Chinese Newspapers/Nonfiction .. Chinese Fiction/Novels .. special Grammar?

[dxcarnadi]

Hello

 

I use daily German & English languages.

 

Why are there special Chinese study books about Chinese Newspapers (Media)?
What so special about Chinese Newspapers? besides more words ..
Special grammar?
As far as I know .. there are no special study books for German/English newspapers .. reading/understanding.

 

The same questions about Chinese Fiction/Novels ..

 

Thank you.

 

[Shelley]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

You haven't said whether or not you are studying Chinese and if so what level you are at.

 

I don't think there is anything special about Chinese newspapers or books. When you are learning Chinese you try to find reading material at or just slightly above your level to make you learn more words, grammar and uses of the language.

 

Therefore you have apps or books that help you read the news or non fiction/fiction.

 

Chinese is so different from English that you need extra help to read newspapers. The difference between German and English is small in comparison, for a start they both use a familiar alphabet and the is a finite number of letters. The sounds of these letters are much more similar that the sounds of Chinese is to either English or German.

 

Then there is the number of characters you need to read a newspaper, an absolute minimum would be about 500 but more like 3000 would give you less to look up. Bearing in mind that words are usually made up of 2 characters and sometime 3 or 4 so the combinations are virtually endless.

 

The short answer is basically you need help to read Chinese newspapers and novels, and because when you are learning its difficult to find reading materials that are interesting and at your level.

 

[889]

I think there's a political aspect to it. The Chinese government has its hand in just about everything in China, including education, and newspaper reading is an important propaganda tool.

 

Further, Chinese newspaper writing does have a style of its own. It's different from spoken Chinese, but nowhere as difficult as modern literary Chinese, since it avoids a lot of words and phrases common in literature. The reading level of newspapers is purposely kept relatively low so that the propaganda remains accessible to the masses.

 

That is, in terms of difficulty it makes a good stepping stone for foreigners between 口语 and 文学.

[dxcarnadi]

Hello

OK .. Chinese Newspaper doesn't have extra grammar .. maybe many sentence-patterns & function-words?

 

I'm a German engineer .. I live in a small village .. far far away from Chinese sight/sound.
BTW  .. Germany doesn't have a Chinatown .. unlike London, Amsterdam & Paris.

 

I'm trying to understand .. how Chinese language works.
Someday via Internet I will read Chinese newspapers & hear/see YouTube...about China food.

 

German grammar is prescriptive. It is official... like English .. for BBC ... not for Spoken Language.
Mandarin is descriptive? Beijing language for all ..? Spoken & Written?

 

That's why I like the Oxford Chinese Learning website.
For example .. From discourse .. I try to understand the dialogue.
Chinese like to move/expel a word to "context" .. German Grammar forbids that!

 

Thank you both of you.