Best way to learn Mandarin in GNU/Linux or OS X?
What’s a good, quick way, to learn a new language with the help of Linux?
In particular, I’m interested in learning conversational Mandarin. Basic reading, is a bonus, but hey, I’m not that fussed. I’d like to not pay for my software, if possible, and since I tote a Linux laptop most of the time (this might change to an OS X based one that actually works – rant on this soon), if it runs on Linux, all the better. The Popagandhi tells me I need to go to a good class – do these exist in Melbourne/
Some useful links I’ve found, so far:
- QQ for Linux – QQ is the Chinese version of ICQ, that pretty much everyone there uses. Though MSN seems to be a lot popular these days (compared to what, 2.5-3 odd years ago)
- ChinesePod – podcasts to help? Well, maybe here’s a reason to use an iPod again…
- I saw this thread on the Ubuntu Forums, but it doesn’t really address anything of requirement
Technorati Tags: linux, learning, mandarin, foreign language, qq, chinese
If you’re learning a language to communicate orally, then basic classes and an environment in which to listen and talk to others is best. If you’re not in a native environment, having things to listen and watch will help a lot eg. mandarin news, music, tv shows and movies (present time/current topics). The exaggerated and loud way actors say common phrases helps as you can see the context visually as well as hear the expression clearly.
I’ve checked out the Chinese podcasts available. If you were learning something like Thai, where the language is FAR simpler… an audio-only approach using podcasts (or even Pimsleur, which I like for Thai), might be do-able, depending on one’s talent for language =) However. Learning and acquiring Chinese is a completely different ballgame! It is so damned hard!
The Chinese podcasts available don’t seem to have any structure or syllabi designed to help a beginner leaner acquire competence in the Chinese language. It’s just “in lesson one, John goes to the tailor”, then they repeat things like “hello” and “goodbye” and “how much is that”. I don’t believe they are even 20% adequate.
There must be a proper Chinese class/lesson in Melbourne, with such a sizable Chinese community. Readig/writing is another thing… without an alphabet, you just need to know characters in order to make sense of an article. At times we native speakers of Chinese go to a Chinese restaurant, look at menu item and momentarily forget what two out of the six words mean, and lose meaning of what the dish is about completely =) Heh.
Not to discourage you, but Chinese requires years of one’s life! Read the following essay =)
I’ve always said I greatly admire people who embark on the task of studying Chinese late in their lives.. because if I hadn’t learned it/spoken it growing up, I probably would never bother. Unless I wanted to be a Chinese academic. Heh.
http://pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html
You could start by learning pinyin. The standard romanization of standard Mandarin. Pinyin on its own isn’t going to give very much meaning into the words — for example, “wo3 shi1 sheng1 le4” means “I’ve lost my voice” as much as it means “I’ve lost my virginity”. It’s the actual character in “sheng1”, and how different they are in both instances, that’ll give meaning to the phrase. I’m not sure what good QQ chat with a Chinese person can do, because it’s one of those languages where you NEED to be maybe 70% conversational to even.. chat!
But it’s a start, and having a good grasp of pinyin will help you along with the tones, which is pretty hard for many people who didn’t grow up speaking a multi-toned language.
Also, if you intend to go to a school/class, make sure it’s one following the standard Mandarin/simplified Mandarin as it is spoken in Beijing. =) You wouldn’t want to come out of it wondering why you’ve got 20x more strokes on every character than everyone else. Heh.
(18:20:41) twitter@twitter.com: skinnylatte: @bytebot looks like wordpress ate my first comment on your blog. i wanted to link to this site. http://urltea.com/1ihj
The best way to learn Mandarin (IMHO) is with http://www.rosettastone.com. I have started to use it and it is awesome. I think it works in linux, if you can get your own microphone/headset configured, and you use crossover office (yeah, lame, but blame it on shockwave being stubburn and refusing to make a linux friendly version). There is a cost to it, but it is well worth it. It kills me to leave my Ubuntu / beryl setup to reboot in windoze everytime, but I currently just don’t have the time to fight with my microphone… Plus I use a Toshiba laptop …
Just my 0.02$.
Regards,
Francois
You could start by learning pinyin. The standard romanization of standard Mandarin. Pinyin on its own isn't going to give very much meaning into the words — for example, “wo3 shi1 sheng1 le4” means “I've lost my voice” as much as it means “I've lost my virginity”. It's the actual character in “sheng1”, and how different they are in both instances, that'll give meaning to the phrase. I'm not sure what good QQ chat with a Chinese person can do, because it's one of those languages where you NEED to be maybe 70% conversational to even.. chat!
But it's a start, and having a good grasp of pinyin will help you along with the tones, which is pretty hard for many people who didn't grow up speaking a multi-toned language.
Also, if you intend to go to a school/class, make sure it's one following the standard Mandarin/simplified Mandarin as it is spoken in Beijing. =) You wouldn't want to come out of it wondering why you've got 20x more strokes on every character than everyone else. Heh.