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An Introduction to the Chinese Language:
汉语简介:
han4yu3 jian3jie4
I. Introduction
1. The Silk Metaphor
2. Enigma, Complexity and Phenomenon
3. The Benefits of Studying Chinese
II. Suggested Study Techniques
1. Chinese Characters
2. Chinese Pronunciation
3. Chinese Grammar and Vocabulary
4. Chinese Lessons
5. Chinese Language Resources, Daily Use Language and Media
III. Help and Downloads
I. Introduction
"I would like to introduce the Chinese language to you." What does this statement mean? The concept of one person introducing Chinese to another person contains an inner mass who's weight is similar to that of this sentence: "I would like to introduce the universe to you". Why is understanding the universe such a challenge? Because it has existed for an infinity and early information about it is sketchy. However, scientists remain undiscouraged and day-by-day create in-roads of understanding and knowledge. The Chinese language is a universe. I'll tell you why it can be seen as such and how you too can create in-roads.
When people think of Chinese, what thoughts arise in their mind? If the thoughts are visual in orientation, perhaps they see cryptic-like pictures of Chinese characters. If the thoughts are audible, perhaps they hear the sound of voices rapidly speaking words. These kinds of thoughts are usually accompanied by and give rise to ideas that Chinese is an enigmatic language. Is it? Yes, it is.
1. The Silk Metaphor
Silk is an integral part of China's history and culture. The characteristics of silk can be used to illustrate the characteristics of Chinese. Worms wind the basic fibers of silk so minute in size that sometimes they are difficult for the human eye to see. The worm continues to produce it's silk threads, spinning them endlessly as they slowly amass into material that can actually be met with the eye and be touched by the hand. In the end, a piece of silk material contains millions and millions of threads all of which are connected and related to one another and whose start is unknown. We can appreciate silk's inner detail and complexity because we are familar with the process the worm undertakes when producing the threads. We regard silk to be one of the most beautiful materials on earth; we know because of it's structual complexity that it's beauty is able to emerge. Beauty can be contained in simplicity and also in complexity. Silk's beauty is of the complex type. It is an enigma.
The Chinese language is exactly like this piece of silk. It has been slowly spun for thousands of years and is composed of millions and millions of minute threads. These threads represent the ways in which the Chinese people, slowly over time, have constructed their language. The Chinese language is not a piece of large-fibred burlap...it is without doubt a piece of silk.
2. Enigma, Complexity, and Phenomenon
Why is Chinese an enigma? The universe is an enigma because of it's age. It's inner content is mammoth due to it's long period of development and evolution. Furthermore, because the universe is a living being, it continues to change everyday. The Chinese language has this same essence. It's inner content is close to infinite because of the long period of time over which it has existed and developed. Furthermore, because language is a tool of communication used everyday by people, through daily life there are a multitude of influences and changes placed upon it. Like the piece of silk whose beauty emerges from it's underlying structural complexity, the same can be said of Chinese. It's inner complexity is what allows the language's beauty to emerge. The beauty of it's complexity is Chinese's enigma.
How does the complexity of Chinese make itself known? In other words, what are the characteristics of Chinese that give it its complexity. At first glance it would seem that Chinese's written form, the characters and it's vocal form, the pronunciation is what produces the complexity. But this is not entirely true. Characters can be seen, touched and felt and as a result, through practice, a language student can produce them on paper with very good accuracy. The same can be said for verbalization. The sounds of Chinese words can be heard by the human ear, they can be broken down into syllables which the student can then practice and reproduce in sound likeness. For a student to be able to produce Chinese characters and verbalize words is indeed no easy matter and in itself is an amazing accomplishment. However, these two aspects are still not the root of Chinese's complexity.
For just about every phenomenon that occurs in life, we can use a language's words to describe the phenomenon. We can speak in general terms when describing phenomenon or we can speak in detailed terms. Chinese's complexity becomes known and visible when we observe the way in which the language views phenomenon in the universe. This view is similar to that of a piece of silk - remarkably detailed and therefore complex. I consider a universal phenomenon to include just about anything people experience or have yet to experience in life: a boy riding a bike down the street, a person glancing at another person, relationships among people, physical changes in the world and people's thoughts and emotions. When we use the Chinese language to explain and describe a single universal phenomenon, we discover the language has the ability to use a seemingly endless array of words to describe minute vicissitudes. Sometimes it appears that for every thread of an occurence or time-slice in a phenomenon, the piece of silk has a corresponding thread to perfectly describe it. For every change, shift and alteration of an object, person or situation, it too seems that Chinese has a way to perfectly describe it. It is the length of time that Chinese has existed and it benefiting from the contributions of millions of people over the ages, that result in the language having this ability and being what it is today. Chinese is indeed a very rich, eloquent and beautiful language, a true gem in the world that the world is indeed very fortunate to have.
3. The Benefits of Studying Chinese
People have a multitude of reasons for why they decide to study Chinese. Actually, the reasons aren't so important as perhaps the benefits. Regardless of who you are, where you are, how old you are, etc, studying Chinese will significantly change the way in which you see the world and the way in which you have previously come to understand the universe. How can this be possible? It's actually very possible. I believe it has to do with the way in which students look at that piece of silk. The silk is composed of millions of threads and during the study process, it threads slowly get unravelled. As they unravel, the threads provide knowledge. We have moments of pondering, understanding and enlightenment about universal phenomenon which previously we were unable to even consider as possible or feasible. We realize the language has identified things in the universe our mother-tongue made no accommodations for. It may seem hard to believe, but it's true. The only way to discover this for yourself is to start your study. By accepting this invitation, you become part of and an influence on the ongoing evolution of the Chinese language.
