Mandarin is an ancient and interesting language, and the benefits associated with mastering it today are numerous. Mastering this language, however, is not simple and easy, predominantly due to the fact that it lacks a phonetic alphabet. Don't worry. I have lived, and learned, in China for several years, and I am going to share some information that will help you accomplish your Chinese language learning goals. In order to be good at learning Mandarin Mandarin you need to follow these three important steps. Read my Rocket Chinese Review if you want to check out the software I used to master pinyin.
Step One: Get a Good Grasp of Pinyin
What is Pinyin? As I stated previously, Chinese characters, in general, aren't phonetic, meaning they have no sounds attributed to them. Instead, they are pictographs, symbols that represent distinct thoughts and ideas. These pictographs are very effective for the purpose of communicating visually, through reading and writing. For instance, if I draw a stick figure in the shape of the human form, we can both look at it and understand that I am communicating something about a human being. The problem occurs anytime people from completely different geographical territories get together and make an attempt to communicate verbally.
Why is there an issue? Because in my town people may see the aforementioned stick figure and enunciate it "person." In your village, on the other hand, people may see the identical figure and enunciate it "potato," which makes it very hard for us to communicate verbally. Pinyin was developed to resolve this issue, and it is the only way for you to understand how to properly pronounce words and phrases in Mandarin Chinese. So, prior to studying how to read, write or pronounce Chinese characters, you have to learn pinyin.
Step 2: Start Communicating Verbally
As soon as you understand pinyin, you need to use it, accompanied by a native Chinese speaker, to learn how to properly pronounce Chinese, including getting the hang of Chinese tones. I know, you don't have enough time to head over to The far east and learn with a native Chinese person. Don't worry. There are a number of software packages and web-based courses out there that have recordings made by Chinese speakers.
It's essential to take advantage of these courses. It is extremely difficult to sit and learn how to pronounce Chinese tones without listening to them spoken by a native Chinese speaker. How essential is it to get the tones correct? A lot of Chinese words have four different definitions, each of which is expressed by a change of tone. If you don't master your tones, you won't be able to converse effectively using the Chinese language.
Step Three: Dive Into Chinese Characters
Once you've perfected pinyin, you'll be able to progress to studying Chinese characters. Why should you do this last? Because when you memorize the meaning of a Chinese character, you'll naturally assign a sound to it. Of course, in the beginning, you will simply translate the meaning straight into your own native language. As you progress, though, you will want to develop the ability to "hear" the appropriate sound, in Mandarin, in your head. In addition, if you plan on utilizing your ability to read Chinese characters in a functional setting, in a diner, for example, you'll have to have the ability to pronounce them properly, and the only way to do that is to first master pinyin and pronunciation.
Conclusion
Mandarin is the most spoken language worldwide, and, with the financial and political rise of Mainland China, learning the language has many practical advantages. Sure, it's a somewhat challenging language to understand, but if you carry out the three steps outlined above, your improvement will be swift and painless.
Best of luck to you!
Ryan Wiley
The Live in Asia Blog
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