Firstly is due to the writing system since Japanese kanji are derived from Chinese characters [汉字 hanzi]. Even if they are sometimes not completely the same, the same character in both languages may still be related. For example, the Japanese word for book is 本 [hon]. In Chinese the word for book is 书 [shu1] however the classifier (1) for books in Chinese is 本 [ben3]： 那本书很有意思 [Na ben shu hen you yisi] - That book is interesting. Although the character for books are not the same, 本 is still related to the topic of 'books'. This can make it easier to remember.
Another reason is Japanese grammar. Japanese grammar is completely different from English with its different word order and particles etc. Because the verb must appear at the end of the sentence, in Japanese you would say 'I at school Chinese study' : 私は学校で中国語を勉強します。Chinese is a SVO [subject verb object] language like English however, certain phrases such as phrases which mark location must appear before the verb. 我在大学念书汉语 = I at university study Chinese. Due to shifting around different parts of a sentence for the last three years in Japanese, it has become easier to adapt to doing it in Chinese.
While this is good and all, I'm still a far-cry from being profient enough to go about daily life in Chinese. In a year and a half, I'll be packing my bags for the first time going abroad to stay in China or Taiwan for a full year. I would quite like to make some Chinese or Taiwanese friends whilst I'm over there but that will be difficult to happen with a low profiency of their language. So, I'm studying everyday to get better. I've found some music in Chinese I like and could listen to over and over and over again. I watch Taiwanese drama shows [with subtitles of course] to get accustomed to the tones and pick up some colloquial phrases. But there are still so many grammar points I have yet to grasp and so so many of those characters to master. So I've drawn up a 'get damn good at Chinese' plan. Each day I plan to:
- Learn 5 new characters including words in which they appear in and some sentences for each of these words.
- Study a new grammar point each day - one if it's a large point, two if they are both small.
- Do a new lesson in a book from google books on any topic.
- Do 5 minutes of shadowing per day.
- Construct a sentence each day.
You seem very determined to learn Chinese - good stuff. I've been in China 6 years now, and you definitely need to be motivated to continue improving your Chinese. When you do come to China, be it Taiwan or another city, you will be able to make Chinese friends easily, but as you mention, if your level of Chinese isen't great, then you'll just be conversing in English.
ReplyDeleteFor listening to music, have you tried Google Music China? A good source (if you can access it outside of China)
Thank you, I really am determined to master Chinese to a good extent. Wow, 6 years is a long time, your Chinese must be amazing! Which city in China do you live in if you don't mind me asking? Yeah, I'm quite afraid of going to China and then just sticking with some of my friends who will be exchange students at the same university and only speaking English all the time. Nope, haven't googled it. I'll give it a try.
ReplyDeleteTake care.