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View Full Version : Whats the easiest way for a white guy to learn Chinese?



Redlyne_mr2
01-27-2004, 12:21 AM
I want to learn cantonese, I can make out a few things when listnening to conversations and say a sentence here and there...oh yah and count to 10 haha. Anyways I have huge problems with the pronounciation. Are there books available to learn the language of should I take a class? My school in Ontario doesnt offer any cantonese classes so Im not sure where to turn

max_boost
01-27-2004, 12:26 AM
Go live in China or anywhere Cantonese is the preferred dialect.

Order the Chinese channel on your local cable network with english sub titles.

Better yet, how about Chinese school? You can chill with a bunch of 5 year olds! haha j/k

Anyway, did you get the ultimatum from girlRACER or her family?:tongue:

Altezza
01-27-2004, 12:32 AM
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33562

JK JK...

My sister-in-law took adult Cantonese classes at a local college. You might want to see if that may be available in your area.

Redlyne_mr2
01-27-2004, 12:33 AM
Originally posted by max_boost
Go live in China or anywhere Cantonese is the preferred dialect.

Order the Chinese channel on your local cable network with english sub titles.

Better yet, how about Chinese school? You can chill with a bunch of 5 year olds! haha j/k

Anyway, did you get the ultimatum from girlRACER or her family?:tongue:
haha no, no ultimatum yet I just feel like an uneducated idiot when Im around her relatives especially her grandma because I have no idea what she is saying and i cant even say thank you when she sends me home with chicken buns. ive been watching a lot of young and dangerous hahah but I think most of that movie is all swearing and they speak to fast. Going to China is also out of the picture until Im done school..maybe Ill see if I can find any educational dvds at the asian mall here in toronto

Originally posted by Altezza
http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33562

JK JK...

My sister-in-law took adult Cantonese classes at a local college. You might want to see if that may be available in your area.
hehe I was excited at first when I saw that thread then I realised it was all bunk

FiveFreshFish
01-27-2004, 12:37 AM
Learn the tones and you've got half of it beat. The vocabulary isn't as complex as English.

YCB
01-27-2004, 12:40 AM
first learn all the swears, and cusses then go from there...

HK2NR
01-27-2004, 01:52 AM
haha go rent gen x cops or gen y cops
you'll laugh your ass off at some bad cantonese acting plus there's bad english in it too

missblondie
01-27-2004, 02:07 AM
Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2
I want to learn cantonese, I can make out a few things when listnening to conversations and say a sentence here and there...oh yah and count to 10 haha. Anyways I have huge problems with the pronounciation. Are there books available to learn the language of should I take a class? My school in Ontario doesnt offer any cantonese classes so Im not sure where to turn

i am in the exact situation... i can count, understand money(great for my shopping addiction), and just say the polite small talk but that is about it... oh, and i can ask where the bathroom is, cuz that is an important one.

i looked into language courses at the u, but the only thing i could find was mandarin. i am in calgary, so if anyone knows somewhere please tell me.

good post though Ryan:)

girlRACER
01-27-2004, 02:37 AM
When I learned Mandarin...I had to first learn all the pronounciation of the pinyin vowels. During that time we would learn 2 words each class and every class after that would add 1 one more word until after a couple of weeks we could actually construct sentences. That class was 5 days a week for an hour...so we were constantly using the language.

Repetition is the easiest way to learn along with someone who is patient enough to teach you....hehe...but you know what my attention span is like :)

Weapon_R
01-27-2004, 02:40 AM
Easiest way to learn any language is to hang out with a lot of people who speak that language. No amount of books is going to accurately teach you another language, and it'll never be as quick or accurate as that of the average common group.

Ben
01-27-2004, 02:48 AM
Ryan, lets do a group class on learning, cause hell, I've wanted to for so long!

max_boost
01-27-2004, 06:15 AM
Alright guys, I'll volunteer to teach you Chinese. Just come hang out with me more often, at the Casino! haha

Where else are you going to find more Asian/Chinese people etc.? haha

Ben
01-27-2004, 08:30 AM
haha, so true!

Redlyne_mr2
01-27-2004, 11:49 AM
Originally posted by Ben
Ryan, lets do a group class on learning, cause hell, I've wanted to for so long!
Yah man for sure Ill go to pacific mall this weekend and see if I can find any tutorials , ill let you know

lam-boy
01-27-2004, 12:00 PM
Originally posted by max_boost
Alright guys, I'll volunteer to teach you Chinese. Just come hang out with me more often, at the Casino! haha

Where else are you going to find more Asian/Chinese people etc.? haha

haha learn nothing but

"aiya!"
"Diew!"
"hum ga chan!!!!!'

just a buncha swears haha

thich
01-27-2004, 12:10 PM
Originally posted by Weapon_R
Easiest way to learn any language is to hang out with a lot of people who speak that language. No amount of books is going to accurately teach you another language, and it'll never be as quick or accurate as that of the average common group.

hands down probably the easiest way.
cuz then you recognize the tonal inflections and so on which will probably be your biggest problem to deal with. English is such a horrible language.

