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This is where we keep all the threads organized. Find all the current/past lessons here, the discussion threads, the games, etc. Will be updated daily.
SPOILER!!: Chinese Lessons, Chapters One and Two: Introduction, The Basics
Originally Posted By SapphireMisty
Introduction
When I started learning chinese when I was very little, I started out with the Taiwanese-based alphabet: the Phoenitic alphabet. I didn't learn the pinyin system until earlier this fall, when I was taking a chinese course at a local community college, in an effort to strengthen my chinese and continue my education after years of getting instruction, learn the pinyin system (I thought this was a perfect opportunity to do so), and learn the simplified counterparts of some of the difficult traditional characters.
(Insert note: This way, I would be able to better moderate these forums more effectively (without, of course, having to consulting multiple dictionaries (in my case, three dictionaries)- one of the few reasons why I was reluctantly putting off with coming up with new threads other than my limited chinese vocabulary, even though I was born to chinese parents) with or without extra help. I found that getting help for these forums through this site is extremely hard to come by, most especially getting help from those who are more qualified than me.)
Essentially, the chinese phoenitic alphabet was once the basic alphabet for the chinese language. The introduction of the pinyin system wasn't introduced until the 20th century.
"In the last few centuries there have been efforts to develop a method of representing the Chinese language using the Latin alphabet. The widely used system is called the Pinyin system. It was developed in Mainland China in the 1950's and officially adopted in 1979. Pinyin, which literally means "spell the sounds," is used to help people learn the pronouncian of characters or to look up words in dictionaries." (textbook Chinese Link: Elementary Chinese, page xxii, Introduction to Chinese)
During the cultural revolution in the mid 20th century, there was a civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists, soon after WW II. The Nationalists lost and they were exiled to a small island off the coast of southeast China, thus taking their cultures, their beliefs and, yes, the phoenitic alphabet with them. The Pinyin system was not adopted in Taiwan, at least, not to my knowledge.
In the next chapter, I will introduce you to both the pinyin and the phoenitic systems for those who are interested in learning either systems or learning the language itself.
(Author's note: Please note that I will translate the introduction and update periodically. Thank you.)
(作家的筆記:請你筆記我會把這個緒言翻譯還有更新階段性。謝謝。）
(作家的笔记：请你笔记我会把这个绪言翻译还有更新阶段性。谢谢。)
(Zuojia de biji: Qing ni biji wo hui ba zhege xuyan fanyi haiyou genxing jieduanxing. Xiexie.)
SPOILER!!: Cantonese Lesson 1
Originally Posted by amyliaz
I felt that Cantonese and Chinese should not be mixed so a new thread dedicated to learning Cantonese!
We'll start with basic stuff!
Nei Hou, Ngor Hai (name)
你 好 , 我 是 (名字)
Hello, I am (name)
____________
Ngor Gam Nin (age) Soi
我 今 年 (age) 岁
I am (age) years old
____________
Chinese Forum Records 中文论坛纪录 
Find all the current/past lessons here, the discussion threads, the games, etc. Will be updated daily.
