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Search - Conversational Chinese for Beginners

Conversational Chinese for Beginners
Author: M.H. Swadesh, Morris Swadesh

This ununsual book offers an easily-followed introduction to modern conversational Chinese - the Pai Hua Mandarin Chinese which is the official language of both Chinas. Since its emphasis is upon modern colloquial usage and everyday situations, it is a first-rate travel companion to the tourist, businessman, or soldier in Formosa, and it a...  more »lso provides an invaluable background for more advanced formal study, and readily understood explanations and analysis to accompany any record course or phrase book.



Using a phonetic system that you can easily read at sight (avoiding the complexities and arbitrariness of both the Wade and the "official" systems) Dr. Swadesh covers the most important, most useful Chinese speech patterns: the statement sentence, the question, reduplicated forms for question and emphasisd, negatives, the enclitics ne and le and other constructions that will convey your ideas. He also covers Chinese sounds with great clarity, especially the tones and phonetic structures peculiar to Mandarin. Many helpful illustrations and ingenious verbal analogies will make the exposition entirely clear to you. Among the situations which the text is based upon are matters of everyday life, place names, numbers, telling time, and business expressions. Many practice exercises within the text allow you to build new material for yourself and to gauge your progress.



At the end of the volume, Dr. Swadesh provides a 98-page English to Chinese dictionary, in which both individual words and ready-made sentences are provided. In this section (an unusual feature for an elementary book) tone is indicated for both words in isolation and words in combination.



Since contrary to general belief Chinese grammar is extremely simple, you will find that you will be able to learn a surprising amount from this book. Dr. Swadesh, who is one of the foremost anthropologists and ethnolinguists, has prepared as fine an entry to this important language as can be obtained without an actual Chinese teacher.

This Dover edition, first published in 1964, is an unabridged, corrected republication of the work first published by Henry Holt and Company in 1948 under the former title: Chinese in Your Pocket.

A Dover edition designed for years of use! We have made every effort to make this the best book possible. Our paper is opaque, with minimal show-through; it will not discolor or become brittle with age. Pages are sewn in signatures, in the method traditionally used for the best books, and will not drop out, as often happens with paperbacks held together with glue. Books open flat for easy reference. The binding will not crack or split. This is a permanent book.

ISBN-13: 9780486211237
ISBN-10: 0486211231
Publication Date: 1964
Pages: 158
Rating:

0 stars, based on 0 rating

Publisher: Dover Publications
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Genres:

Reference >> Foreign Language Study & Reference >> Foreign Language Dictionaries & Thesauruses >> Chinese
Reference >> Foreign Language Study & Reference >> Instruction >> Chinese
Nonfiction >> Education >> Reference >> General

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