Mehta - Teach yourself Chinese

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Teach Yourself Chinese
2013, Priti Mehta
ISBN 978 81 207 7991 4
E-ISBN 978 81 207 9180 0

All rights are reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
written permission of the author.

Printed in India

Printed and Published by Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd.,
New Delhi-110 020.

Dedicated to

My Parents
and
Younger Brother
Late Prashant Mehta,
who has been my inspiration from
the day I started learning Chinese
language.

Foreword

Speaking the language of the person you are doing business with confers a huge advantage for a manager. It gives you flexibility and personal connections that make a difference in the speed and effectiveness of your negotiations. Therefore, as trade and business relations with China are increasing at a fast rate, business managers with the working knowledge of the Chinese will have an edge over others. Therefore, the pursuit to learning the Chinese language among business managers should increase. Also they need to learn elementary Chinese because managers in India, to manage and expand their businesses, are being transferred to China. Their companies, to gain advantage of local interaction and easy life, prefer those who have the working knowledge of the Chinese language over those who do not know the language.

The Chinese companies, coming Indian in larger number, are recruiting locals with an eye on expanding Indian market. Shanghai Electric Corporation, the biggest Chinese power company, has announced that its Indian subsidiary will recruit over 90 per cent of its staffs from India. The telecom major Huawei, which runs its biggest Research Office outside China, has 2,000 Indian employees at its Bangalore office. In such an environment those with working knowledge of the Chinese will be preferred over those who do not know elementary Chinese.

This in view Business & Management Chronicle, that I was editing, decided to publish a series of articles on learning elementary Chinese for business purposes. I came across Priti Mehta and was impressed with her knowledge of the Chinese language and the way it was spoken. I decided to commission her to write one article every month that she did for a long time. The articles were extremely popular among business school students. I am happy that she is bringing out this book on learning Chinese that, I am sure, will benefit those who have a vision for better business career.

I wish her the best in her new venture.

Y C Halan

Former Resident Editor
The Financial Express, Delhi

Preface

The limits of my language, means the limits of my world.

The quote by great philosopher and mathematician Ludwig Wittgenstein sums the indispensability of learning foreign languages in this world, where networking holds a pivotal role.

In todays competitive world, where everyone wants to grow, expand, learn and achieve numerous goals, have realized the importance of foreign language, and is taking measurable steps to lead in every arena of it. Chinese is one of the global languages, which many people are learning to enter international market and to raise their levels to a higher pedestal.

China is emerging as a global power, and is proving mettle and is revolutionizing the whole world. From automobiles, gadgets, technology to food, export and other quintessentially necessary and premium items, China is nowhere lagging behind. And now, thousands of people are trying to enter and learn their language of dealing and trading to grow and expand their scope along. For instance, many Gujaratis are learning the Chinese language because they know the language of business, and good economics decides which language to speak. After Gujarats Chief Minister Narendra Modis visit to China for investment purposes, Guajaratis, particularly the youngsters, began to learn Chinese in large numbers.

As China is now becoming an important business destination, more and more students, business professionals and entrepreneurs are travelling to China.

Therefore, being a Chinese learner myself, I decided to write this book on how to learn Chinese in an easy way, so that it gives the solution to many, to converse and communicate in Chinese confidently, like they do in their own language.

So by this book, I ensure a hurdle-free and simple method to know, learn, and speak the Chinese language, which might open your gateway to a new and successful land of China. As you start reading this book chapter by chapter, you will feel your presence in China.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my parents for motivating me to learn Chinese language and further encouraged me to write this book. Also, I sincerely thank my friend Mr. Ashish Ranjan, without whom the book would have not been published. His practical business knowledge in China, his invaluable, uncomplicated feedback and encouragement have been a support throughout. I would like to thank Ms. Zhang Ping for helping me in arranging the contents and giving her voice. Everyone deserves a heartfelt Thanks!

I would also like to thank Mr. S.K. Ghai, the Managing Director, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., who has been kind enough to give me the opportunity to bring this book in the hands of esteemed readers.

Hoping, this book will un-envelope many chapters of success and opportunities in years ahead.

Priti Mehta

email: priti.chinese@gmail.com

Introduction

The reason to learn Mandarin Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world. Learn to speak Mandarin and one can speak with millions of people around the world. Especially Business people who speak Mandarin have a huge advantage in tapping into the Chinese market. It is much easier to develop all-important relationships if you can speak Mandarin.

Interest in the language could be linked to Chinas growing presence on the global economic market.

Chinese is the only language in the world which has graphic-semantic signs,named as characters instead of alphabets or phonetic script for its written form. Chinese characters are at the foundation of Chinese civilization and culture, and it seems they are here to stay.

All Characters are formed by strokes. Stroke is the beginning and ending of the movement of a pen. There is a fixed sequence of the strokes when composing a Chinese character. It is important to follow the stroke order when you write Chinese.

To make more simplified way foreign people take help of Pinyin to learn chinese in faster and easier way. Pinyin is a Romanization system used to learn Mandarin. Pinyin is most commonly used in Mainland China and worldwide for teaching school children, job holding people, business man to read . Learning Pinyin is important. It provides a way to read and write Chinese without using Chinese characters - a major hurdle for most people who want to learn Mandarin Chinese.