
and it was in Chinese  

also the buses had flat screen TV's, one in the front, and one in the middle.

Mike

Mike is right.  They have numbers.  The destination is written in Simplified and on a couple of occasions I have got to the end of the line to find that I have been going the wrong way. And so now I have the bus destinations written out for me.  

Problem is I have so many of these cards now that I have to carry a filing cabinet with me - maybe I could put them onto computer!!!

Willy

[Philip]

Hi guys, I am up to my 9th Chinese lesson. Each week, we have been looking at some of the 54 radicals that originated in pictorial representations and which form the root of a lot of Chinese characters.
e.g. the radical for wood looks a bit like a tree, and is the basis for words like crops or rice. Often characters will be made up of two parts combined. If you are interested, I can try and print more. Sorry I can't show the tones.

[size=20]? - mu - wood
? -  tian  - field
? -  ma   - horse
? -  men -  door
? - shou - hand
? - xin    - heart[/size]

Alex

[Scottish_Rob]

Yeah mate the charge is One Yuan...The number bus I took today was 222, hehe I missed my stop but recognised something so I got off...haha

[brett]

Thanks Alex. I'm on about my 6th week of Chinese classes and for the first time I really think I am starting to get the hang of it. If my lady was here then I think I would be making very rapid progress indeed. My tones are quite good but I need more work at listening, especially because there is a listening test in a fortnight!

Our teacher is excellent (well it is a University level course) and it is useful to see a top quality language teacher in action.

I know about 70 hanzi characters now, I bought the Tuttle flashcards which are really good because I can now make a little pile of the ones I know, then test myself every night to see if I remember them. I find that they are quite easy to remember now.

I am also winning a lot of respect from my lady from my new found knowledge of her language :icon_cheesygrin:!