subject: How To Speak Fluent Chinese [print this page] How to speak Chinese for beginners lists resources, lessons and pronunciation tips for people who want to begin studying the Mandarin language?
Chinese is spoken by an estimated 836 million people in the world, making it the most used language on Earth. This makes learning Chinese very valuable, especially for doing business in countries such as Taiwan, where Mandarin Chinese is the national language.
1.Learn pinyin.
Not only is it used throughout this book to explain proper pronunciation, it is needed to look up words in dictionaries and for typing in show Chinese. Pinyin is composed of initials and finals of two parts. Initials including: b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s; Vowels including: a o e i u v ai ei ui ao ou iu ie ve er an en in un vn ang eng ing ong. There are a whole to recognize and read the special part that can effectively help you read the Chinese characters, it includes zhi chi shi ri zi ci si yi wu yu ye yue yuan yin yun ying. For example (ox) ni, (bull) gng ni.
2.Pay attention to the tones.
Since there are so few syllables in Chinese, there are many homonyms, making attention to tones very important. Learning to write the pinyin with correct tones at the same time as you learn the characters will improve your pronunciation and your listening comprehension.
3.Read the text aloud.
Speaking (and hearing yourself speaking) will help reinforce the text in your memory. Exaggerating the tones can help you remember them.
4.Find a language partner.
There may be a Chinese Language club in a nearby city or university. There are also free sites on the internet that can help set you up with a language exchange using Skype or other VoIP programs. Two examples are The Mixxer and E-Tandem.
5. Listen to Chinese media.
A wide variety of multimedia options exist for exposing your ears to native Chinese speaking. Internet radio stations and newscasts can be found in Chinese, as well as an increasing number of Chinese movies and television shows.
Use a Chinese phrase before you answer wherever you can. Chances are you have a translator or your Chinese friends speak English. Even then, try to use a Chinese phrase before you move on to talking normally in English. This will really differentiate you from any other foreigners they meet and leave them very good impressions.
And here's what they don't teach you in the travel phrasebooks, read these valuable tips whether you are visiting China or you just want to learn Mandarin. Know the structure of pinyin, understand the development of Chinese characters, better for us to lay a foundation for learning Chinese.
