Full Description
Colloquial Chinesedeveloped by a leading academic in Chinese language teaching and course design. Based on feedback from learners and teachers who used its previous version, this new edition has been updated to reflect the language and cultural changes in China, such as online shopping and WeChat payment, and to provide a more integrated and step-by-step approach to making the learning of modern Mandarin Chinese more effective and enjoyable. Combining a clear, practical and accessible style with a methodical and thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential knowledge and skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Chinese in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.Colloquial Chinese is exceptional; each unit presents a wealth of grammatical points that are reinforced with a wide range of exercises for regular practice. A full answer key, a grammar summary, bilingual glossaries and English translations of dialogues can be found at the back, as well as transcripts of listening practice exercises.Key features include:A clear, user-friendly format designed to help learners progressively build up their speaking, listening, reading and writing skillsJargon-free, succinct and clearly structured explanations of grammarStep by step introduction of Chinese charactersAn extensive range of focused and dynamic supportive exercisesA combination of listening, reading and speaking activities with the support of transcripts at the back of the bookRealistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of narrative situationsHelpful cultural points explaining the customs and features of life in ChinaAn overview of the Chinese language: its sounds, structure and Chinese characters Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Chinese is an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Chinese as well as teachers of Chinese.Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues, new words and listening practice exercises from the book and will help develop your listening and speaking skills.
Contents
ContentsAcknowledgements ixIntroduction1 Hen gaoxing jiandao ni Very pleased to meet you2 Xingming, guoji he nianling Name, nationality and age3 Zai gongsi de juhui shang Jia he pengyou Family and friends4 Wen shijian Asking the time5 Jiaren he pengyou Zai paidui shang Family and friends At a party6 Riqi he tianqi The date and the weather 7 Wen lu Asking for directions 8 Mai dongxi Shopping 9 Wangshang gouwu Shopping online 10 Dian cai Order food 19011 Da di he mai huoche piao Taking the taxi and buying train tickets 12 Zai jiudian At the hotel 13 Da dianhua Making telephone calls 14 Tanqin he luyou Vising family and travel15 Mingxinpian he wexin Postcard and WeChatGrammar summary Answers to Exercises and Reading/listening practices Transcripts in pinyin for Listening/reading practicesChinese-English glossary English-Chinese pinyin glossary Appendix A: Dialogues in characters for Lessons 1 and 2Appendix B: English translations of dialogues/texts from Lessons 3 to 15 Appendix C: Table of combinations of the initials and finals in Putonghua Appendix D: Useful signsIndex to language and cultural notes
