Thread: Ni Hao Everyone!

It looks as if there's not much traffic here.

Are there any posters here that are proficient in Chinese?

Let me know you levels of proficiency and I'll see if I can increase the Chinese traffic here. What say you?

C

I'm not proficient at all... i just began pretty much.. only word i know is Xiexie lol but other then that i started to listen to the cassettes that came with my course (Teach Yourself Chinese) and it started with "initials" then "finals" ... anyways had difficulty with the initials because the tape doesn't say which initials the speaker is pronouncing and in the book they arent numbered to indicate which one is being pronounced... does anyone have this course book/cassettes and can tell me about the initials in the introduction of the book? ...

Yes, the Teach Yourself series is really bad about not tying the audio more closely with the text. All there books are like that I think. I only buy the book if there are no other options.

what courses on Mandarin would you recommend? Beginner's Chinese by Yong Ho? .... I can only learn PinYin from Teach Yourself Chinese.. forget the pronunciation... can't tell what goes with what... also would like a good Tagalog course... I would like to try the courses on www.audioforum.com but they tend to be a little pricey for me...

A good Tagalog course is exceeding difficult to find. I've never seen a decent one and the best of the dismal is "Tagalog for non-Tagalogs".

As far as the Chinese courses go, there are a number of them.

There is the Pimsleur Language series (three levels of 30 lessons each) which can bring you to a reasonably conversational level without the use of books (It's all speaking and listening). Pricey!

There is also the Getting By In Chinese series of audio cassettes (2 cassettes and a booklet) which is a rather nice complement to the more formal feel of Pimsleur.

(I've archived my Pimsleurs and GBIC as mp3 files on a CD)

For reading and grammar, there is the Basic Course in Chinese by the faculty of Beijing University. The book (and probably the vernacular) is from the 1960's, but it provides a usable framework for building your own sentences. As a read, it is excruciatingly slow, but again, the information is pretty good if you concentrate on the grammar stuff.

There are also a number of online resources you can exploit. Google "chinese grammar" and see what works for you.

Naturally, there's no magic bullet aside from complete immersion.

I might also recommend talking with the guys at the Chinese restaurants. Here in Augusta, GA I've run into the accent of Fujian (SE China) which is slightly different from the standard Beijing dialect. I also run into Taiwanese from time to time which can cause problems for the learner of reading and writing (Taiwan does not use the simplified characters).

The place I've had the greatest success with finding Beijing dialect speakers is at the university.

Hope this helps you out a bit.

You can message me by yahoo messenger at "crux_online"

C

In my opinion you need to get some sort of book.

I'm learning with Pimsleur and it's good for learning conversational phrases, but that's not what attaining practical fluency is all about. If you want to converse with people, you need to learn at least pinyin so you can look up new words you hear, read, etc.

Originally Posted by BlackMage

If you want to converse with people, you need to learn at least pinyin so you can look up new words you hear, read, etc.

Absolutely.

Pinyin is the primary phonetic transliteration schema (the Yale transliteration doesn't seem to have been used in decades to any significant degree).

But as he stated, he's got a book; he needs pronunciation and a (decent) audio system is required unless he speaks with a native speaker.

Rounder: Once you've gotten the basic resources (audio and print) that seem to help you progress at least a little, get a *good* chinese dictionary. You will learn nothing useful without it (unless you're content with ordering Kung Pao Chicken and asking for chopsticks)

C

LoL Crux... anyways I was thinking of getting the Ultimate Chinese Course by Living Language.. i have the italian course and that one is very good... very simple to learn and well organized and the audio corresponds very well with the textbook... I might just sell the Teach Yourself Chinese on ebay or something.... the audio disappointed me... does anyone else have the Ultimate Chinese one? ... I also forgot to mention that i live in New York so there is no shortage of different chinese dialects lol ... but I have no chinese friends here just Filipina friends... I do have friends in china that i chat with on MSN messenger though.. i met them through a chatroom... if anyone wants to meet chinese people that way let me know.. i'll tell ya which site and such... anyways other then that does anyone know any chinese in NY that you can put me in contact with.. preferably female lol jk..

我会说和写中文一点点。 我已经住在中国一个半年了。 在中国我教英语了。 但我上个九月回来美国因为一个护照的问题。 在中国我认识一个俄国的女人。 我们成为很很很好朋友了。 所以我开始学俄语。 她现在我的订婚， 但她也有了一个护照的问题所以他现在在乌克兰。 我们希望明年结婚。 我一月去乌克兰。 我在乌克兰再教英语。。。

i finally got the Ultimate Chinese Course (cassette version) from Living Language (bought it cheap on amazon.com) in the mail today.. i only skimmed through the book but it looks exactly what I am looking for.. very well organized and the cassettes look like they correspond with the material in the book.. beginning with pin yin and the four tones.. don't know who else has this course but if you do tell me what your opinion on this course is.... :P

talk with foreigners is a interest thing,跟外国人说话真是一件有趣的事情

talk with foreigners is a interest thing,跟外国人说话真是一件有趣的事情

I don' t know how i bumped into this site.Interesting.I live in Guangzhou, China.If you want to learn Chinese or talk to Chinese, contact me:christy_fresh@yahoo.com.cn

Chinese is the language I want to learn when I'm finished with Russian.

Finished with Russian??????? I don't think I will ever reach that stage...