At a glance:

• Learn one of the widely spoken languages on Earth
• Beautiful and useful language
• Gain an appreciation and understanding of Chinese culture
 

Tell me more about Mandarin Chinese:

Mandarin is the official language of China. It is called ‘Putonghua’ in Chinese, meaning common speech. It is one of the oldest, most romantic and widely spoken languages on earth. It incorporates a series of dialects spoken by the dominant ethnic group within China, the Han. There are today 56 ethnic groups in China. Historically, Mandarin is based on the language of Han officialdom in the Beijing area, and it has been systematically promoted over the past century to be the official unifying language of the Chinese people. It has maintained a common written standard throughout its entire history.

The written Mandarin consists of over 40,000 characters, which can have as many as 30 strokes. All varieties of spoken Mandarin are tonal - each syllable can have a number of different meanings depending on the intonation with which it is pronounced. Pinyin, which means ‘phonetics’ or more literally ‘spelling sound’, is the most commonly used romanisation system for Mandarin. It is also used to enter Chinese characters on computers and mobile phones.

Is it really for me?

With about 1.3 billion people already speaking some form of Chinese and the fast stable growth of the Chinese economy, the increasing popularity of Mandarin is unavoidable. Unsurprisingly, more and more businesses in the Western world want to or need to have commercial dealings with China. Being able to conduct basic business conversations in Mandarin and having a little appreciation of the Chinese culture will go a long way in doing businesses with China.

On a personal level, you may simply want to learn Mandarin for fun, as an interest, or as a tool when you go on a holiday in China. You may also consider whether your children should start learning Mandarin from a young age. This will more than likely give them an advantage in the ever-competitive employment market, as well as benefit their life-long appreciation of the oriental culture and affairs as a whole.

Chinese is a beautiful and useful language. It is a great shame that a vast number of the Chinese classics in literature, music, etc. are yet to be translated into other languages so that the world can enjoy them. When you are able to appreciate the Chinese equivalent of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or ‘Jeeves and Wooster’ or ‘The Peep Show’, you may find that your horizon has more than doubled.

What else do I need to know?

Cost: Free with TasterLab.com. Normal cost from £8 per hour depending on number of students.

What to bring: Notebook and pen. Teaching materials and general printouts will be provided by the tutor.

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