Chinese is considered the most difficult language to learn for several reasons. These include: the absence of an alphabet, the presence of several tones of pronunciation, the similarity in the sound of many words to each other.
Lack of alphabet and letters in Chinese
In the Chinese language there are no letters and an alphabet, which plunges people accustomed to the opposite state of affairs into a stupor. Instead, there is a huge number of hieroglyphs, each hieroglyph representing one syllable. Some words consist of one hieroglyph, that is, they are pronounced in one syllable.
Other words include two or more hieroglyphs, which means the presence of several syllables. You will not know how to read this or that hieroglyph if you do not memorize it beforehand. Indeed, there are thousands of hieroglyphs, but they are repeated.
There are hieroglyphs more common in everyday speech, they are usually remembered first. To memorize a hieroglyph, you need to spell it many times. Only in this way will the hand reach automatism in its reproduction.
You need to remember the pronunciation, how to read the hieroglyph. Especially for those wishing to learn their language, the Chinese have come up with a Latin equivalent called "pinyin". At the same time, not everyone in China knows pinyin, mainly educators.
New characters in Chinese textbooks are signed with pinyin in parentheses after themselves. It is also necessary to remember the tone that the vowel has in the hieroglyph. Usually 4 tones are distinguished, but upon closer examination, a fifth one can also be distinguished.
4 tones in pronunciation
By tone is meant the intonation with which this or that vowel is pronounced. In words of two or more characters, each vowel has a different tone, which can be confusing for beginners. You can briefly consider each of the tones.
The first tone is indicated by a straight line, the intonation is even. This tone can be sung on one note. The second tone looks like a Russian-language stress, it gives the word a slightly interrogative intonation.
The third tone is one of the hardest to pronounce. It has the appearance of a tick and conveys a sound that resembles immersion in a sound hole. It is not easy to describe in words the subtleties of pronunciation of the third tone, so it is better to listen to the audio for clarification.
The fourth tone looks like a mirror image of the stress, and it gives the word a kind of affirmative intonation. Many also highlight the fifth tone, which is an incomplete third. In this case, the third tone is pronounced in half.
Same pronunciation
Another problem in learning Chinese: without knowing the context by ear, it is very difficult to understand what it is about. Many hieroglyphs with different spellings have a similar pinyin. Tones can vary, but rare Chinese are scrupulous about the distinctness of pronunciation.
Thus, Chinese speaking is very difficult to understand. It is necessary to master a fairly rich arsenal of hieroglyphs and related contexts. To successfully master all the nuances and subtleties, it is best to immerse yourself in a natural language environment.
