Lesson 4 I Can Speak A Little Chinese

Objectives: 1. Know the different ways of saying the Chinese language and aware of the subtle differences among them 2. Know the names of the countries and the languages spoken in the countries: Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain 3. Say I can speak(language) I cant speak. I speak very well

Vocabulary & Phrases English Chinese Language Pinyin zhng wn Or hn y Chinese characters or

Note: zhng gu is China, zhng wn is literally Chinas language. hn is the name of the Han ethnic group. Of the 56 ethnic groups in China, the Han people account for over 90% of the population. hn y is literally Hans language. The two terms can both mean Chinese language and in most situations they are exchangeable.

Mandarin Chinese

p tng hu

Note: Mandarin Chinese literally means common speech (of China). People in different parts of China speak different dialects. To promote standardization, the Chinese government finalized Mandarin in 1955, and it is based on the Beijing dialect.

Great Britain English Language France French language Germany German language Spain Spanish language

yng gu yng y Or yng wn f gu f y Or f wn d gu d y Or d wn x bn y x bn y y Or x bn y wn shu hu b hu

Or Or or Or

speak can Cant; not be able to

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a little Study, learn and I speak English I can speak Spanish. I can speak a little Chinese. He cant speak French. I study Chinese. I can speak English and Chinese. Grammar Structure: Example:

y din r xu x OR xu h W shu yng y. W hu shu x bn y y W hu shu y din r hn y. T b hu shu f y W xu (x) hn y. W hu shu yng y h hn y.

OR ()

Verb + de + adjective/ adverb Shu de ho = speak well

The adjective or adverb after de is to describe the verb

Stating how well/how badly someone speaks some language: Someones language + shu + de + hn ho/b ho e.g. You speak English very well. Your English speak de very well. N de yng y shu de hn ho. She speaks bad Chinese. Her Chinese speaks de bad. T de zhng wn shu de b ho.

There is another simpler way to express the same meaning: Your English is good= n de yng wn hn ho. Her Chinese is bad= t de zhng wn b ho.

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Dialogue Practice

1 A: n de zhng wn shu de hn ho. B: xi xie. (thanks) Or n l n l

Note: n l is where. n l n l is a modest way to reply to compliments, and it means not at all, you overpraise me. Traditionally, Chinese people would not say thanks to compliments, since that would be viewed as arrogant and modesty is a virtue; but with the influence of western culture, modern Chinese people would often accept praises with thanks. You can feel free to use either one. Chinese people would be very impressed about your "deep understanding of Chinese culture if you use (n l n l)

2. A: n hu shu f y ma? B: w b hu.

3. A: Do you speak German? B: yes, I speak a little German.

4. A: Does he speak Chinese? B: yes, he speaks Chinese very well.

5. I speak English, Spanish and a little Chinese.

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6. A: Do you study Chinese? B: No, I dont. A: You dont study Chinese, so you cant speak Chinese. Hint: so=su y

7. A: n de x bn y y hn ho.

8. A: n sh n gu rn? B: w sh mi gu rn. A: n de zhng wn shu de hn ho. B: n l n l. W de zhng wn b ho. A: n xu x hn y ma? Bsh. W zi mi gu xu hn y. . Yes, I study Chinese in America. (zi: at somewhere. at place do something)

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