How to Speak & Write Chinese
Proper pronunciation is perhaps the most important part of learning Chinese, whether you are learning Mandarin or Cantonese. But, of course, in order to properly learn a language, you must master its written form, too.
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Things You'll Need
- Pinyin pronunciation chart
- Chinese characters chart
- Chinese-language instruction program
Instructions
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Listen to a string of Chinese words and phrases being pronounced. Rent a Chinese-language movie and do not pay attention to the subtitles. Chinese takes special concentration because differentiating between its words' meanings is all in the tone of your voice. Pronunciation is everything.
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Go to Chinese sites on the Internet to take in the basic aesthetic of Chinese writing and get a feel for how Chinese characters look.
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Learn the "pinyin" spelling system. The People's Republic of China fashioned this phonetic spelling system in the 1950s. It adopts the Roman alphabet to transliterate Chinese words. That is, pinyin is the phonetic spelling of Chinese with Roman characters. It runs horizontally from left to right--like English.
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Study the distinct Chinese "tones." Tone is one of the most important elements of Chinese language. There are four tones: high, level; starting high and rising; falling first, then rising; starting high and falling; and the neutral, unaccented tone.
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Use a program that allows you to see the word in pinyin and in Chinese characters, and that provides a recording of how to pronounce that word.
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Now piece words together into phrases. Chinese grammar may be elusive at first. Unlike Indo-European and Western languages, Chinese grammar has no verb conjugations, and does not adhere to any subject-object agreement rules. Those happen to be the more difficult aspects of Western grammars. But their absence in Chinese can make learning to write and speak the language a bit easier.
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Tips & Warnings
Learn to recognize Chinese characters for their meaning, and not necessarily for their pronunciation. Since Chinese has no formal alphabet and no formal phonetic writing system, you can learn to read Chinese characters without knowing how to pronounce them. Once you know how to pronounce a word, you will connect it to the picture.
