Wendy Abraham - Chinese For Dummies

Chinese For Dummies, 2nd Edition Published by
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www.wiley.com Copyright 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions . Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials.

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If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that was not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at booksupport.wiley.com For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Control Number: 2012955832 ISBN 978-1-118-43666-0 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-43654-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-43657-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-43658-5 (ebk) Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 About the Author Dr. Wendy Abraham has taught courses on Chinese language, literature, history, and culture at Hunter College, Georgetown University, NYU, and Stanford University. She spent a year researching Shang Dynasty oracle bones in Taiwan, which sparked her deep interest in the development of Chinas written language. Wendy has directed Chinese language programs for American students in Beijing and Shanghai, and she has interpreted for high-level arts delegations from China. Her doctoral dissertation was on the Chinese Jews of Kaifeng, a subject about which she has written widely and continues to lecture frequently throughout the United States.

Her interest in all things Chinese since the age of three continues unabated. Dedication This book is dedicated to Oszkar and Shandy, with love for the Iakab family then and now. It is also dedicated to my father, Gyrgy, my mother, Marilyn, my sister, Susan, and my new brother-in-law, Michael. Authors Acknowledgments The first million thanks go to my mother for making this past year (and me) possible. It would never have happened without her and our late night Scrabble games, and I will be forever grateful. The next million thanks go to my father for filling this past year with amazing new conversations, lots of love, and a letter to his newly found cousins.

Thanks also go to my sister and brother-in-law for their collective sense of humor and for reminding us about all the things in life for which we should be grateful. To Gerard and Jean Russak for extending the welcome mat, music, and deep friendship to me and the ever-growing brood of cats on the Upper West Side. To all those who made miracles happen this year: Csongor Nyulas (Hungarian translator par excellence), Bob Edelstein, Anna Mekulinova, Hila Turkienicz, Itzhak Fouxon, Nehama Rosenberg, Malka Spitzberg, Leon Fishbein, my wonderful Elly Neeman, and Am Hazikaron. My family will always be grateful for your help in finding Oszkar and Shandy while writing this second edition of Chinese For Dummies . Needless to say, this book would not have been possible without the remarkable folks at Wiley: Stacy Kennedy (the wonderful and efficient Acquisitions Editor), Tim Gallan (the calm and collected Project Editor), Constance Carlisle (who labored tirelessly to get the audio CD just right), and Megan Knoll (whose eye for Chinese typos without even knowing the language was stupefying). Great team, all.

Finally, thank you Cynthia Reidlinger, Ollie, Tommy, and the extended Sargent clan for contributing so much to this book and providing a great dose of inspiration along the way. Publishers Acknowledgments Were proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com . For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites Senior Project Editor: Tim Gallan Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy Copy Editor: Megan Knoll Assistant Editor: David Lutton Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen Technical Editors: Language Training Centers, Yang Wen Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker Editorial Assistants: Rachelle S.

Amick, Alexa Koschier Vertical Websites: Melanie Orr Audio Produced by: Her Voice Unlimited, LLC (hervoice@iquest.net) Cover Photos: Idealink Photography / Alamy Cartoons: Rich Tennant ( www.the5thwave.com ) Composition Services Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery Layout and Graphics: Carrie A. Cesavice, Jennifer Creasey, Melanee Habig, Joyce Haughey Proofreader: Joni Heredia Language Services Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher David Palmer, Associate Publisher Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Composition Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services Introduction G lobalization has made familiarity with other people, cultures, and languages not only preferable but also essential in the 21st century. With the help of the Internet, reaching out and touching someone on the other side of the earth has become as easy as clicking a mouse or using a smartphone. And yet nothing quite beats the excitement of a face-to-face encounter with someone who hails from the other side of the globe in his or her own language. Communication in cyberspace doesnt even come close. Whether youre an inveterate traveler, going overseas for business, about to study overseas, interested in frequenting Chinatown, befriending a Chinese-speaking classmate or coworker, or just plain curious about China, Chinese For Dummies, 2nd Edition, can help you get acquainted with enough Chinese to carry on a decent conversation on any number of topics.