Predefined mnemonic keyword chart

[webmagnets]

I have written a post on my new blog ForeignMemory.com about an idea I have for memorizing mandarin vocabulary.

Please check it out and let me know your ideas. some comments would be great to ;-)

http://www.mandarinmnemonics.com/editorial/chinese-vocabulary-mnemonics-idea/

Edited March 5, 2010 at 04:27 PM by webmagnets
url changed

[elliott50]

Some time ago I bought a very interesting book full of these sort of ideas called, modestly, "The Easiest Way to Learn Mandarin - Image Maps, Word Images and Other Mnemonics".

I have the first edition, which is entirely phonetic (with pinyin, but without characters). I see they have now produced a second edition: http://www.sinoamericanbooks.com/easymandarin.html

You might find that this book would add to your toolbox of memorisation techniques.

[webmagnets]

As far as I can tell from the web site, that book is different then what I am proposing.

[Artem]

While interesting concept, I think it reinforces separation between pronunciation as in western languages and pronunciation with tones. ma2 is as different from ma3 as it is from ge4, so I think using your system it would get confusing, cause then you also have to associate motion to remember the tones. It seems like it would be actually harder than rot memorization.

For example, could you make a mnemonic for the following words and how would you distinguish between them:

事实 and 实事

or for that matter any of these:

实施 事实 试试 实时 适时

Interesting idea, but it needs to incorporates tones more closely, because pronunciation without tones is not a pronunciation in Chinese. Don't think of it as sound with a tone, but rather a tonal sound.

Edited January 3, 2010 at 06:25 PM by Artem
left out a word...

[webmagnets]

Here is my first idea for 事实 shìshí:

"How dare you accuse me of not wearing a shirt! (said while stomping, to remember that it is the 4th tone) When the fact is plain to see that I am wearing two shirts. (said while raising up the top layer shirt to show the second shirt and indicate the 2nd tone."

my initial idea for 实事 shíshì is pretty weak, but could be improved with some thought:

Mom to her daughter: Wear something practical, we are going to be working in the garden today.

The teenage daughter comes back after a few minutes wearing a bikini top and jeans.

Mom: I assumed that when I said 'wear something practical' you would put on a shirt on not take off your shirt! (put on = 4th tone / take off = 2nd tone).

Edited January 3, 2010 at 06:53 PM by webmagnets
addition

[webmagnets]

Do you think it would be better if there were a separate keyword for every "tonal sound"?

example:

shī = sherpa (he will guide you to the highest point of any mountain).

shí = sherbet (when you eat it your blood pressure rises).

shǐ = sherlock (looking down and up with his magnifying glass).

shì = shirt (you pull it down).

So here is a story for 实施 shíshī:

You have invented a secret recipe for the world's greatest sherbert. You decide you need to keep it secret, so you implement a plan to take it to the top of Mount Everest and you hire a sherpa to guide you to the top.

Edited January 3, 2010 at 07:40 PM by webmagnets
grammar

[abcdefg]

I think your suggested method is excessively laborious, though it might possibly be useful for remembering a few words that you find extraordinarily difficult.

[webmagnets]

It would be laborious for the person that made the chart, but it wouldn't be very hard for those using the chart.

[Artem]

To be honest I'm not sure which would be better, incorporating motion or separate words.

Personally, neither method would work for me because mnemonics based on sound would confuse me. I try to keep different language pronunciations as separate as possible. I didn't use mnemonics when learning Chinese, and I definitely don't intend to use them at this point. So, I think maybe someone who uses mnemonics a lot should comment on the method.

I do agree with the poster above that it is too strenuous.

Let's say you create the chart for all possibilities (including tones, that's thousands of possibilities), what about words that are pronounced the same way, but are written differently (including the tones)? What about words that have several unrelated meanings?

How would the chart help with that?

Honestly, I don't think it's possible to have mnemonics for sounds, it's just too confusing. I personally believe there's no short cut to remembering sounds. Just listen over and over again. Minds remember sounds pretty easily (ever hummed or sang a song that you had no idea who sang or what it was called?). When I learned Chinese, I used music as my mnemonic, after listening to some song many times, I could sing parts of it without actually ever learning what it meant. Later when I learned a word, I remembered hearing it in the past and that made it stick.

Mnemonics, I think, are more useful when it comes to remembering characters and how they are written.

However, I'm sure some people would find it useful. Everyone learns in different ways, I can only attest to my own mind.

[abcdefg]

Using one of the examples from your blog, 同事，I find it easier to remember the pronunciation by linking it to other words I already know which have an initial 同 and other words I already know which have a final 事。

I realize that method is far from bulletproof, but it works instantly without my having to absorb another new story to help jog my memory. But, as has been pointed out, everyone learns differently.

[webmagnets]

I only use a mnemonic when I keep on forgetting the word. That way I don't get too many stories in my head.