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If you are coming new to this thread... I might suggest skipping down to post 14 as that is where the purpose and uniqueness of this thread is really defined.  

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This thread is for those who would like to learn and those who would like to teach Mandarin.  this is how it will work.  Each day - anyone who is teaching can introduce a word or a phrase.  (Keep them pg-13 and try to build on what others have already taught).  When you teach a phrase be sure to include what tone and any phonetic pronunciation (you can make up that to whatever sounds right).

The students will respond.  I'll be a student... I may be the only student... we'll see:

Use 1 for first tone (high-level)
Use 2 for second tone (high rising tone)
Use 3 for third tone (low falling raising)
Use 4 for fourth tone (falling tone)

This is an example.... (and our first entry I suppose)

- - - - - - -Teacher says:

Subject:  Ni hao

Message:

Ni hao.

Ni (Knee 3) Hao (How 3)

"Hello" - Say this as a greeting.

- - - - - - -Student Responds:

I see you on the street and say "Ni hao"


= = = = = = = = = = = = =

Now - here's the particular part.... there is no need to keep it standard - this isn't school - let's keep it relevant to the industry - movies, music - and be sure to try to build on what others have said already.

This is only an experiment, we'll see if it works.  I suspect students can handle a word or short phrase a day.  Eventually - we'll do a chatroom dialogue to test our (the students) skills.


....if it doesn't catch on, we'll just stop.  

[ Last edited by  MarkAllen at 2007-6-10 04:40 PM ]

i would need the basics of the basics... cuz dang it, i dont even know how tone 1 is supposed to sound! freaking american, right? *laff*

Guess it is DG and I just waiting for some benevolent teacher.  lol.

Mark, I think you need a better aproach at getting down the aspect of how one is to say such a phrase for your tones. Your first example was actually a good one, which we all seem to know. It's quite universal.

But no one seems to understand your:

Use 1 for first tone (high-level)
Use 2 for second tone (high rising tone)
Use 3 for third tone (low falling raising)
Use 4 for fourth tone (falling tone)

I've done linguistics my self and looking at that does not help me any.   If you want, I can dig up my phonetic alphabet out for you to look at. It's quite explainatory by it's self. *Scratches head* Or maybe not.  

"Ni Hao", if you can imagine does sound like a "Meow".

I would of thought given your use of 1-4 that Ni would be 2 and hao would be 3 instead of 3-3. *Scratches head even more*

We do need a teacher. I only know so much and so little.

I think I can teach you to read the symbols more then speaking the language by it self.   You may want to get Ren Ren in here.

*awaiting for her deliciously lickable RenRen to teach the so few students who are willing to learn*

By the way, are we going to be using Pin ying? or what exactly?

Oh!  Some one responded.  Wow, I was about to give up on this thread and delete it.

Okay - you know - the only reason I brought up the whole tone thing is that the couple people who have ever started teaching me to speak mandarin always started out with telling me the tones.  You see it a lot on reference websites like this:

http://www.insidereality.net/site/content/languages/chinese_phrases.php

Since the tone matters so much and this is just text, I thought it might help.  Apparently I scared everone away!

Yes, I was thinking pin ying since I can't imagine trying to learn all the characters.

Alrighty...the lickable Ren Ren is here (thanks Pongza!)

Pongza has gone over what the tone sounds like. Did you guys take notes? I hope so.

Lesson One: Introduction

Ni3 Hao3! Wo3 jiao4 ________ (given name or full name).
Or you can use Nin2 instead of Ni3. Nin2 is the polite form of ni3 (you).

For example: Ni hao! Wo jiao Rennie.

Excellent the education has begun... Ren Ren - can you mention what the phonetics sound like?  For example, Pongza's "meow" for "Nin Hao" was great.  Thanks for clarifying Ni vs. Nin.<br />
<br />
Okay my homework.   <br />
<br />
I'm standing in your home uninvited with a big box of cereal and you ask me who I am and I say<br />
<br />
Ni hao!  Wo jiao Mark Allen.

[ Last edited by  MarkAllen at 2007-6-8 07:52 AM ]

wo jiao Peachey. Nin hao.

ni(3) zuo(4) shen(1) me?
What are you doing?

wo(3) kan(4) shu(1)
I am reading.

wo(3) chang(4) zhi(1) ge(1)
I am singing a song.

ni men(no tone) xiao(4)
You (plural) laugh.

Cool Peachy - thanks for joining... but I need some phonetics on those...  

DG - you're not doing  your homework.

i would like to teach too, but i suck at pinyin.

Wo3 Si4 bun2 dan4

Wo = I /me
Si = am/is/are
ban dan = stupid

I am stupid =(

Lesson 2: Expressions

1)  dui4 bu qi3.
       Sorry

2) wo3 bu zhi1 dao
        I don't know.
    wo = I
    bu zhi dao = don't know

3) wo3 zhi1 dao
        I know.

