INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE LANGUAGE

Priscilla Eng & Jinqing Li

Mandarin has the most native speakers of any language in the world. It is the official language of China, Taiwan, and one of the four official languages of Singapore. Additionally, it is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (UN).

The Chinese language has more than 1.3 billion speakers.The English language has more than 760 million speakers.The Spanish language has more than 420 million speakers.The French language has more than 128 million speakers.

Mandarin - The Official Language in China

中国的官方语言

Chinese Characters

There are more than 50,000 Chinese characters historically recorded but knowledge of approximately 3,500 characters allows the reader/writer to handle daily Chinese literacy demands.

THREE POETS INFLUENCED BY CHINESE POETS

W. S. Merwin (Pulitzer prize for poetry 1971, 2009)

Octavio Paz (Nobel prize for literature, 1990

Rabrindranath Tagore (Nobel prize for literature 1913)

SU T’UNG PO AS A GREAT POET

“Humans have sad separations and happy gatherings.  人有悲欢离合

The moon has times of haze and lucidity, waxing and waning.    月有阴晴圆缺

Our endeavors since antiquity fail to sustain perfect moments. 此事古难全。

We can only wish for longevity, 但愿人长久 ,

Though far apart, we shall share themoon’s beauty. ” 千里共婵娟 . 

W. S. MERWIN A LETTER TO SU T’UNG PO

Almost a thousand years later          I am asking the same questions       you did, the ones you kept finding    yourself returning to as though         nothing had changed except the tone of their echo growing deeper         and what you knew of the coming  of age before you had grown oldI do not know any more now 

than you did then about what youwere asking, as I sit at night,   above the hushed up valley thinking   of you on your river that one

bright sheet of moonlight in the dream of the water birds and I hear the silence after your questions

how old are the questions tonighthttp://poemof-theday.blogspot.com/2010/04/letter-to-su-tung-po-ws-merwin.html

CHUANG TZU

3000 years ago, one day Chuang Tzu dreamed that he became a butterfly flying happily flying around the flowers. After Chuang Tzu woke up, he wondered if it was the butterfly dreaming it was Chuang Tzu or Chuang Tzu dreaming he was a butterfly.

CHUANG TZU BY OCTAVIO PAZ

A butterfly flew between the cars,

Marie Jose said: it must be Chuang Tzu,

on a tour of New York.

                             But the butterfly

didn't know it was a butterfly

dreaming it was Chuang Tzu

                                   or Chuang Tzu

dreaming he was a butterfly.

The butterfly never wondered:

                                        it flew.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/

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FIREFLIES BY RABRINDRANATH TAGORE

I touch God in my songas the hill touches the far-away sea with its waterfall.

The butterfly counts not months but moments,and has time enough.

Let my love, like sunlight, surround youand give you illumined freedom.

Love remains a secret even when spoken,for only a lover truly knows that he is loved.

Emancipation from the bondage of the soilis no freedom for the tree.

In love I pay my endless debt to theefor what thou art. http://www.poetseers.org/nobel-prize-for-literature/tagore/fireflies/

LET’S SPEAK MANDARIN!

4 TONES

1st tone high level pitch 2nd tone rising in pitch 3rd tone low dipping pitch 4th tone abrupt falling in pitch

sī sí sǐ sì shī shí shǐ shì

Qing nǐ gěi wǒ yī wǎn shuǐ jiǎo. Qing nǐ gěi wǒ yī wǎn shuìjiào. 请你给我一碗水饺 . 请你给我一晚睡 觉.

Oops! I wanted one bowl of dumplings, not one night of sleeping with you!

TONGUE TWISTER

sìshìsì shíshìshí shísìshìshísì sìshíshìsishí

四是四 十是十 十四是十四 四十是四十

sì = 4 shì= is shí = 10

USEFUL PHRASES

Ni hǎo? (How are you?) 你好

Wo hén hǎo (I’m fine) 我很好

Xiè Xiè nǐ (Thank you) 谢谢 你

Zài jiàn (Good bye) 再见

SPEAK IT!

Ni hǎo ? Ni hǎo?

Wo hén hǎo Xiè Xiè nǐ

Ni hǎo Ni hǎo

Wo hén hǎo Xiè Xiè nǐ

 

Xiè Xiè nǐ Zài jiàn Zài jiàn

Xiè Xiè nǐ Zài jiàn Zài jiàn

Wo hén hǎo Xiè Xiè nǐ

Zài jiàn Zài jiàn