Difference between Chinese and English
There's a lot of misconception regarding the Chinese language. It has always been thought of as a subject that is so complicated to learn. Is really Chinese so difficult for English to study? Somebody thinks native English speakers can learn Chinese
easily. What is it like?
Weicong Liang, Chinese Instructor and Teaching Supervisor at the Business Confucius Institute, University of Leeds, demystifies: "In my experience, most British students have the talent to learn a language and are usually very sensitive to Asian culture. This is very beneficial for learning Chinese. However, some learners believe that Chinese is a very difficult language".
Chinese grammar is similar to English grammar in many ways. The sentence structure of a Chinese simple sentence is: subject + predicate + object. For example, Chinese: I wash my hands. Chinese grammar seems to be simpler than English in some respects. For example, the singular and plural numbers of Chinese words are the same form.
There are many quantifiers in Chinese. The position and use of Chinese fluent words is similar to the use of the English word "piece" in "a piece of paper". Objects of the same type or with similar characteristics use the same metric word. For example, paper, newspapers, and photo photos all use the quantifier "张". Even beds use the same quantifier because these objects have one thing in common: a flat surface.
Pronunciation is not the main problem for British students to learn Chinese. The 60 freshmen I have taught are all beginners. They have no difficulty in pronunciation. Most British students may find it difficult to have four tones because they are not in English. Through a lot of exercises to solve this problem, I believe students can complete the first semester of the university.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AFTER STUDYING MANDARIN SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR?
Usually, after six months of study, most students can communicate in basic life in China, date friends, ask for directions, take public transportation, order food in the cafeteria, bargain in the mall or market, book a hotel, talk Weather, buy travel tickets or movie tickets. Some students can even go to other East Asian countries related to Chinese language (such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, etc.) without guidance.
(After six months of learning Mandarin Chinese, you should be able to bargain at local shop.)
Here are some basic major differences between English and Chinese. It is important to be aware of the major differences between the two languages in order to reduce your mistakes in Chinese and also to make your expression in Chinese much better and fluent.
1. English emphasizes structure, while Chinese values meaning.
English is often decorated with a complex long sentence, paying attention to the grammatical structure. Chinese long sentences are often separated by punctuation, which makes people clearly aware of the meaning of the sentence.
Let's look at some examples here:
The sights of Beijing are so numerous that one can spend several weeks here and leave without having seen all of the important ones.
北京的名胜很多，一个人就是在这儿呆上几个星期，离开时也没能把主要的景点看完。
2. In English, the passive voice is very common. Chinese usually uses the active voice and is not accustomed to passive.
Tea is drunk widely all over the world.
世界各地人们都喝茶
3. In Chinese, idioms and short four characters expressions are very widely used to make the expression more vivid, live and compact.
Here are some to read and compare:
Sincere Buddhists take vows of celibacy and abstinence from meat and wine, wearing no fur or woolen garments and shave their heads.
虔诚的僧人立誓禁欲，不沾酒肉，不着皮毛，削发修行
4. English widely uses abstract nouns while Chinese usually uses concrete nouns.
This comes from the Chinese philosophy which interprets the human being and his life as a microcosm within the natural macrocosm. Therefore many abstract terms are express in Chinese by concrete object from the natural world.
Here are numerous examples of how this looks and what Chinese literally means in English:
Total exhaustion 筋疲力尽
Lit. The muscles are weary and the strength has been used up.
Feed on fancies 画饼充饥
Lit. To allay one's hunger using a picture of a cake
5. Words appear in English sentences will no longer appear, making sentences shorter and simpler. In Chinese, words are usually not omitted, but can be repeated.
A. Ambition is the mother of destruction as well as of evil.
野心不仅是罪恶的根源，同时也是毁灭的根源
B. Reading exercises one's eyes; Speaking, one's tongue; while writing, one's mind
阅读训练人的眼睛，说话训练人的口齿，写作训练人的思维
6. English puts more emphasis on the first part of the sentence while Chinese put the emphasis on the last part of the sentence.
This characteristic is especially apparent in sentences, which include logic with drawing conclusions or expression of results. In English, the conclusion is described first and the facts are described at the end of the sentence. In Chinese it is the opposite. First, the facts will be described then the results, conclusions, and etc.
For example:
A. I was all the most delighted when it proved possible to reinstate the visit so quickly as a result of the initiative of your Government.
由于贵国政府的提议，才得以这样快地重新实现访问。这使我感到特别高兴
Because of a variety of cultures and philosophies, English has a need to be elongated in way things are express, Which is the other method the Chinese language uses to make the expressions the most accurate is using idioms. The idioms are an integral part of the Chinese culture and wisdom since almost each of them is a conclusion of a traditional Chinese legend and expresses a sort of an insight. I hope you learned a lot about the differences between the two languages, and understand how to start comprehending the Chinese language.
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