is this a way stupid question? which Chinese?

[beats]

hello group, first post. group looks good. thank god there are still NGs where people aren't compelled to profanity and American politics.

so if a person wants to learn "Chinese", uh, which Chinese would be "the way to go"? i guess it's down to Mandarin or Cantonese. i sort of formed the impression that Cantonese is the language of business, and that Mandarin is mainly a Northern thing, but it may be that Mandarin is the way of the future on the mainland?

i don't think i care about Hong Kong, business interests me but the Beijing music scene interests me more. i have two pen-pals who are rock and rollers in Beijing, i haven't a clue what they speak, we converse in English and they don't seem to be able to exchange emails frequently.

your counsel would be greatly appreciated and depending on which way you sway me, you might have another study partner/peer to yap at.

thanks,

beats

[liuzhou]

Not a stupid question at all.

Really the answer comes down to - who do you want to talk to?

Cantonese is the language of Hong Kong and a vast majority of the Chinese diaspora. I wouldn't agree that it is the language of business. It is all but incomprehensible outside HK, Guangdong and parts of Guangxi. Cantonese is spoken by only around 4.5% of mainland Chinese. Economic powerhouses on the mainland are not Cantonese speaking. Interestingly, even within Guangdong, home of Cantonese, a city like Shenzhen, a major economic power, Mandarin is dominant (at least in the workplace.)

Elsewhere in China, Mandarin is essential. The locals may not speak it, or only speak a heavily accented variation on it, but they at least understand it. It is the language of mainland education, television and the lingua franca between different dialect speakers

In terms of sheer numbers, it has to be Mandarin - if you want to speak to people on the mainland.

If you want to order a take-away meal in your local restaurant back home, Cantonese is probably more useful.

[roddy]

thank god there are still NGs where people aren't compelled to profanity and American politics.

You must have caught as in a quiet week . . .

The question's come up a few times, and I think every time the answer has been Mandarin - unless you live in / near a Cantonese speaking community, and are sure you won't ever need Mandarin, I think that would be the case

Roddy

PS Whats an NG?

[beats]

you know, i think that wraps it up. mandarin it is. if i can indulge you further, some advice on how to begin.

let's presume a budget of $0.00USD and unlimited internet access through a multimedia computer. there's always WRONG ways to start something. what are those wrong ways?

by staying up last night and applying a bit of my obsessive behavior, i got a rought idea of the syntax, picked up on Pinyin, started with the audio-pinyin stuff in in an hour was able to come....something close to guessing what short phrases would sound like when i played them. after about 10 phrases, i saw some logic emmerging, like how people's names are framed and how "ma" makes phrases a question, some other tidbits.

i can hear that i'll need some finite instruction on how to pronounce some of these syllables but i think i'll be able to find people of Skype that will talk me through them and offer correction. one of your more involded people might get groups together for that (ala newbie, beginning, interrmediate, etc.)

but there you go. i tend to do well by listening and immersive activity. once again, your advice?

thanks again,

beats

[beirne]

but there you go. i tend to do well by listening and immersive activity. once again, your advice?

Go down to the library and see if they have the Pimsleur course on Mandarin. They probably won't have the full series but they may have the starter course. You will have a lot more to do after you finish the course but you will be pronouncing Chinese and you will be somewhat immersed. It uses real discussiion rather than vocubulary memorization like most learning tapes.

[flyinghome]

in fact the same questions appeared when i started to learn English.

When looking back, a lot of time had been wasted on memory work. i advise you just try to use it.

Of course it will be quite difficult for you to speak Chinese now, but you can use just words in your life, for example, you say "冰箱（bingxiang）" when you refer to the refrigerator. it is only a word, and it easy but is is Chinese and i think that way can inspirate you. you will be immersed in Chinese soon.

when you have known more and more words, nextt step for simple sentence practice follows. That is it, step by step. Progress be made.