Mandarin Chinese

Mia Rampton Spanish, french, and german are offered as an option to learn in high school; but mandarin chinese isn’t. 400 million people speak spanish, 220 million people speak french, and 90 million people speak german while 1.2 billion people speak chinese as their first language. Mandarin Chinese should be taught in American high schools because it would help further our social connections, improve business, and give Americans a better perspective of the world. For years and years, english has been the lingua franca; but it hasn’t always been. Greek was the lingua franca during the Classical Period and Latin was the language of the Medieval Period. Lingua franca translates to “french language” because French was the lingua franca when the…

It is mentioned in the article that some individuals believe that with the past of time Mandarin Chinese will be the language that will be more spoken throughout the world. In my opinion, I believed that this statement is false because although the economy of China is growing, Chinese is a hard language to learn and it will be even harder to adapt a massive amount of people to master that language. I don’t think that a specific language will rule the world, Chinese will continue speaking…

For clarity, the students who attend the school are taught in Mandarin alongside the English language starting as young as preschool. I am able to observe my Mandarin colleague, whom I collaborate with, lecture our students in a language I am completely unfamiliar with. Characters besides simple numbers and letters are shocking for me to look at and decipher, yet, my students write and speak in full sentences at the age of five. Although I am not fluent in Mandarin, I am learning to understand a…

(or Dongbei in Chinese). People in this community speak Northeastern Mandarin, which is a dialect that is related to but obviously different from standard Mandarin. The research article examines language attitudes towards Northeastern Mandarin and Standard Mandarin. The article also discusses the implications of such attitudes and possible reasons behind language attitudes. In the introduction part, the author reviewed some important research on language attitudes, explaining how people 's…

For example, the celebration of Spring Festival. Regardless that it was National Holiday and Traditional Festival, each Chinese family had its own way of celebration. In my family, all my relatives would meet together and prepare a big dinner for everyone. The most important part was ladies in the house, from every age, making gyozas from scratch together. After dinner, we would watch a TV show and set off fireworks, while wishing each other for happiness and good health. However, as China…

hates school and would rather be at home with her mother. Lucy has been hitting other children during outdoor play times and putting classroom toys into her backpack to take home. Lucy’s parents speak Mandarin Chinese and limited English. The language barrier presents a challenge; however, I am determined to develop a strong partnership that supports the needs of both Lucy and her family members. This brief composition will examine my plan…

class, I am deeply overwhelmed. This is because their case is very similar to Richard Rodriguez’s reading, Hunger of Memory, the Education of Richard Rodriguez. Rodriguez talked about assimilating into the American culture, and adopting English as his first language. He described how his family stopped speaking Spanish to him, and continuously promotes English language in the house. Initially, I see no harm in learning a new set of language, or trying to fit into another culture. Nonetheless, I…

bookworm of the family because of my obsession with books whether it be a novel or a biography. And with that embedded in mind, the fact that I sincerely abhorred reading a few years ago probably dumbfounds everyone. Yes, I can pin it on my dramatic transition from China to the United States, but that is simply not the case. I remember vividly of my first moments in kindergarten. My teacher began the day with informal introductions followed by reading pinyin. I refused learn it and to read it…

Between Two Worlds Dayton Kwok Introduction As an American born Chinese, I’ve always had to switch between using English and Chinese. This is especially exacerbated since I lived in San Francisco, a city dominated by immigrants hailing from Southern China and Hong Kong. One moment I’m using English to talk to my friends, and the next moment I’m using Cantonese to talk to my family. My native language was English, but I also learned to speak Cantonese around the same time I learned to speak…

My flight has been booked, my wardrobe is just about complete, my classes have been picked, and my visa is on its way back from the Chinese consulate. While in Shanghai I hope to become more confident in my speaking and listening skills. I want to be able to confidently have conversations with natives whether it be if I am asking for directions and if I overhear a stranger talking about me in Mandarin and I understand what they are saying I think I will be more excited about my improvements…