Taiji Bum Posted April 28, 2007 What type of Chinese do they speak at- 1-Shaolin 2-Chen Village 3-Beijng 4-Taiwan 5-Wudang monastery other places you can think of too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smile Posted April 29, 2007 I would say, go with Mandarin. Pimsleur course on CDs is pretty good if you can't afford a real tutor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cameron Posted April 29, 2007 I tried to elarn years ago by enrolling in a class at a community college but all the other students were Chinese and were basically already fluent and taking the class for an easy A. I dropped it as they would spend the class speaking with the teacher while I was still trying to learn basic stuff. Ime too busy with stuff now but if I get motivated to learn would probably enroll in a college course to get started. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sean Posted April 29, 2007 Active Chinese http://www.activechinese.com/ Hello! Mandarin http://www.hellomandarin.com/courses/course-survival.html Modern Chinese Learning http://www.modernchineselearning.com ChinesePod http://www.chinesepod.com/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted April 29, 2007 What type of Chinese do they speak at- 1-Shaolin 2-Chen Village 3-Beijng 4-Taiwan 5-Wudang monastery other places you can think of too. Far as I know, they speak Cantonese in Shaolin (which they pronounce Siu Lum Kuen) and in Chen Village. Shaolin is a Buddhist monastery in the Mahayana tradition... not that they will shoo a taoist away with a Plum Blossom Shaft or anything, but just in case... Chen Village is a place involved in some political turmoil or other lately, so I've heard. They used to be dirt poor... a local proverb went, "When dead, the worst is the devil under the earth, when alive, the worst is the fields of Chen Village." With new prosperity came modern-style corruption, so I'm not sure what you will find. I'd be curious to know. They speak Mandarin in Beijing and Taiwan. Wudang monastery -- which one? There used to be many (hundreds), do you know what the situation is today? Since they appointed Communist Party officials to serve as taoist priests, the latter are likely to speak Mandarin... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sean Posted May 10, 2007 ActiveChinese is having a special for anyone interesting in learning Mandarin. With ActiveChinese's powerful top-down approach of instruction, learning a new language is fun, fast and easy! Now is the Perfect Time to Act! From now through Mother's Day, Save 10% and get and your satisfaction is guaranteed with our 7-day money-back return policy! 3-year Membership - Reg. $260... Now $234 Order Today! Online at http://www.activechinese.com/signupnew.jsp Use coupon code mother05 while ordering. Hurry, this offer expires May 13, 2007 I've been dabbling with Mandarin in my spare time btw. How many Chinese speakers do we have here? Maybe we should take a poll sometime. I have an amazing friend who has offered to lead me through the classics of Chinese cultivation literature (Dao De Jing, Zhuang Zi, Da Xue, Huang Di Nei Jing, Yi Jing, etc) in classical Chinese (gasp!) but my first assignment is getting some rudimentary Mandarin down. Site above and the others one I quoted further above looked pretty cool for anyone interesting in learning Mandarin at home. Sean Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smile Posted May 10, 2007 (edited) I have a Pimsleur program plus 4 hours a week of private lessons with a teacher. I noticed that since we stated learning the characters my mandarin improved a lot. Edit: I went to that site and tested some of thier classes. Very well done. Edited May 10, 2007 by Smile Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gendao Posted May 10, 2007 (edited) What type of Chinese do they speak at- 1-Shaolin 2-Chen Village 3-Beijng 4-Taiwan 5-Wudang monastery other places you can think of too. First off, Mandarin is the official dialect for all of China - so everyone there should be able to speak it...although they often prefer to speak their own regional dialect instead. As there are 22 provinces, this means about 22 dialects...some which sound quite similar to Mandarin, others which sound unintelligibly different. Cantonese is only spoken in Guangdong (Canton) - which as you can see is far to the south... 1 & 2 are both in Henan Province. They do not speak Cantonese here, but closer to Mandarin. 3 - They speak Beijing dialect here - which is basically Mandarin with a slurring at the end. 4 - They speak pretty proper Mandarin here. 5 is just south of Henan in Hubei. So, I'm guessing not too different than at 1 & 2. Edited May 10, 2007 by vortex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted May 10, 2007 For those Yuppie Ipoders. Most libraries have CD's of Chinese Pimsleurs along w/ other language systems available. Doesn't take long to suck'em into the Pod. Pimsleurs system takes it nice and slow which I like. Michael Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeform Posted May 10, 2007 The best way to learn a language is to use a natural method such as The Birkenbihl-Approach to Language Learning (the link is to a pdf ebook)... The Birkenbihl method is definately superior to standard language