A Quick Look At Learning Mandarin   by Ben Pate

in Education / Languages    (submitted 2010-12-20)

When someone tells you that you should learn Mandarin, your first response is probably a blank stare followed by one word, why. For some reason few of us seem to really understand just how important being able to speak Mandarin really is. Right now, Mandarin is the most commonly spoken language in the world. Over 1 billion people consider Mandarin their first language.

It is the official language of both mainland China and Taiwan It is also one of the official languages of both Singapore and Hong Kong. When you learn Mandarin, both the language and the culture, you will be setting yourself up for bigger and better business opportunities.

The Mandarin language is a variation of a Chinese language that is called Sino-Tibetan. One of the things that people do not realize is that there are currently two different types of the Mandarin languages. The two types of Mandarin are Putonghua, which is the official language of mainland China, and Kuo-yu, which is the language that the ROC government recognizes. This is important to know if you plan on spending more time in one country as opposed to the other.

Do not be surprised if you find that learning how to speak Mandarin is incredibly difficult. The language is complicated. Mandarin is a tonal language as are all other Chinese dialects. Learning this language is considerably easier if you have a music background.

If you lack musical training, you should consider taking some singing lessons before you start learning to speak Mandarin. Not only will the voice training help you hear certain tones, it will also help you form the Mandarin words.

The people who are able to immerse themselves in the Mandarin culture and who learn the language from native speakers are usually the ones who are able to pick up the language the quickest. If spending time in a Chinese community is not an option, you will have to look at additional ways to learn the language. Possible solutions include hiring a private language tutor, listening to language lessons tapes and taking classes at a local community college. There are pros and cons to each method of learning the language

When you are taking a Mandarin language training, you also need to consider learning how to read the language. Even if you are not going to be dealing with official business documents and are just visiting the country, being able to read the signs will come in handy. Even if you do not have the time or inclination to learn how to read words, you should at least take the time to learn the basic Mandarin alphabet.

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There is a good chance that, at some point in your life, you are going to be very glad that you have been learning Chinese online. Knowing the language will help you land jobs that you might not have gotten otherwise. Even if you never visit China, your friends and family will be impressed by your ability to suddenly start speaking this rather complex language. Check out language training courses in your area.