4) ni3 bu shi4 ben4 dan4.
       You are not stupid.
    bu shi4 = is not / are not

xie xie
pronounced: shieh shieh
think it's neutral tone

should learn numbers too
yi (1) - yee
er (4) - are
san (1) - sahn
si (4) - sih
wu(3) - woo
liu(4) - le-u
chi(1) - chee
ba(4) - bah
jiu(3) - je-u
xi(2) - sih

zuo(3) - zu-awh
left
you(4) - yo
right

Hey, gang!  We've got quite a "Learn Mandarin" thread going on over in the Jet Li forum.  Don't know if anybody's interested in visiting it....it's called:

"Follow me in simple Chinese"

We're up to page 5 right now.  We're trying to learn characters, sentence structure, weird things for Kityun to use, tones and pronounciation.

============================================================================
This is the break line for when a new approach is being taken.... Let's consider everything up until now practice. This is great - so many particpants!  it will be fun....  (if you want the every day ho-hum run of the mill kind of lessons, I guess you can go to the Jet Li forum. )  ...but here we'll do things a little bit different.....  bear with me.....

Do keep in mind that anytime a new pinyun phrase is written, we will need the phonetic spelling 'cause xie xie doesn't sound like shieh shieh until you know it's supposed to.  (btw xie xie is falling tone 4).

Okay so here is the fun part....


Instead of random useful phrases... I would like to differentiate this by making it a story....   I believe that stories help memory and this will keep it interesting for the teachers.  You see.... I know the story, but you'll be telling it to me.

This is how.... You will ask yes or no question In mandarin....   like "Is it about a dog?"  Then I will say either "yes" or "no."  If I say yes, then that phrase will be included in the new story and everytime I say yes, I have to type out the whole story (practice!)  and all the studnets following along will type out the entire story as well... if there are any others.... lol....   Now, I might have to say "maybe" to certain questions which can't be answered yes or no.

This is a writing exercise that I do in workshops... so for any writers, this will be of particular interest.

Make Sense?  I hope so!

Okay - so let the questions begin..........

one tip.... remember essentially you are trying to tell the story - so first you want to know who your characters are, then you want to know what they want or what they do, what stops them... and finally you want to know how they solve it or what becomes of them.... okay?    Have at it.

oh my god. if you girls could hear me now! ahahaha.. you'd be laffing your behinds off... ahahaha... i am reading the sentences as if i am reading english... i SUCK! (lick me *wink*)

i can say a few things... from what i've heard from the movies... but i don't think they are very true sounding.

Wo3 bu4 dong3! Ni3 dao4 di xiang3 zhe4 me yang4?
I don't understand! What exactly do you want?
Wo bu (boo) dong (d-own-g)! Ni (knee) dao (d-ow) di (dee) xiang (sh-i-ang) zhe (juh) me (muh) yang (yi-ang)?

wo3 ye3 bu4 dong3!

ye3= also

i also do not understand.

Okay - this is how it might play....  

TEACHER (RenRen)

Is it about a dog?

(same question in mandarin)
(phonetic spelling with tones OF NEW WORDS)

STUDENT(Mark)

Yes.

(in mandarin:  It is about a dog.)



TEACHER(RenRen)

Does the dog live in a doghouse?

(same question in madarin)
(phonetic spelling with tones OF NEW WORDS)


STUDENT(Mark)

No.

(and I try to say no in mandarin)




TEACHER(RenRen)

Does the dog live in a jungle?

(same question in mandarin)
(phonetic spelling with tones OF NEW WORDS)


STUDENT

Yes

(in mandarin:   It is about a dog.  The Dog lives in the jungle.)



TEACHER

(corrects me if I messed up - just writes it out correctly maybe you'd rewrite it "It is about a dog who lives in the junle." )....  

Does the dog meet a monkey?
(same question in mandarin)
(phonetic spelling with tones OF NEW WORDS)




AND SO ON.........  make more sense now?

Hint - take your time... I can really only handle one question a day anyway realistically - so people take it slow... don't burn yourself out, you'll get sick of it fast.... we'll try about one question a day.

attempting to learn Mandarin (Chinese) via a blog!

Ni-2 xiang-3 shue-2 zhong-1 wen-2 ma-1?
Are you thinking of learning Chinese?
(您) 你 想 学 中 文 吗?
There are 2 Chinese variations of characters to "you" in Ni.

The first one refers to approaching people who are more of your elders when you speak more with  respect. You pronounce as "ning-2". It is more heartfelt which explains the additional "heart"
"xin-1" at the bottom of the original "ni-2/3" chinese character. In fact the word "ni"你 can be
pronounced in either the 2nd or 3rd tone depending on the sentence whether's it's in a form of a
question or phrase.

Mark is your name... will then be ni-3 de-4 ming-2 shi-4 ma-3 ke-4.

Any help?

Ah Lynn... that was educational, thank you.

Okay - we must begin our story now............  Did my explanation make it more clear?   Trust me, it will make sense once we begin.  Perhaps we'll schedule a chatroom about it at some point soon if people don't understand.

But primarily... it can begin the moment someone asks me a question about my story... ask in mandarin with the phonetics though....  (phoneics by the way are any combination of letters that sounds like what it should sound like vs. how the inying is spelled.)


Okay - whose going to ask the first question about this story?