II. Suggested Study Techniques
I decided to put Chinese study materials on this website because I wanted to make a contribution to the task of understanding Chinese. My approach is simple: give people the tools they need to begin their study, use real life materials to acquire a true and realistic feeling for the language and last, teach people how to teach themselves, encourage people to continue with their pursuit.
1. Chinese Characters
The crux of learning Chinese is the characters. They are the absolute foundation of the language. When you are able to read and write Chinese characters, you'll have a huge world of material at your fingertips, including the internet and printed text. To begin your study of Chinese, I suggest first reading this document Chinese Character Reference Guide. It will explain to you the fundamentals of Chinese characters. You will find them to be interesting and not as complex as perhaps you once imagined.
2. Chinese Pronunciation
Being able to read Chinese characters is also fundamental prerequisite to being able to speak the language. After reading the Chinese Character Reference Guide, I suggest reading and then on a frequent basis practicing Chinese Pronunciation. The Chinese Pronunciation web page will teach you the basics of pronunciation as well as pinyin - a romanized phonetic pronunciation system. Practice your pronunciation slowly and work to get the sounds clear and concise.
Chinese pronunciation is actually quite basic in construction. There are approximately 25 consonants and 35 vowels which can combined in various ways to create syllables and words. A single Chinese character is only one to two syllables in length, which makes words very easy to pronounce and remember. This is in large contrast to most western languagues where words have their own independent pronunciation, their own romanized spelling and tend to contain several complex syllables.
3. Chinese Grammar and Vocabulary
After getting familiar with characters and pronunciation, the next step is to study the contents of the Chinese Grammar And Vocabulary Guide. This guide will introduce you to basic Chinese vocabulary and grammar by using real-life simple-to-understand examples. The material in this guide is the same as that used to teach first-year language students in China.
During the process of studying the above three documents, you'll discover that your feeling for the language will begin to grow, your recognition of the language's components will develop and things will begin to feel more comfortable and familiar. Be patient during this process and enjoy the process. Keep an open-mind and try to absorb as much as you can. For example, if you can practice for half an hour each day for one month, by the end of the month you'll be very pleased with the progress you've made.
4. Chinese Lessons
I believe that regardless of the language in question, reading and listening are two of the most important skills a person can possess. They directly facilitate writing and speaking. When you get to a point where you feel comfortable with your ability level, where you feel you're no longer at an elementary stage and would like to study material of a more difficult nature, then you can proceed to Access Chinese Lessons. The lessons contained in this web page are the result of individual one-on-one Chinese classes I have taken over the past several years. The material comes from real-life sources and covers a wide range of subjects. Each lesson contains both
PDF files and 
MP3 audio files. Download all of the files, print the PDF files and then put the MP3
files on your MP3 player. As you listen to the MP3 files, you can read the document and speak along. Most lessons contain both a recording of the teacher and an original
source recording. If you find the speed of the original source recordings to be too fast, you can lsten to the teacher recordings which have a slower pace of speech. You'll find
that not only will the lessons increase your reading, listening and speaking ability, but you'll at the same time acquire a real understanding for how Chinese people feel and think
about themselves and the world. These lessons also include some selected pieces of music. Listening to music provides a person with an emotional feeling for a language which
otherwise is difficult to acquire. When listening to the music, observe how the singer uses tone of voice to emphasize the feeling of certain words.5. Chinese Language Resources, Daily Use Language and Media
In today's age, there are a multitude of resources available to help you study Chinese. I've gathered some of the resources which I have found to be helpful and placed them on this web page: Chinese Language Resources. You can use this web page if you are unsure about which resources are right for you.
Utilizing media such as watching television and movies, listening to the radio, reading the newspaper and magazines, these are all invaluable for helping a person acquire a genuine feeling for a language. They provide real-life stimulus and information, and through daily exposure to them, you'll find your language proficiency level and understanding to grow in ways which were unexpected. You'll come to understand that we should not "study" language, on the contrary, we should instead attempt through real-life experiences to "feel" and "understand" it's essence. I have gathered a collection of Chinese media which I consider to be true to real-life, educational and as well, very interesting. They are an invaluable study tool. In addition, I've also compiled some basic Daily Use Language phrases that can be used when communicating with Chinese people in everyday life.
Listening to music is also a wonderful way to gain a better understanding of the Chinese language. One musician who's music I highly recommend is 许巍 Xu Wei (xu3 wei1). I have created a webpage for the purpose of introducing his music to those who are not familiar with it. You can click on this link to learn more about 许巍 and listen to his music.
As you continue along your path of learning, you are certain to encounter facets of the language or culture which fascinate you. There will also be times where you feel frustrated, are facing great difficulty understanding. During these times you can read these Words of Encouragement designed to encourage and support you. I strongly encourage you to pursue those facets of the language that interest you and learn as much about them as you can. For example, if there's a certain media or art form that appeals to you, try to find information about it. The process of exploring the subjects you find interesting is both a joyful and satisfying one. You'll discover and learn things that you otherwise would have never encountered. Like an endless circle...acquire knowledge, gain real-life experience, your feeling for the language will gradually grow and grow. I'm confident you will enjoy the process and be successful!
III. Help and Downloads
If you have any questions or comments about this material, please feel free to email me. You can convienently download all of the Chinese study materials on this website by going to the Downloads page. In addition, all of the Chinese study materials have also been compiled into a single electronic book which can be dowloaded from the "A Simplified Guide to Learning Chinese" page.
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