I didn't use my Vietnamese for a good chunk of my life up until I was nearing the final years of High school. Then I hung out with a lot more ppl who spoke Viet a lot of the time and I picked up the language again REAL quick... there's sorta a group mentality to fit in... so it forces you to catch on and remember.

That.Guy.S30
01-27-2004, 02:17 PM
Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2

Yah man for sure Ill go to pacific mall this weekend and see if I can find any tutorials , ill let you know

is pacific mall the one right beisde canaidian tire? (old school franklin mall) i dont think they teach chinese school there.. they do have chinese school at the cultural center in chinatown!

max_boost
01-27-2004, 02:44 PM
Originally posted by Ben
haha, so true! Except for Chinatown but down there, no one cares. At the casino, everyone's buddy buddy haha

Hey thich, can you speak viet really fast? I remember back in Forest Lawn H/S days these nammers can speak in 'turbo mode'
All I really got out of it was kjfajkdkjdsjkl "DO MA" LALALLALAL "DO MA" LOL

I thinky ou know what I am talking about:tongue:

thich
01-27-2004, 06:34 PM
yup, pacific mall, Markham Ont.
Largest Asian store in North America iirc. (400 shops)

The one here in Calgary is called Pacific Place.
Possibly owned by the same Taiwanese company... who knows.

Max, I can speak slow or fast lol and several different dialects too.
My godmum told me to speak Viet slower though b/c I speak it like I speak english... so apparently you are supposed to regulate the speed that you speak Viet :dunno:

That.Guy.S30
01-27-2004, 06:49 PM
^^^ ahah sorry guys.. name sounded familiar

legendboy
01-27-2004, 11:49 PM
I would say learning mandarin would be alot easier than cantonese. us whities can pronounce it much better :english:

thich
01-28-2004, 01:24 AM
but it'd be useless if he were to use it to talk to her gramma who speaks cantonese :nut:
hehehe.

403Gemini
01-28-2004, 04:04 AM
ive wanted to learn this too, you guys find anything good?

MerfBall
01-28-2004, 09:39 AM
Watch lots and lots of Chinese movies

babiedoll
01-28-2004, 04:01 PM
haha..that's so cute!!! :tongue:

Chinese is so hard to learn!!! Props to you for trying!!! :thumbsup:

Look up cantonese pin yin...that's where you learn the tones for the proper pronunciation...cuz if you get the tone wrong...you'll end up saying something totally different...the most common mistake is "cunt" and "shoe"!!!

craigcd
01-29-2004, 07:57 PM
Originally posted by Weapon_R
Easiest way to learn any language is to hang out with a lot of people who speak that language. No amount of books is going to accurately teach you another language, and it'll never be as quick or accurate as that of the average common group.


I always thought this aswell but it hasnt seemed to work.... half my buddies speak chinese and yaa in 5 years nothing. If you activly tried participating in conversations im sure you could pick it up quick. I can usually tell what they are saying just by the look on there face and the english words they fill there conversation with where they cant find a chinese word.:D

thich
01-30-2004, 12:45 AM
you have to actively participate... that's the only issue; listening doesn't get u anywhere unless you subconsciously already know it on some level

l/l/rX
02-04-2004, 08:16 PM
Originally posted by Redlyne_mr2

ive been watching a lot of young and dangerous hahah but I think most of that movie is all swearing and they speak to fast. Going to China is also out of the picture until Im done school..maybe Ill see if I can find any educational dvds at the asian mall here in toronto



ahaha YND is the way to go!!! they have SOME nice language in that movie...:rolleyes: ahaha which series do you have? i need 1, 6,7, and born to be king. got them?



Originally posted by lam-boy

haha learn nothing but

"aiya!"
"Diew!"
"hum ga chan!!!!!'

just a buncha swears haha



aighya isnt a swear, and how can you forget "poke guy" jeez aha

here some words i guess
-diew neh goh lomo
-ngaw dai fai gay ah
-sut yeen ah ahaha :thumbsup:
-dai gah, dai lo, dai jei, dai gah jei, sai lo etc..
-fai jai
-lang lui
list goooes on have fun :)

l/l/rX
02-04-2004, 08:21 PM
o yea rights about whats the best way for white guy to learn chinese. well my friends girl friend is chinese and he hangs out with lots of us chinese people. hes caught on pretty well. like he knows how to say numerous things like "i need to take a shit" i guess just being around people who speak chinese is a way to learn. start off with simple words then put them into phrases.
basics you should know at least to start off with is, thank you, you're welcome, all the polite words that you will use constantly.