1、jc/10/10An Introduction of An Introduction of Chinese LanguageChinese LanguageJulin Chen, Project Tui Dong Li SpecialistNathalie Longre-Guevara, Project Tui Dong Li DirectorOctober 19, 2010jc/10/10Special AcknowledgementslLisa NoltinglJackie WickslTeachers of Mandarin immersion programjc/10/10Why Le

2、arn Why Learn MandarinMandarin? ?lOne fifth of the planet speaks Chinese. Mandarin Chinese is the mother tongue of over one billion people, making it the most widely spoken first language in the world. jc/10/10Why Learn Why Learn MandarinMandarin? ?lChinese culture is over 5000 years old. By learnin

3、g the Chinese Language, you will learn another culture. Learning a language gives you a better understanding through the grammar and even how the words are derived of the culture behind them. jc/10/10Why Learn Why Learn MandarinMandarin? ?lChina is one of the largest trading partners of the United S

4、tates. To take advantage of this huge economic shift and opportunities, learning to speak Chinese is a great way to give our children an advantage in the increasingly competitive business world. jc/10/10The Languages in ChinalChinese Language in ChinaThe language of the Han people, the major ethnic

5、group of China.Spoken by over one billion peopleApproximately 95 percent of the Chinese populationlNon-Chinese Languages in ChinaThe languages of Tibetan, Mongolian, Uygur, Miao, Korean and other 53 minorities, except Hui and She.lMajority Chinese-speaking population is in China, Hong Kong, and Taiw

6、an, lSubstantial numbers are also foundthroughout the southeast Asia, especially in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. lImportant Chinese-speaking communities are also found in many other parts of the world, especially in Europe, North and South America, and the Hawaiian Islands.jc/10/10C

7、hinese Language and its dialectslSpoken Chinese comprises many regional dialects. Each dialect group consists of a large number of sub-dialects. lThe boundaries between one so-called dialect and the next are not always easy to define. lMost Chinese speak one of the Mandarin dialects, which are large

8、ly mutually intelligible.jc/10/10Chinese Language and its dialectslMandarin language group forms the largest group. The Mandarin group consists of a wide range of dialects in the northern, central, and western regions. lWu dialectThe majority of the inhabitants of Zhejiang, as well as people living

9、in southern areas of Jiangsu and Anhui, speak the Wu dialects. The Wu dialects share marginal mutual intelligibility with the Mandarin and Gan dialects.lCantonese dialectCantonese are spoken in Hong Kong, Guangdong, Southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, parts of Hainan, Macau, and in many overs

10、eas settlements, esp. in the United States.jc/10/10Chinese Language and its dialectslKejia (Hakka) dialectsKejia dialects are spoken in Guangdong, southwestern Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hainan, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, many overseas Chinese communities

11、, and in pockets throughout Southeast Asia. lXiang dialects Most of the inhabitants of the south central region in Hunan use the Xiang dialects, also known as Hunanese. lMin dialects Min dialects are spoken in most of Fujian, large areas of Taiwan and Hainan, parts of Eastern Guangdong and the Leizh

12、ou Bandao Peninsula, and in areas of Southeast Asia. lGan dialects Most of the people living in Jiangxi, eastern part of Hunan, and the southeastern corner of Hubei use the Gan dialectsjc/10/10Grammar, Pronunciation, and VocabularylThe various forms of Chinese differ least in grammar, more in vocabu

13、lary, and most in pronunciation. For exampleIn English:Sister, please pass me the cotton yarn.In Mandarin: 妹妹，棉紗線拿來妹妹，棉紗線拿來In Pinyin: Mimei,min sh xin n li.Wu Dialect: Mm, m so x do li.jc/10/10MandarinMandarinlMandarin is spoken across most of northern and southwestern Mainland China. It is the medi

14、um of instruction in all schools nationwide. lThe Mandarin dialect spoken in Beijing functions as the official spoken language of the mainland China (Putonghua), lthe official language of Taiwan (Guoyu), land one of the official languages of Singapore(Huayu).jc/10/10Tones and homophonesTones and hom

15、ophoneslOfficial modern Mandarin has only 400 spoken monosyllables lbut there are over 10,000 written characters, so there are many homophones only distinguishable by the four tones. lEven this is often not enough unless the context and exact phrase or c (詞) is identified.jc/10/10The Mandarin tone s

16、ystemlMandarin uses four tones to clarify the meanings of words. Since many characters have the same sound, tones are used to differentiate words from each other. The four tones in Mandarin are: high level first tonerising second tone falling rising third tone falling fourth tone jc/10/10The Mandari

17、n tone systemlPinyin uses tone marks to indicate the tones. Here is the word ma with tone marks: First tone: m motherSecond tone: m linenThird tone: m horseFourth tone: m scoldlThe tones are used to determine the meaning of a Mandarin word. So m (horse) is very different from m (mother). jc/10/10The

18、 Mandarin tone systemlMandarin tones are especially difficult for English speakers. Here is another example, Suppose you are reading a book and your brother (or sister or child) keeps on interrupting you. You are likely to become exasperated and say “Im trying to read a book!” In English, this would

19、 be said with an emphatic falling tone at the end. But if you use a falling tone in Mandarin, the meaning completely changes. W yo kn sh. 我要看書我要看書。= I want to read a book. W yo kn sh. 我要砍樹我要砍樹。= I want to cut trees! The second version of this sentence would have your listeners scratching their heads

20、. lSo practice the tones! They are essential for speaking and understanding Mandarin. jc/10/10The Chinese Writing SystemlThe Chinese writing system developed more than 4,000 years ago;l the oldest extant examples of written Chinese are from the 14th or 15th cent. B.C., in Shang dynasty. lNow baihua has been used for all writing, including governmental, commercial, and journalistic texts as well as literary works.jc/10/10The number of Chinese charactersThe number of Chinese