Hacking Chinese

Hacking Chinese PDF Author: Olle Linge
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781530334889
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Learning Chinese can be frustrating and difficult, partly because it's very different from European languages. Following a teacher, textbook or language course is not enough. They show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don't teach you how to learn them! Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking. If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them. Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students: How do I learn characters efficiently? How do I get the most out of my course or teacher? Which are the best learning tools and resources? How can I become fluent in Mandarin? How can I improve my pronunciation? How do I learn successfully on my own? How can I motivate myself to study more? How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule? The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you! This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself. That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself. This is what a few readers have said about the book: "The book had me nodding at a heap of things I'd learnt the hard way, wishing I knew them when I started, as well as highlighting areas that I'm currently missing in my study." - Geoff van der Meer, VP engineering "This publication is like a bible for anyone serious about Chinese proficiency. It's easy for anyone to read and written with scientific precision." - Zachary Danz, foreign teacher, children's theatre artist About me I started learning Chinese when I was 23 (that's more than eight years ago now) and have since studied in many different situations, including serious immersion programs abroad, high-intensity programs in Sweden, online courses, as well as on the side while working or studying other things. I have also successfully used my Chinese in a graduate program for teaching Chinese as a second language, taught entirely in Chinese mostly for native speakers (the Graduate Institute for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University). All these parts have contributed to my website, Hacking Chinese, where I write regularly about how to learn Mandarin.

Hacking Chinese

Hacking Chinese PDF Author: Olle Linge
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781530334889
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Get Book Here

Book Description
Learning Chinese can be frustrating and difficult, partly because it's very different from European languages. Following a teacher, textbook or language course is not enough. They show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don't teach you how to learn them! Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking. If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them. Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students: How do I learn characters efficiently? How do I get the most out of my course or teacher? Which are the best learning tools and resources? How can I become fluent in Mandarin? How can I improve my pronunciation? How do I learn successfully on my own? How can I motivate myself to study more? How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule? The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you! This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself. That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself. This is what a few readers have said about the book: "The book had me nodding at a heap of things I'd learnt the hard way, wishing I knew them when I started, as well as highlighting areas that I'm currently missing in my study." - Geoff van der Meer, VP engineering "This publication is like a bible for anyone serious about Chinese proficiency. It's easy for anyone to read and written with scientific precision." - Zachary Danz, foreign teacher, children's theatre artist About me I started learning Chinese when I was 23 (that's more than eight years ago now) and have since studied in many different situations, including serious immersion programs abroad, high-intensity programs in Sweden, online courses, as well as on the side while working or studying other things. I have also successfully used my Chinese in a graduate program for teaching Chinese as a second language, taught entirely in Chinese mostly for native speakers (the Graduate Institute for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University). All these parts have contributed to my website, Hacking Chinese, where I write regularly about how to learn Mandarin.

Master Chinese Tones

Master Chinese Tones PDF Author: CELINE WEI-CHIEH CHEN
Publisher: Celine Wei-Chieh Chen
ISBN: 957439512X
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
This is a collection of original and unique tongue twisters created for practicing Mandarin tones and pronunciation to all learners. Also a book for kids and adults to warming up their mouth muscles before reading Chinese. For years, tongue twisters are good practice for children as they learn to form words, phrases, and vowels. So there was an idea came up in my mind that why not use the same method for adults in learning a foreign language? As we’re aware of the fact that many adults love tongue twisters just as much as kids. For this reason, all the twisters in this book are adult- friendly. Because we wanted to combine some of the best combinations of words to give your tongue and mouth the strongest workout while learning Chinese pronunciation. You will be surprised at how many of the shorter tongue twisters are the trickiest!! After reading this book, you can * Grasp the idea of Mandarin phonetic system. * Pronounce the tones accurately. * Differentiate the two similar sounds and meanings from the words. * Avoid use wrong words or tones while speaking Mandarin. * Learn basic Chinese sentence structure without learning grammar. * Feel confident in speaking Mandarin without worry about the pronunciation. Also, when reading this book, understand that the twisters will be a bit of a brain-teaser. Since most of sentences aren’t created to make logical sense, you may find yourself laughing at what you are reading after knowing the meaning of the sentences. Ultimately, this is just a fun little book made to keep your interested in Mandarin. So enjoy reading the book and feel the beauty of sounds of Chinese. I bet you will be entertained with these tongue twisters for hours.

Chinese Through Tone & Color

Chinese Through Tone & Color PDF Author: Nathan Dummitt
Publisher: Hippocrene Books
ISBN: 9780781812047
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
A unique visual method for learning over 100 basic Chinese characters, with audio presenting the book contents. With audio CDs. For self-study and developing vocabulary, reading, writing, and listening skills.

The Roots of Old Chinese

The Roots of Old Chinese PDF Author: Laurent Sagart
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027236909
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
The phonology, morphology and lexicon of late Zhou Chinese are examined in this volume. It is argued that a proper understanding of Old Chinese morphology is essential in correctly reconstructing the phonology. Based on evidence from word-families, modern dialects and related words in neighboring languages, Old Chinese words are claimed to consist of a monosyllabic root, to which a variety of derivational affixes attached. This made Old Chinese typologically more like modern languages such as Khmer, Gyarong or Atayal, than like Middle and modern Chinese, where only faint traces of the old morphology remain. In the first part of the book, the author proposes improvements to Baxter's system of reconstruction, regarding complex initials and rhymes, and then reviews in great detail the Old Chinese affixal morphology. New proposals on phonology and morphology are integrated into a coherent reconstruction system. The second part of the book consists of etymological studies of important lexical items in Old Chinese. The author demonstrates in particular the role of proportional analogy in the formation of the system of personal pronouns. Special attention is paid to contact phenomena between Chinese and neighboring languages, and — unlike most literature on Sino-Tibetan — the author identifies numerous Chinese loanwords into Tibeto-Burman. The book, which contains a lengthy list of reconstructions, an index of characters and a general index, is intended for linguists and cultural historians, as well as advanced students.

