Learn where Chinese is spoken
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: Where is Chinese spoken? |
| Dehua: And how many varieties of Chinese are there? |
| Michael: At ChineseClass101.com, we hear these questions often. |
| Michael: Emma, a college student, is meeting another student for the first time. On hearing Emma speak Chinese, the student asks, |
| "Where did you learn Chinese?" |
| 张 振轩: 你在哪里学的中文？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ xué de Zhōngwén?) |
| Dialogue |
| 张 振轩: 你在哪里学的中文？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ xué de Zhōngwén?) |
| 刘 艾玛: 在新加坡。 (Zài Xīnjiāpō.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| 张 振轩: 你在哪里学的中文？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ xué de Zhōngwén?) |
| Michael: "Where did you learn Chinese?" |
| 刘 艾玛: 在新加坡。 (Zài Xīnjiāpō.) |
| Michael: "In Singapore." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: There are many different names for the Chinese language. While we have |
| Dehua: 中文 (Zhōngwén) |
| Michael: in this lesson's conversation, another common name is |
| Dehua: 汉语 (Hànyǔ). |
| Michael: In Mainland China, standard spoken Chinese is called |
| Dehua: 普通话 (Pǔtōnghuà), |
| Michael: or Mandarin, as it is known in English. Mandarin is not only the official language of China, but also that of Taiwan, |
| Dehua: 台湾 (Táiwān), |
| Michael: as well as one of the official languages of Singapore, |
| Dehua: 新加坡 (Xīnjiāpō). |
| Michael: In addition to Mandarin, another spoken variety of Chinese is Cantonese. |
| There are two common names for Cantonese. One is |
| Dehua: 粤语 (Yuèyǔ) |
| Michael: and the other is |
| Dehua: 广东话 (Guǎngdōnghuà). |
| Michael: Cantonese is the official language of Hong Kong, |
| Dehua: 香港 (Xiānggǎng), |
| Michael: and Macau, |
| Dehua: 澳门 (Àomén). |
| Michael: Together, these are the two main varieties of spoken Chinese — Mandarin, |
| Dehua: 普通话 (Pǔtōnghuà), |
| Michael: and Cantonese, |
| Dehua: 广东话 (Guǎngdōnghuà). |
| Michael: In many other countries and regions with Chinese-speaking communities, you are very likely to hear either Mandarin, Cantonese, or both. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the conversation from the start of the lesson. |
| Do you remember how to say, "Where did you learn Chinese?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Dehua: 你在哪里学的中文？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ xué de Zhōngwén?) |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Let's now take a look at the second sentence. |
| How did Emma reply, "In Singapore." |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Dehua as @seattle-student: 在新加坡。 (Zài Xīnjiāpō.) |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the conversation in detail: I will say the English translation, and then you try to say the equivalent Chinese. Dehua will then model the correct answer and you can repeat after her, with the focus on your pronunciation. |
| How do you say, "Where did you learn Chinese?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 你在哪里学的中文？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ xué de Zhōngwén?) |
| Michael: Did you get it right? Listen to Dehua again and repeat. |
| Dehua: 你在哪里学的中文？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ xué de Zhōngwén?) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 你在哪里学的中文？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ xué de Zhōngwén?) |
| Michael: Let's move on to the second sentence. How do you say, "In Singapore." |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 在新加坡。 (Zài Xīnjiāpō.) |
| Michael: Did you get it right this time? Again, listen to Dehua and repeat. |
| Dehua: 在新加坡。 (Zài Xīnjiāpō.) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 在新加坡。 (Zài Xīnjiāpō.) |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: The differences between Mandarin and Cantonese are quite large. If a Mandarin speaker talks to a Cantonese speaker, they might be able to guess some words, but they would definitely have trouble trying to understand each other. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Dehua: 再见！ (Zàijiàn!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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