learning, and although there are no easy-to-pick-up courses in this style the ebook can help a lot... enjoy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yoda Posted October 23, 2009 here's a rockin out site: http://sonicnovel.com/kanjihanzi.html and click on 'the learn to read and write Chinese characters' for a nice 5 minute introduction to the topic. A very nice approach to learning the characters appropriate to the western student desiring to understand how the Chinese have traditionally assembled their thoughts about the world. Also, this is a very nice site too: http://www.themaninchina.com/readingchinesecharacters.htm Dictionary instructions!!! I own a dictionary but don't know enough to even crack it open! Please excuse that fire extinguisher towards the bottom of the page... I'm not sure what that's all about. Yoda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TianhuaQigong Posted October 23, 2009 There are Two Shaolin, One in Cantonese call South Shaolin one in Chinese call North Shaolin. all educated people should be able to speak Mandarin even those people speak Cantonese .Taiwan Sinjiapo speak Mandarin too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wudangspirit Posted October 23, 2009 They all speak Putongua (mandarin). It is the national language. Of course each region or area will also have their own dialect. In the north you'll here a lot of "rrrr" endings. Especially Beijing. In Taiwan they speak Taiwan dialect Mandarin and other stronger dialects as well. In the Fujian Shaolin temple they will speak Mandarin but if you travel around they will speak Fukienese. Sounds different and is. At Wudang they speak Mandarin but they also have their own dialect but only will speak that to those who know it. Sichuan also has their own when you go to Emei mt. In Guangdong they speak both Cantonese and Mandarin but the regional language is Cantonese. There are also dialects of Cantonese like in Tai Shan. My wife is a Chinese Linguist from Guangzhou. If you want to know any more or get something translated let me know. Wudangspirit What type of Chinese do they speak at- 1-Shaolin 2-Chen Village 3-Beijng 4-Taiwan 5-Wudang monastery other places you can think of too. You are seriously misinformed. In Shaolin they speak Mandarin and in Chen Village. The Southern Temple in Fujian they may speak Fukienese but most will speak Mandarin since the monks there are made up of monks all over China. Far as I know, they speak Cantonese in Shaolin (which they pronounce Siu Lum Kuen) and in Chen Village. Shaolin is a Buddhist monastery in the Mahayana tradition... not that they will shoo a taoist away with a Plum Blossom Shaft or anything, but just in case... Chen Village is a place involved in some political turmoil or other lately, so I've heard. They used to be dirt poor... a local proverb went, "When dead, the worst is the devil under the earth, when alive, the worst is the fields of Chen Village." With new prosperity came modern-style corruption, so I'm not sure what you will find. I'd be curious to know. They speak Mandarin in Beijing and Taiwan. Wudang monastery -- which one? There used to be many (hundreds), do you know what the situation is today? Since they appointed Communist Party officials to serve as taoist priests, the latter are likely to speak Mandarin... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
exorcist_1699 Posted October 24, 2009 (edited) All Chinese in China speak Mandarin notwithstanding the fact that every province , no matter it is Henan, where the famous Shaolin temple located, or Hubei , where the mysterious Wudanshan situated , all has its respective dialect . However, the northern dialects mostly sound close to Mandarin , while the Southern dialects , say Cantonese and Fujianese ,sound very different . Anyway, if you speak to a Chinese in Mandarin, he /she likely understands what you say, and will react by shifting from his /her dialect to Mandarin , and answers you . This is just some kind of cultural, unspoken rule. The force that unites China is its unitary Chinese characters, not those dialects , and , Mandarin is very close to the written form of Chinese . Reading Chinese and writing Chinese is very different from speaking it . To foreigners, there is quite a huge gap in between . However, without having read and understand Goethe and Kant, hardly can you claim of understanding the German spirit ? In case of the Chinese Taoist cultivation , it is especially severe for those crucial keys are deliberately expressed in strange ,classical Chinese jargons and poems . Yet no matter how difficult it is , what worthier of learning than things really telling you the secrets of getting rid of aging , even death ? Edited November 2, 2009 by exorcist_1699 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
findley Posted October 24, 2009 .... ... ...I think it takes two years as a full-time student of chinese to learn really learn mandarin... You could probably spend a good 3rd year getting really proficient with it, or start digging into traditional chinese... you would probablyw ant to spend a full year or two studying either of these... I think the CD's you find in the library are a far shot from studying contemporary chinese philosophy, or laying foundations for beginning study into traditional chinese. If you're serious, I think you need to spend a couple years in china... ...It's actually not hard. If you can't do it as a student, then if you get here on a travel visa, you could probably find a job teaching english. It's kind of an intimidating thing to do, but only until you get here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
