Many people have asked me how did I start learning Chinese? My best friend is growing up Chinese. I started learning Chinese, so I can talk to my mother who can't speak English. This is not easy, because this language is very strange to me! It sounds almost like singing in a lot of tones. Some voices make me study longer. I later discovered that the Chinese I studied was a Cantonese. There are nine tones in Cantonese, which are very different from other Chinese dialects. Later I learned that Cantonese is the oldest dialect in China. What impression did the Chinese have left me? Chinese writing or Chinese characters are the difference between all other languages. Chinese is the only language used today with pictures and no letters! Chinese characters come from pictures from 5,000 years ago. Most people don't even realize that Chinese has no letters.
My best friend started showing me Chinese characters and I was very interested in learning how to write. At first I couldn't remember how to write pictograms or characters. Later I found a book explaining how Chinese characters evolved! This is very interesting, but I am fortunate to find that this book gives me a good understanding of writing Chinese characters. When learning any subject, it is important to find the right book. The book that helped me understand the most was "Chinese characters: their origins, etymology, history, classification and labeling." This book was written by the Jesuit pastor. Another book I use is Fred Wang's "Reading Chinese." After many years, I participated in the Chinese calligraphy course, and the professor is using the same book to teach Chinese characters. One day, my friend asked me to study Mandarin in a church school. Because he doesn't understand Mandarin, he thinks it is a good experience for us to study together. Chinese speech is very different, because there are many dialects and sub-dialses, but most Chinese writing is the same! Some Chinese characters are regional or ancient. The Mandarin lecturer told me to find a Chinese calligraphy teacher. I am very impressed that I used the Chinese brush to write lessons. Based on his advice, I found a school called the Chinese Academy, which is near New York City. I have registered two courses: Cantonese and Chinese calligraphy. Just then, I found out that my friend is really teaching me his rural dialect or Cantonese dialect. Now I teach standard Cantonese or Guangzhou language in the course! When I speak in class, my teacher will tell me that I will not speak standard Cantonese, but a popular county dialect.
Some people ask me what I should learn: Cantonese or Mandarin. Mandarin is the national language of China, Taiwan and Singapore. Most people today study Mandarin, and most overseas Chinese study Mandarin in Chinese schools. Cantonese people are still very popular with the general population. These people can be found anywhere in the world because they are the first Chinese to venture out of China! Anyone from Guangdong can make money. In the process of my growth, 80% of Chinese are from Guangdong, and 80% are from the same county. If they are educated, they will speak dialects and standard Cantonese.
I quickly realized that knowing Chinese characters has important advantages. It's great to speak Chinese but what happens when someone doesn't understand you? If you can write, everyone understands. All Chinese may not be able to talk to each other, but they can all read the same Chinese writing. I even wrote in Japanese and Korean Chinese. My Japanese friend and I found my best Chinese book in the bookstore, just looking around. I learned a little Japanese from my Japanese friend. I want to know how Japanese and Chinese are related. Written Japanese uses Chinese characters and a speech system that also originates from Chinese. The Koreans originally used Chinese characters until the Korean emperor invented the Korean alphabet. Most well-educated Koreans can write their names in Chinese and know
Chinese calligraphy is the art of Chinese literature. Calligraphy is written in a special writing instrument. Many Westerners like calligraphy as an art form. Japanese and Koreans also highly praise Chinese calligraphy. Writing can be enjoyed without even knowing how to speak the language. Many non-Chinese people today like to learn Chinese calligraphy. Many people don't even understand the meaning of English. Others can't pronounce it! Some people like to talk and some people like writing, you are a judge. I challenge you to at least try it, you might like it.
Orignal From: Learning Chinese: Speaking and Writing
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