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Chinese word jungle
By Hunter Kelley |
May 30, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HI, my name is Hunter Kelley; I am from Shanghai Singapore International School. I speak English as a first language and my second language is Mandarin. I have lived in China for three years, two of which I lived in Suzhou. I am originally from the United States.
Knowing Mandarin has many advantages and disadvantages. I believe that the pros outweigh the cons, since it is the language that is spoken here and the largest growing language in the world. Being able to speak Mandarin is helpful in many situations, like communicating with some of my friends at school. If they don't understand something I say in English, I can tell them in Mandarin and they will understand. Knowing Mandarin also comes in handy when communicating with locals. If I am lost, instead of just wandering aimlessly, I can ask, "hey where is the McDonald's?" or something similar.
Speaking Mandarin comes in handy but it is a very difficult and confusing language to learn. There are four tones to every "word" and each tone means something completely different. In order to read the newspaper you have to know over 4,000 different characters! I find myself struggling to transition between languages because people will speak to me in Mandarin and then my Western friend will come and talk to me in English and I might answer in Chinese to the Westerner.
One disadvantage to knowing the language is that you can understand everything that everybody says. And sometimes I wish I couldn't because sometimes the local people can be very critical.
Overall, knowing Mandarin in my opinion is better than not knowing it because it opens up so many opportunities.
Knowing Mandarin has many advantages and disadvantages. I believe that the pros outweigh the cons, since it is the language that is spoken here and the largest growing language in the world. Being able to speak Mandarin is helpful in many situations, like communicating with some of my friends at school. If they don't understand something I say in English, I can tell them in Mandarin and they will understand. Knowing Mandarin also comes in handy when communicating with locals. If I am lost, instead of just wandering aimlessly, I can ask, "hey where is the McDonald's?" or something similar.
Speaking Mandarin comes in handy but it is a very difficult and confusing language to learn. There are four tones to every "word" and each tone means something completely different. In order to read the newspaper you have to know over 4,000 different characters! I find myself struggling to transition between languages because people will speak to me in Mandarin and then my Western friend will come and talk to me in English and I might answer in Chinese to the Westerner.
One disadvantage to knowing the language is that you can understand everything that everybody says. And sometimes I wish I couldn't because sometimes the local people can be very critical.
Overall, knowing Mandarin in my opinion is better than not knowing it because it opens up so many opportunities.
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