My First Putonghua (Mandarin) Class

When I think about it, all I can do is laugh.

So, after I got back from Shanghai, I was really excited about learning Putonghua. In fact, I even (impulse) purchased a computer program (with CD-ROM) that teaches you Mandarin in the Shanghai airport. Early last week, I went to HKUST's language centre and signed up for Putonghua I for English-Speakers.

The class is every Tuesday from 5:30 pm until 8 pm (2.5 hours!). It is small, with only about 10 students, and it costs $145 CAD for 16 weeks of lessons. I think this is a great deal, because when I wanted to sign up for a Mandarin class in the summer, courses cost a lot more than this.

The class is really basic so far - we go over the phonetic alphabet and learn really easy phrases and vocabulary. The teacher makes us say sentences by ourselves, and it just sounds so funny, that even she has to laugh at us. I spend half of the class, and some time after it, just laughing at myself. You feel like an absolute idiot.

The main reason is because, in Mandarin (and most Asian languages), tone matters. There are four tones - and they all sound completely different. For example, the word "ma" has four different meanings, depending on which tone you say it in. It can mean mother, hemp, horse, or scold. When it is said with no tone at all (natural tone) at the end of a sentence, it turns whatever sentence you were saying into a yes or no question! For native English speakers...this is a real challenge.

It was really fun, though! The time went by really quickly, and I think I am actually doing a better-than-average job at picking things up. Shannon, my roommate, lived in China until she was 16, so she is really helping me with my pronunciation, and we have a "Word of the Day". This past weekend in Taiwan, I actually managed to communicate with a few people...I'm not good, but I definitely get an "A" for effort!

I am excited to see how much I will be able to pick up after a few months of lessons and dedication. In fact, maybe I will go through Lesson 1 on my CD-ROM one more time.

Zaijian! (Good bye!)