Thoughts on learning Mandarin

Well it has been almost two months since we arrived in China, giving ourselves up to absorb and indulge in this foreign experience. I wrote my first blog entry just a few days after getting to Wuhan and as such it reflects some of the immediate shock and nervousness I felt after realizing the extent to which China is different from any other foreign country I’ve been to in terms of the language barrier. Since then, I have found this issue of language to be no less pervasive but I have realized that I think it would be quite possible to live here for a year knowing only a few key phrases, numbers, and having a keen ability to both utilize and interpret the universal human language of pointing. This was indeed a comforting realization to come to for it took the panic out of daily interactions. However, though perfecting these kinds of basic communication skills has been important in settling in to life in China, both Nathan and I wanted to at least make an attempt at a deeper connection to Chinese culture and community. So we found ourselves a tutor and have begun the slow and arduous process of learning Chinese. This has been a simultaneously interesting, rewarding, and frustrating endeavor and so I thought I would share some of my early reactions to learning Mandarin.

Admittedly, I have not devoted a large part of my academic career to language learning. I took four years of Spanish in high school and a once a week Chinese tutorial with my roommate Maggie the last term of college. But one main difference I have been coming to terms with between learning Spanish and learning Mandarin is that in studying Spanish vocabulary, each word means something different. This may seem obvious, but consider then that in Chinese, one word has at least four different meanings, dependent upon the tone used with it. And there are some words with the same tone that mean completely different things. For this reason, Chinese people often have to trace the character for the word (because all the characters are different) in the palm of their hand in the middle of a conversation. The classic example would be the word ‘ma.’ With the first tone, pronounced high and level, ma means mother (妈). With the second tone, which starts medium in tone and then rises to the top, ma means numb (麻). With the third tone, starts low, dips to the bottom, and then rises to the top, ma means horse (马). Finally, with the fourth tone, which starts at the top and falls sharp and strong to the bottom, ma means scold (骂). With the way my mind works, it is a whole lot easier for me to sit down and memorize a hundred different vocabulary words than only twenty five words with four different tones and at least four different meanings each.

This brings me to the next problem I’ve encountered with my Chinese language learning—actually using the tones and using them correctly. This problem takes two forms. First, when speaking English, I have what some would describe as a fairly monotone voice and so I am not naturally inclined to use different intonations in order to express my emotions fully. Because of this, I might be really excited about or interested in something, but unless you know me, you may not be able to tell this simply from vocal cues. This is problematic when every word in Chinese demands tonal attention. Nathan and I were discussing which would be worse—a monotone inclined person like myself having to overemphasize every word, or a hyper-tonal person trying to funnel their excitability into the correct tones. We didn’t come to a conclusion on this point. However, recognizing this personal challenge, in my study I am overemphasizing the tones until they begin to flow more naturally off of my tongue.

The second major tonal problem so far is one that I think most English speakers would have with Chinese. My confidence with the new words I am learning is still pretty low, especially because I’m not always sure if I’m remembering the correct tone to use or if my pronunciation is understandable. Sometimes I am understood, but sometimes when I’m out at a restaurant or a market and I try to communicate beyond saying “hello,” “goodbye,” or “thank you,” I am met with a tilted head or confused look from the waitress or storeowner. So I will repeat myself, but at this point I am questioning whether I am saying the word correctly and so, as I would do in English, I inadvertently add a lilt to the end of the word, intimating a question (“am I saying this word right?” or “do you understand what I’m trying to say?”). However, this does not work because it changes the word entirely if it was not meant to be said with the second tone (the low to high, lilting tone). Instead of the end-of-the-sentence-lilt, the Chinese add a neutral tone “ma” to the end of a sentence to ask a question. So in this whole process, I end up further confusing whoever I am communicating with. This also happens with the general arc of a sentence or a group of sentences. We have a certain way we phrase our thoughts and use tonality to express an emotion or emphasize an intention, and though I’m sure there is some sort of equivalent in Mandarin, it is not the same as it is in English largely because of the different usage of tones.   

I have noticed the inverse problem holds true for my students, which makes me feel a bit better about my own struggle. With the exception of one or two students, when they speak English, it is with an unbreakable monotone. Each sentence is flat and you do not get a sense of whether they are making a statement, exclamation, or posing a question. And I think this is for the same reason I am struggling with the flow of Chinese sentences—we simply use tones for different purposes in both languages.

Anyway, those are a few of my initial thoughts on learning Mandarin. Progress is slow, but it is certainly rewarding when I am able to communicate with or understand someone in a way I was not able to previously.