~jK~ Posted October 24, 2009 Some years back I took a medical course where I needed to memorize 500 new words every week & be tested on it. I finished the course with a 4.0 and a new confidence with sleep learning. I played the recording of the class about 20 hours per day - while working and sleeping and driving - but not in class. Recently I decided to learn Putonwa - so... I looked around Hong Kong and found this little set of a 200 page Phrasebook with a Spoken CD to get you accustomed to hearing it and speaking it. By the way - the Chinese call Mandarin: Putonwa. When I went looking for Putonwa - I searched for something I could sleep learn with. I bought it about 3 weeks ago and am Very happy with it. I just play it at night as there's no test deadline... ISBN 978-0-00-724681-6 Collins Mandarin Phrasebook Travel tickets are less expensive here in Hong Kong and even less in Macau but I trust Hong Kong more - write me before you come and I'll ask a friend to help you By the Way - you look a lot like a friend of mine that I knew in Oahu named Larry... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
~jK~ Posted October 25, 2009 (edited) One more is that Chinese computer-servers use a system that can be downloaded here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie.html The electricity is 50 cycle - not USA 60 cycle and it is 250V so if you carry a laptop - bring a converter. The wall plug is different too. New! a Hong Kong to Beijing train On the web page It says Kowloon to Beijing - but Kowloon is a city in Hong Kong http://www.train-ticket.net/asia/china/bindex.htm The ticket prices are in Hong Kong $ which are 7.75 HK$ to every one USA $ ( 100 US$ = 775 HK$) It's a 24 hour trip - non-stop - the prices are varied according to th sleeper provided... Also the tickets are one way - Buy the return ticket in Beijing. The Beijing ticket may be in Chinese Yuan (also called RMB) so ask before you go as there are many, many foreign $ exchange shops in Hong Kong. You will get to see the entire eastern portion of China. (1500 miles) in one day. I've been the southern route from Hong Kong to Burma some years back for 75 US$ - by bus - it took 2 weeks but it is something I'll never forget... I got to see China as developing. I was the first blue eye most had seen. Entire villages with one T.V. antennae that were located beside a cave where they mined the red earth to make bricks for their homes... Old wooden carts, with wooden wheels, being pulled by the farmers family to the market to sell their organic produce - on a newly paved super highway. I flew to Beijing - the Great Wall, Forbidden palace, Many Major Taoist temples, Tienamin Square, Confucian temples, Buddhist monestaries, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and more are less than an hour's bus ride away - Including a Shop 'Till You Drop that is a professional shopper's l "Shop 'Till You Drop"... The Chinese way of going places is to become a part of a tour group which usually comes with a guide, a historian and hotel rooms at the destination as well as a contract with a bus company that will take you around. The average tour group is about 20 people - some will speak English. Edited October 26, 2009 by ~jK~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yoda Posted November 2, 2009 I found a really great book that gives an origin based approach to learning basic characters. Very cool... gives a bit of cultural history at the same time. The 4 characters for Bank of America means: store "a place where people walk to" silver "gold that resists the hammer" beautiful country "beautiful country that is guarded by weapons". It's a real honor that someone in China decided that America is a beautiful country! May we live up to that!!! Tao Toe, Yoda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that Posted November 2, 2009 I found a really great book that gives an origin based approach to learning basic characters. Very cool... gives a bit of cultural history at the same time. The 4 characters for Bank of America means: store "a place where people walk to" silver "gold that resists the hammer" beautiful country "beautiful country that is guarded by weapons". It's a real honor that someone in China decided that America is a beautiful country! May we live up to that!!! Tao Toe, Yoda Ya, the 'mei' from mei guo(America)does mean that Yoda but it's only because it sounds the same as the middle part of America to them, so they translated it to that as a sound that was to them somewhat similar. Japanese are the most hated with Americans second on the list, sorry to tell you that. If it's any consolation their not so kean on the English either bearing in mind we apparently burned down their summer palace and stole lots of stuff... and not to forget Hong Kong too. England is called 'Ying Guo' the sound related to England being similar to 'ying'. 