Learn Mandarin Chinese
Learning Chinese requires a different way of learning than if you want to learn a Western language. That has everything to do with the fact that Chinese is a tonal language. We asked Lori Tseng-Crevecoeur, Chinese language trainer at Language Institute Regina Coeli, how you can best learn Mandarin. She has a lot of experience in Western business and has also given private Chinese lessons for many years and written teaching material aimed at Westerners who want to learn Chinese.
What is a tonal language anyway?
“A tonal language is a language in which the meaning of a word changes completely if you only pronounce a syllable in the word in a different tone. In Chinese, pronunciation, and spelling are different systems. This is different from, for example, English, where the pronunciation is directly associated with the spelling. Take as an example the pronunciation of the English word ‘dictionary’; you read it aloud as ‘dic-tion-ary’. You place an emphasis on the first syllable. If you pronounce the sounds, others will immediately understand you.
That is not the case for Chinese. The word “dictionary” in Chinese is:
and in pinyin that is:
If you pronounce “zidian” without the right tones, the Chinese will not understand you. Even if you both pronounce Zi and Dian correctly, but don’t put the tones together properly, your Chinese listeners won’t understand you. ”
What does that mean for the way of learning?
“When learning Chinese, accurate pronunciation and the word learning method are the most important keys. You start by learning the tones, then by pronouncing words and then you continue with the pronunciation of sentences. Only then will you construct your own sentences with the help of grammar. That is completely different from learning another language. There, reading, writing, listening, and speaking are much more intertwined and you can develop all skills simultaneously.
A step-by-step plan for learning Chinese
Step 1: Learn the tones
As a beginner, it is most important to ensure that you pronounce the tones in each syllable properly before attempting to pronounce words of two or three syllables.
Step 2: Learn words
After learning the tones, focus on the syllables in a word. Every syllable must be clearly spoken in the right tone. This is probably the most challenging aspect of learning the Chinese language. It is essential to learn this well with the help of a language coach before proceeding to the next step: the pronunciation of short sentences. Every syllable counts in Chinese pronunciation.
Step 3: Sentence construction
Once you can pronounce short sentences, consider taking the next step: creating your own Chinese sentences through the use of grammar and the sentence patterns you have learned.
Step 4: Learn Hanzi
We recommend that you do not start learning the Chinese characters (Hanzi) before you can read short conversations that are fully understood by Chinese people.