Why "普通话"?
Why did I name this fanlisting "普通话" (pu tong hua)? Well, it is the official name of Mandarin Chinese, translating to "pu tong hua", or "Common Language". While many Chinese speak varying dialects of the language, 普通话 has been the official language of China since 1958, and is taught in all schools.
About the Chinese language
I could type a whole ten pages of preliminary information here, but truth be told, that wouldn't even begin to cover the intricacies of the Chinese language! Here then, are some quick facts to get you started:
- One fifth of the world's population speak a form of Chinese as their native language
- Chinese is one of the most diverse languages in the world, with dozens of dialects and local variants
- The standardized form of spoken Chinese is based on the Beijing dialect, known as 普通话 (pu tong hua)
- The influence of the Chinese language upon the langyuages of neighbouring Asian countries has been immense
- For each possible sound, there are four different tones (and a neutral tone): the tones are what give each sound different meaning
- The Romanisation of the Chinese language is called PinYin
For further information on the history and background on the Chinese language, I'll point you to the Wikipedia entry. For a list of resources that can help you in your quest to learn Chinese, please check out this information page.
Why Chinese is so special to me
Though I'm of Chinese heritage (born in Hong Kong, raised in Australia), I hadn't spoken a word of Chinese for the majority of my childhood. My knowledge of Cantonese (a dialect of Mandarin Chinese) was shaky and limited to mainly conversational vocabulary, and I resisted all attempts by my parents to send me to Chinese language school.
As I grew older though, I began to see both the cultural, financial, and career benefits of knowing a second language, especially one such as Chinese. With China poised to enter the world's stage as a dominant force in the next few decades, fluency in my so-called "mother tongue" could only be a benefit.
With this in mind, I enrolled in absolute beginner's Chinese in my first year in university. I found myself surprised by how much came back to me - I must have retained more information from my first four years in Hong Kong than I thought possible. Two years and a three month stint in China later (the three months allowed me to accelerate my Chinese program - I completed two years worth of Chinese study during that time!), I'm poised to enter Chinese level 9+10, a year away from entering Chinese 11+12, otherwise known as "Chinese for Native Speakers".
It's been a remarkable journey, and I'm thankful that I decided to take up Chinese. Not only have I become semi-fluent in a language that will prove to be useful in the future, but I feel like it's led me to appreciate my Chinese heritage more - I listen to Chinese music more, I can communicate with my extended family, and most importantly, I no longer feel like a sore thumb when in China because in my mind, I'm local!