Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

Trying to tackle Mandarin as a beginner

  Tags: Beginner | Mandarin
 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center Post Reply
9 messages over 2 pages: 1
Ari
Heptaglot
Senior Member
Norway
Joined 6391 days ago

2314 posts - 5695 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese
Studies: Czech, Latin, German

 
 Message 9 of 9
30 March 2014 at 8:37pm | IP Logged 
This thread looks a bit old, but since it seems to have been raised from the dead, I'll give my two cents: If one is unfamiliar with language learning, the first few months of learning a language with an unfamiliar sound system is HARD. It's terribly difficult for the brain to remember a bunch of sounds which are totally unfamiliar. There are no categories, no places to put these words, and they don't stick. After a while, this gets easier. Once you've got a few hundred words down, your brain starts to get familiar with the sounds and can relate them to each other. So "zhou" sounds like "xiu" but with the initial from "zhe", sort of. You remember things through relations and associations, and jumping into something that sounds as foreign as Mandarin, there's nothing to relate to. But be tenacious, keep drilling those basic words and phrases over and over even though you keep forgetting them, and eventually you get a foothold, and then it's all downhill from there (was that a mixed metaphor? I can't tell myself). Until you start learning characters, at least, because you'll have the same problem there.


5 persons have voted this message useful



This discussion contains 9 messages over 2 pages: << Prev 1

If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 1.8125 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.