posted at 2012-03-14 00:30 Sasa Sijak
Chinese language is not the same as western languages. You should know that it has special characters and it may take a long time before you learn sufficient number of characters. The other problem is pronunciation. Pronunciation of Chinese words is very difficult for western people because of tones. There are four tones in Mandarin Chinese language. It is very important that you pronounce the words with correct tones. Any mistake in pronunciation can change the meaning of the words.
It is best to start with the easiest words. Learning greetings and other useful phrases in Chinese doesn’t take a lot of time. It is important that you know what are the appropriate greetings for different situations. Chinese people use same greetings for different periods of day.
Using the right technical tools will speed up the process of Chinese language learning. You should get good electronic dictionaries or install dictionaries on your mobile phone. This will make it much easier to check words and characters. Using traditional dictionaries for checking Chinese characters takes a lot of time. You can save time by entering Chinese characters by using pads. Mobile devices are good for Chinese language learning because you can bring them with you anywhere you go. You can learn Chinese while you drive to work or wait for a bus. It is easy and convenient.
Finding the best online Chinese courses can make your learning efforts more productive. You can choose many of the available free online tools for Chinese learning. Those tools include dictionaries, conversations, forums and tests. You can find the best conversations for your current Chinese level. You should learn at your own pace and there is no need to hurry. Language learning is always a gradual process that includes some necessary steps. First step is learning words. Next step is learning how to make phrases. Last step is finding ways to use words and phrases in real conversations.
When learning Chinese, it is best that you don’t compare it with your mother tongue. Mandarin Chinese has special grammar rules and word order. It is completely different from English or any European language.