By Cynthia Maxwell-Smith
If you want to learn Chinese fast start off with conversational Mandarin Chinese.
Mandarin Chinese is one of the Chinese or Sinitic languages. These languages are spoken by more than one fifth of the world's population. That adds up to more than one billion people.
It is not exactly known how many dialects there are in Chinese. In fact even the term 'dialect' is controversial. Some of the so-called dialects are in fact regional languages spoken by tens of millions of people.
Even the number of main language groups is disputed. According to Wikipedia, "There are between seven and thirteen main regional groups of Chinese (depending on classification scheme), of which the most spoken, by far, is Mandarin (about 850 million), followed by Wu (90 million), Min (70 million) and Cantonese (70 million)."
So how is it possible to learn Chinese fast?
First, the beginner Chinese language student should study conversational Mandarin Chinese, not just Chinese. The standard form of spoken Chinese is Mandarin and is based on the Beijing dialect.
This standard form of Mandarin is surprisingly simple. For example Standard Mandarin has only 400 basic syllables. How many syllables do you think the English language has?
The English language has so many syllables they've never been counted. The estimate is tens of thousands.
Mandarin like all Chinese languages or dialects is tonal. Mandarin is the simplest of them all and has only four tones.
Because of the tones you can't really learn Chinese fast or even at all solely from a book. You will need a tutor or an interactive audio course to progress rapidly.
Another tip to learn Chinese fast is to practice your conversational Mandarin Chinese. Practicing a new language as much as you can is without doubt the number one way to accelerate your learning.
Practicing at home is a great way to start off, but if you need to learn Chinese fast, speaking with and listening to other Chinese speakers will help you really move along. That's why it is best to start with conversational Mandarin Chinese. Being able to say hello and ask someone a question will not only lift your confidence, it will give you real world practice.
Experts agree that one of the fastest ways to learn a new skill is when you're having fun. For a Review and Free 6 day trial of the easy fun way to learn conversational Mandarin Chinese visit learn Chinese fast
Go here to Chinese greeting and learn to say Chinese hello.
