100,000 Strong Initiative

China sends nearly 10 times the number of students to study in America than US sends to China.  As such, the United States is actively trying to encourage the development of Mandarin speakers because they predict that Mandarin will be necessary for future exchanges with China.  In order to catch-up, the US is sponsoring many opportunities to continue the develop language skills. In 2010 the State Department announced the 100,000 strong initiative to encourage students to study abroad.


If you would like to find out more about this initiative and the opportunities available after Chaminade, take a look at the State Department's website: http://www.state.gov/100k/

Brand Names in China

"Tasty fun" would be an excellent slogan for the next Coca-cola ad campaign, but in China that is the literal translation of the 可口可乐 (kě kǒu kě lè).  Everyone is aware of the market potential in the world's most populated country, but the next step is how to advertise there.  Take a look at this article from the New York Times discussing the significance of picking the correct name for your product.

The world's most typical person: Han Chinese Man

If there was any doubt that your Chinese would be put to practical use, National Geographic has concluded that the most common-looking man on the plant is like the one pictured below.  Once you look at the picture, check out a full article in the link under the picture.


http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/03/04/worlds-most-typical-person-han-chinese-man/

Typing Pinyin with tones

I know some of you have brought up how to type Pinyin with tones.  There is a great online tool if you follow this link: http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/Itool/type_pinyin_with_tones.htm.


Once you click the link called "Click here to begin," a basic web application will open and allow you to first type the spelling of the word, then type a number to automatically add the corresponding tonal mark.  I still recommend writing out your homework by hand, since this is how you'll be taking tests throughout your language learning process, but this app is here if you feel you want to use it.

Dictionaries

While the book we use, Modern Mandarin, has a dictionary of all pinyin we use in the back of the textbook, the following online resources may be helpful as well.


1. nciku.com - Excellent dictionary where you can save any words you look up in a list, as well as being able to trace a character with your mouse (for when we get to writing characters)


2. zhongwen.com - interesting web site that provides roots and philology of the written character.  Make sure you click on "search" at the top of the page in order to look up a specific word.


If you want to purchase your own personal dictionary, I would recommend the Oxford Beginner's Chinese Dictionary.  We will have a dictionary usage lesson when we begin using characters, but it is not necessary for you to go out and buy one at this point.

Chinese 'Hoohhah' Workout

In China's hectic work environment, the Chinese government encourages the nation to workout with calisthenics broadcasts. Feel free to practice on your own after class

Chinese Phonetics Chart

As we discussed in class, here is the link to the "initial consonants" and "finals" chart.  If you are having difficulty pronouncing your new name, try looking it up on the chart.

Welcome！ 欢迎！

大家好！


Welcome to the new Chaminade Chinese blog.  Here you will find links to useful web sites to aid in your Chinese learning as well as other interesting current events content.  I will also include a link to your weekly homework which I hope to post every Monday evening.


While the blog is in its infant phase, expect more content to be loaded soon.  As our classes progress, I will begin to post in Chinese with an English translation as well.


谢谢。


－魏老师