'Ying' means 'hero', but I can assure you they certainly don't consider us heroic. We're third on the list. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yoda Posted November 2, 2009 Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that, Oh... got it. Well, second hated is better than first hated so that's a start! It's my impression that the Chinese are cordial in person to individuals from America and England, yes? Also, it's no fair that America is second on the list... Queen Victoria's crew put a lot of effort into being crappy international neighbors, plus we beat the Japanese... that should count for something? I suppose the whole communism/capitalism philosophical strife and the Korean War put us in the lead. Tao Toe, Yoda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that Posted November 2, 2009 Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that, Oh... got it. Well, second hated is better than first hated so that's a start! It's my impression that the Chinese are cordial in person to individuals from America and England, yes? Also, it's no fair that America is second on the list... Queen Victoria's crew put a lot of effort into being crappy international neighbors, plus we beat the Japanese... that should count for something? I suppose the whole communism/capitalism philosophical strife and the Korean War put us in the lead. Tao Toe, Yoda Ya, they are cordial that's true. If you live here for sometime and depending which part of China you live, you may feel the effects though. One American I knew was so tired of hearing complaints about America that he started saying he was from Europe I was once advised by someone Chinese that instead of saying I was English I should say I'm German!!! German!!! I'm not gonna bring up a couple of world wars but I'm pretty sure we didn't start those. If the truth be known the Chinese love America..... they just wish it was their country...haha, simple jealousy, their always comparing themselves to America. Mao actually did like the Americans due to the Americans actually helping the Chinese during the second world war, although he kept up the pretence and for ideological reasons(?)continued to 'educate' the people against the west. But ya, your're right....England should be in second place at least....still I for one am not complaining! We just follow behind you guys these days and let you take the flak, "oh look, we're in Iraq, darn those yanks, there always getting us involved in stuff we don't wanna be involved in.....we'res our cut of the oil by the way?" . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baguakid Posted November 2, 2009 Interesting that Darrel asked what kind of Chinese was spoken at the places he listed and everyone but Vortex came back with how to learn Mandarin. Vortex is correct. Mandarin is the national language. However, like my bagua teacher, for the older people their mandarin will usually be heavily influenced by their local dialects. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that Posted November 2, 2009 Interesting that Darrel asked what kind of Chinese was spoken at the places he listed and everyone but Vortex came back with how to learn Mandarin. Vortex is correct. Mandarin is the national language. However, like my bagua teacher, for the older people their mandarin will usually be heavily influenced by their local dialects. Vortexs' answer was the most complete. I will say though that it also depends on what ethnic Chinese group has built up in some places also. There are 55 minor groups and plus the dominant han. I always mix it up with 54 though......cos I'm thinking of Heinz baked beens 54 varieties!! hahahaa Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yoda Posted November 2, 2009 If the truth be known the Chinese love America..... they just wish it was their country...haha, simple jealousy, their always comparing themselves to America. Mao actually did like the Americans due to the Americans actually helping the Chinese during the second world war, although he kept up the pretence and for ideological reasons(?)continued to 'educate' the people against the west. thanks! Maybe something of a frenemy situation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yoda Posted November 4, 2009 The legend of the origin of Chinese characters: His conversation with the hunter greatly inspired Cangjie, leading him to believe that if he could capture in a drawing the special characteristics that set apart each and every thing on the earth, this would truly be the perfect kind of character for writing. From that day forward, Cangjie paid close attention to the characteristics of all things, including the sun, moon, stars, clouds, lakes, oceans, as well as all manner of bird and beast. He began to create characters according to the special characteristics he found, and before long, had compiled a long list of characters for writing. To the delight of the Yellow Emperor, Cangjie presented him with the complete set of characters. The emperor then called the premiers of each of the nine provinces together in order for Cangjie to teach them this new writing system. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cangjie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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