<p>Hey guys! I'm a freshman at ASU, and I just finished my finals last week :) I'm a history major, and one of my requirements states that I have to complete a foreign language through the 202 level. I've been interested in Mandarin Chinese for quite a while now, so I've signed up to take 101 next semester. I've been doing some research on the language, so I know about tones, pinyin, characters, etc. I know it's going to be a hard language, but I'm really committed to learning it. For any of you who have firsthand experience: what else can I expect in my Chinese studies? Is it really as difficult as everyone says it is? For the record, I have no experience with Asian languages. English is my first language, but I also speak a little Arabic (my parents' native language) and some Spanish (studied it all 4 years of high school). </p>
<p>I apologize for answering when I have no experience in Chinese, but I couldn’t help myself. :)</p>
<p>Usually if you’re interested in something and willing to put in effort (which I can tell since you’re already doing research) then you have the tools to succeed. You have some experience in Arabic and Spanish, which helps because you have experience in learning/using languages both similar and dissimilar to English.</p>
<p>It’s cool haha thanks! :)</p>
<p>I can tell you that I think a lot of it depends on perspective… Like my Korean friend (whose first language is Korean) found Japanese easy to learn, despite the fact that A LOT of people refer to Japanese as being an extremely difficult language to learn. I certainly didn’t find it to be as difficult as people claimed it was, despite the fact that when I learned it, I only knew English.</p>
<p>I think one thing about Chinese (or just any language that doesn’t use the Latin alphabet) that is off-putting to people is the written language. They get intimidated by the characters and are like “nope”, give up immediately, and declare it “difficult” just because of that, without actually attempting to learn it. Please don’t be like that!! I mean, other people (who are dedicated) have learned the language (written and spoken), it’s totally possible :)</p>
<p>I don’t know Chinese, but I can tell you that having experience in other languages will help you, even if it’s not from the same language family 
Having studied Spanish, Japanese, and Portuguese, I noticed a lot of links between Japanese and Spanish/Japanese and Portuguese/Portuguese and Spanish, and that really helped me. I’m currently studying Czech and once again, my experience in other languages is definitely helping me out. </p>
<p>So don’t fret because of what others say! Your dedication is a major plus, as well as your experience in Arabic and Spanish. It’s definitely gonna be better for you, considering that you signed up for a language that you actually have interest in. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thanks! Personally, the characters are what got me interested in the first place. They’re just so beautiful haha!</p>
<p>@miopyon13
Korean and Japanese are descended from the same language family so although they use different writing system and the words have changed over time the underlying grammar and syntax / sentence structure is basically the same. </p>
<p>Alternatively languages that are not descended from the same family might be easier to learn IF there was a lot of loanwords or similar writing system. Japanese borrowed Chinese words and characters so although they are different languages, and even if the characters no longer mean the something, it is still easier to go between the languages. Likewise both Vietnamese and Chinese are tonal so that helps people trying to learn one language from the other. </p>
<p>So as for you OP, you will most likely have an incredibly difficult time learning Chinese. The first issue is what I already touched upon and that is the tonal aspect of the language. You will need to train your ears and brain to hear tones and think in tones then train your mouth to speak in tones. It is no easy task. </p>
<p>The other issue which is what will get you in the long run is the writing system. Each character has a different meaning so you will have to memorize each one indecently. Then when you combine two characters together the meaning changes. So the sheer amount of combinations makes it a huge battle of memorization. At the same time you don’t have the benefit of an alphabet. There are no root words to look at and you can’t sound out the symbol so there are no shortcuts. </p>
<p>IMO Chinese isn’t worth the effort. You might have a different opinion tho. </p>
<p>It really depends. S and D had a very tough time learning it and eventually gave up. Their pronunciation/tone was excellent but the found the characters and pinyin more challenging than they could readily handle. Two of my nieces found it pretty OK and one found it easy (she also found French easy). D found German MUCH easier than Mandarin. Both our kids were motivated but S said for him it was the toughest subject he had ever taken–tougher than all his APs put together. </p>
