- Clear and detailed pronunciation, grammar and cultural explanations
- Exercises and activities based on real-life experiences in China
- Hours of video recordings filmed on location featuring dozens of native speakers in various parts of China and beyond
- Six hours of native-speaker audio recordings for all the book's dialogues and exercises
- Special software allowing you to interact with the recordings.
Here is a concise guide to supplement any course of study and help with homework, travel, and test preparation. Topics include word order, time, nouns, verbs, adjectives, word choices with verbs and adverbs, and letter writing. The simple format has one goal: quick mastery and growing confidence.
Qin Xue Herzberg, a graduate of Beijing Normal University, has taught Chinese for decades and has been an upper-level Chinese professor at Calvin College for ten years.
Larry Herzberg did his PhD work in Chinese and founded the Chinese language programs at Albion College and Calvin College.
Qin and Larry live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are co-authors of the popular China Survival Guide as well as the recently released Chinese Proverbs and Popular Sayings.
- Basic Written Chinese systematically introduces 288 of the highest frequency characters (in both their simplified and traditional forms) and over 700 common words written with them in context in sentences and a variety of reading passages to help you master basic Chinese reading and writing. This method will greatly improve your abilities to read Chinese and write Chinese
- The structure of each new character is explained in detail to make the learning of characters easier, and look-alike characters are compared and contrasted.
- Many lessons include character differentiation drills and some lessons include realia such as name cards, street signs, or email messages.
- Each lesson introduces 6 new characters and a number of words that are written using them. By dividing the leaning into small tasks, you maintain a sense of accomplishment rather than getting bogged down.
- You'll experience both printed and handwritten forms of characters, as well as several different printed fonts.
- Over 6 hours of audio by several native Mandarin speakers.
- Recordings of all reading selections.
- Recordings of all new characters and new vocabulary.
- The Chinese characters are grouped into themes with a warm-up narrative for each one
- Each character's pronunciation and meanings in combination with other characters are presented
- Exercises to practice recognizing the characters and using the vocabulary are provided
- Writing guides show you how to write each correctly
- Includes easy access to online native speaker audio recordings and free, printable flashcards
This straightforward, easy-to-use resource is ideal for test-prep and mastering essential vocabulary, pronunciation and writing. With useful English, Pinyin and Mandarin characters, this book helps you to use what you learn both within a formal classroom setting and in real-life situations in China.
Being able to speak a little of the local language enhances any trip abroad, and this beginner-level Cantonese audio course contains all the key travel phrases you need to communicate with confidence.
The 60-minute audio CD features native Cantonese speakers using phrases you're likely to encounter in typical travel situations. In no time, you will be able to meet and greet people, be familiar with numbers, time and days of the week, find your way around transport, shops, and restaurants, and make new friends. The case includes a sturdy booklet that is easily extracted and portable. It features phonetic transcriptions of the phrases on the CD, plus handy tips and key word reminders. The contents of the CD can be easily downloaded to your iPod or MP3 player.
This textbook is designed for students of Chinese as a second/foreign language who have had three years of study at college. Focus on topics of international business and foreign trade, the book offers advanced training in vocabulary, grammar, and rhetoric. With an emphasis on communication and practicality, the textbook contains detailed explanations for word usages and sentence structures, and ample exercises of different kinds, each targeting at a specific skill area. It also includes various authentic materials, including documents, forms, and letters, etc. in addition, it provides some useful cultural information and business background knowledge in each lesson.
Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar is a complete reference guide to Cantonese as spoken by native speakers in Hong Kong. It presents a fresh and accessible description of the language, concentrating on the real patterns of use in current Cantonese. This makes it the ideal reference source for all learners and users of Cantonese, irrespective of level, in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types. Moreover, it will provide a lasting and reliable resource for all fluent speakers of the language.
The book is organized to promote a thorough understanding of Cantonese grammar. Arranged by both syntactic categories and language functions, the Grammar provides an in-depth treatment of structures and pays special attention to idiom and speech registers, including trendy language.
Explanations are full, clear and free of jargon. A glossary, extensive index and generous use of cross-references provide readers with easy access to the information they require.
Features include:
- comprehensive pronunciation section
- full use of examples from films, advertising and authentic conversations
- Cantonese-English parallels highlighted throughout the book
- all examples given in Cantonese characters as well as Yale romanization
- a Companion Website with supplementary multimedia material.
Stephen Matthews is Associate Professor in Linguistics at the University of Hong Kong and Virginia Yip is Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. They are Directors of the Childhood Bilingualism Research Centre and have previously co-authored: Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledge, 1999) and Intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook (Routledge, 2000).
Cantonese is an official language of Hong Kong and Macau, and the dominant dialect of Chinese spoken in the province of Guangdong. Spoken by nearly 60 million people worldwide, it is understood by much of the Chinese diaspora population across the world and rivals Mandarin as the lingua franca of south China and ethnic Chinese living abroad. Unique among all the Chinese dialects, Cantonese also has a writing system that is distinct from Mandarin Chinese and makes use of characters generally not understood by non-Cantonese speakers. Contains 4,000 dictionary entries, and each entry includes Cantonese characters and intuitive phonetics. Also provides concise grammar and pronunciation sections. The phrasebook covers useful topics such as transportation, business, shopping, dining and greetings.
A comprehensive, up-to-date Cantonese reference for students and travelers from a trusted name in foreign language study.
Spoken by nearly 60 million people, Cantonese rivals Mandarin as the lingua franca of both south China and of the worldwide Chinese diaspora population. Unique among all the Chinese dialects, Cantonese also has a writing system that is distinct from Mandarin Chinese and makes use of characters generally not understood by non-Cantonese speakers. The Cantonese Practical Dictionary includes over 14,000 entries, providing students and travelers with a portable, yet comprehensive resource for everyday use.Cantonese is an official language of Hong Kong and Macau, and written Cantonese is commonly found on street signs in Hong Kong as well as in newspapers and novels. The spoken language also exerts a strong cultural influence on East Asia, due to the prominence of Hong Kong's film and music industries. This is also a useful guide for Cantonese heritage speakers, or as English-Cantonese resource for ESL students.