Mandarin Chinese for Beginners

Mandarin Chinese for Beginners PDF Author: Yi Ren
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462914764
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
…well-written and helps you speak Chinese in no time. --FluentU.com

Remembering Simplified Hanzi 1

Remembering Simplified Hanzi 1 PDF Author: James W. Heisig
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824875931
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
At long last the approach that has helped thousands of learners memorize Japanese kanji has been adapted to help students with Chinese characters. Book 1 of Remembering Simplified Hanzi covers the writing and meaning of the 1,000 most commonly used characters in the simplified Chinese writing system, plus another 500 that are best learned at an early stage. (Book 2 adds another 1,500 characters for a total of 3,000.) Of critical importance to the approach found in these pages is the systematic arranging of characters in an order best suited to memorization. In the Chinese writing system, strokes and simple components are nested within relatively simple characters, which can, in turn, serve as parts of more complicated characters and so on. Taking advantage of this allows a logical ordering, making it possible for students to approach most new characters with prior knowledge that can greatly facilitate the learning process. Guidance and detailed instructions are provided along the way. Students are taught to employ "imaginative memory" to associate each character’s component parts, or "primitive elements," with one another and with a key word that has been carefully selected to represent an important meaning of the character. This is accomplished through the creation of a "story" that engagingly ties the primitive elements and key word together. In this way, the collections of dots, strokes, and components that make up the characters are associated in memorable fashion, dramatically shortening the time required for learning and helping to prevent characters from slipping out of memory.

The Chinese Language

The Chinese Language PDF Author: John DeFrancis
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 9780824810689
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
"DeFrancis's book is first rate. It entertains. It teaches. It demystifies. It counteracts popular ignorance as well as sophisticated (cocktail party) ignorance. Who could ask for anything more? There is no other book like it. ... It is one of a kind, a first, and I would not only buy it but I would recommend it to friends and colleagues, many of whom are visiting China now and are adding 'two-week-expert' ignorance to the two kinds that existed before. This is a book for everyone." --Joshua A. Fishman, research professor of social sciences, Yeshiva University, New York "Professor De Francis has produced a work of great effectiveness that should appeal to a wide-ranging audience. It is at once instructive and entertaining. While being delighted by the flair of his novel approach, the reader will also be led to ponder on some of the most fundamental problems concerning the relations between written languages and spoken languages. Specifically, he will be served a variety of information on the languages of East Asia, not as dry pedantic facts, but as appealing tidbits that whet the intellectual appetite. The expert will find much to reflect on in this book, for Professor DeFrancis takes nothing for granted." --William S.Y. Wang, professor of linguistics, University of California at Berkeley

Cracking Thai Fundamentals

Cracking Thai Fundamentals PDF Author: Stuart Jay Raj
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781514899465
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 648

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Book Description
Stuart Jay Raj has developed a suite of hand and body signs, glyphs, colourful stories and exercises that will help learners of Thai lay down a new linguistic and cultural operating system for their mind and body. Rather than awkwardly superimpose a new language over the top of the pre-existing non-Thai sound and meaning system of your mother tongue, Cracking Thai Fundamentals will teach you to think about language, culture and meanings, produce meanings, speak, read and react in Thai in a way that much more resembles the way Thais think about and produce their language themselves.

Mandarin Primer

Mandarin Primer PDF Author: Yuen Ren Chao
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780674732872
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters

Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters PDF Author: Alison Matthews
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 146290128X
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
This user-friendly book is aimed at helping students of Mandarin Chinese learn and remember Chinese characters. At last--there is a truly effective and enjoyable way to learn Chinese characters! This book helps students to learn and remember both the meanings and the pronunciations of over 800 characters. This otherwise daunting task is made easier by the use of techniques based on the psychology of learning and memory. key principles include the use of visual imagery, the visualization of short "stories," and the systematic building up of more complicated characters from basic building blocks. Although Learning Chinese Characters is primarily a book for serious learners of Mandarin Chinese, it can be used by anyone with interest in Chinese characters, without any prior knowledge of Chinese. It can be used alongside (or after, or even before) a course in the Chinese language. All characters are simplified (as in mainland China), but traditional characters are also given, when available. Key features: Specially designed pictures and stories are used in a structured way to make the learning process more enjoyable and effective, reducing the need for rote learning to the absolute minimum. The emphasis throughout is on learning and remembering the meanings and pronunciations of the characters. Tips are also included on learning techniques and how to avoid common problems. Characters are introduced in a logical sequence, which also gives priority to learning the most common characters first. Modern, simplified characters are used, with pronunciations given in pinyin. Key information is given for each character, including radical, stroke-count, traditional form, compounds, and guidance on writing the character. This is a practical guide with a clear, concise and appealing layout, and it is well-indexed with easy lookup methods. The 800 Chinese characters and 1,033 compounds specified for the original HSK Level A proficiency test are covered.