<p>I’d say give it a try. Can’t you also demonstrate fluency with your Spanish? I took a lot of conversational Spanish in college and really enjoyed it. The 4 years I took in HS placed me into 4th semester Spanish in college.</p>
<p>@bomerr I’m up for the challenge. I also heard that if you’re musical, the tones will be a little easier. I play the violin and I sing, so I wonder if that’ll help.</p>
<p>I asked this question to receive some advice on learning Chinese, not to have people attempt to dissuade me from learning it. I’m still going to learn Chinese, regardless.</p>
<p>@starchick21 I think going for a challenge is good BUT I also think goals need to reasonable. You could study Chinese for years and still not be able to read a newspaper. </p>
<p><a href=“Science | AAAS”>Science | AAAS;
<p>As you can see Chinese is not an big influential language and I don’t think it will ever be because of the writing system. </p>
<p>As someone who has taken a lot of Russian courses (which is more difficult than latin but easier than arabic) I would not advise spending the time to learn Chinese.</p>
<p>My English professor recently told us that he believes American students should be required to have some exposure to Chinese before graduating (either high school or college) – considering how many people in China know English, it’d be an asset for any American to take on Chinese, at least at a rudimentary level. It’ll prove to be incredibly helpful within the next century - especially with regards to geopolitics and economics. </p>
<p>Good luck with your studies! </p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>@bomerr - Why are you telling OP to give up right away? If she already knows other languages then I’m sure it can only help. Honestly, a lot of your posts strike me as negative, and I remember saying so a year ago too! Did you ever get into Haas? </p>
<p>Chinese is a tough language. I’ve heard it’s one of the hardest languages for nonnative speakers to learn, and will take 5+ years to achieve fluency in. If you feel ready though, by all means go for it. </p>
<p>Good luck! </p>
<p>@Corianderr23 for other languages to help there needs to be similarities. English can help learning Spanish or most other European languages. Arabic can help with Hebrew. Vietnamese or Japanese can help with Chinese but the OP doesn’t speak those languages. As for why, 5 years to get fluent like you said. </p>
<p>As for haas, I decided to apply for Stanford this year. </p>
<p>Yes, I think it’s fair to say that it’s one of the hardest languages to learn. Not only does it lack a familiar alphabet (I believe characters are processed by a different part of the brain), but it is substantially tonal, meaning that a word that appears to be the same has a number of different pronunciations and meanings.
When I was in school, the Chinese and Japanese language students were pretty well immersed. They carried around well-thumbed packs of character cards, consulting them whenever they had a few minutes and met for lunch and dinner to practice speech. The Russian students had their own dorm where Russian only was spoken in an effort to gain the immersion. Some universities have dorm wings or floors given over to language students. You might see if there is a similar “Chinese House” set up at your university.</p>
<p>Hard. Very hard. I can’t hear the different tones.</p>
<p>You need to know if those in the class are all beginners or if they have been taking Chinese classes (Saturday school) or if they took it for 3-4 years in high school but are starting again. You could be at a big disadvantage. Many kids I know took it in high school, but they were also raised in homes where it was spoken at least part time. You may find it helpful to find a Chinese community where someone is willing to just speak to you. Get a job in a Chinese restaurant (Mandarin, not Cantonese!) and just listen. See if there are any exchange programs you can go on; often they are funded by the Chinese government and you just have to pay transportation. Get some tapes and just listen to the tones. See if you can duplicate the tones.</p>
<p>A billion people speak it (even little kids), so how hard could it be?</p>
<p>@GMTplus7</p>
<p>How hard:</p>
<p><a href=“Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard”>http://pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html</a></p>
<p>It really is that hard. The first class will be easy, but that’s true for every language. Unless you have a genuine interest in the language, you won’t get far.</p>
<p>@bomerr I realize that >.> My point was that since he was learning Japanese as someone who ONLY knew Korean, so he found it easier than a lot of English speakers. My point is that it depends on perspective.</p>