Teach Yourself Chinese [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONThis book is issued in the hope that it will be useful to many who desire to acquaint themselves with the elements of the spoken and written language of the Chinese people. As a student of the language for nearly forty years I am well acquainted with the difficulties which confront the student who may have to work without the aid of a Chinese teacher. But I can assure the student at the outset, that if he or she will persevere for a period of six months, concentrating for two hours daily, genuine and satisfying progress will be made.I recommend strongly that two friends should if possible study together. The main section of the book consists of forty dialogues. These should be recited aloud. If you can form a small group for study, the dialogues might be recited by couples in turn for the benefit and criticism of the rest. If you'are working alone, by all means read the dialogues aloud, and endeavour to memorise them. As they are arranged in the main as connected discourses, memorising should be quite feasible.If there should be a Chinese who knows the National I^anguage (kuo yii) in your neighbourhood, avail yourself of his help. Your main difficulty will lie in acquiring the correct intonation of the words, and the right rhythm of the phrases and sentences. The best progress in this connection will be achieved by reading or conversing with a Chinese.There are about 1,200 different characters in the book. These, if thoroughly learned, will enable the student to converse freely on matters of everyday importance. I urge the student to write the Chinese characters as the best means of memorising them, as the book is designed