Learning to curl the tongue
I had hoped to be in Shanghai by now to prepare to attend language classes at a local university. But God has His perfect timing and if is to be March 1st, He will provide.
The thought of the herculean task of learning Mandarin Chinese frightens me! I had a tough time learning Spanish which is one of the easiest languages to learn, I couldn't fathom how I was going to pick up Chinese.
Fortunately, my God-send tutor, Jin-Jian, knew where to start me off. She began teaching me the standard 5 tone variations and 59 syllables (syllables in Chinese are usually composed of 23 "initials" and 36 "finals"). It's all in where you place or curl your tongue, in how you use the back of your throat, force air through your teeth, etc.
It has been two weeks now and I'm pleased to report I struggle with only one tone variation and two syllables. That's awesome! Of course, knowing and speaking a bit of Vietnamese helped greatly. I'm encouraged and the road to learning Chinese doesn't seem as threatening.
Please pray God will enable me to learn how to communicate in Chinese.
Posted January 31, 2009 by Phuong.
04-30-2009 TCK
03-27-2009 Health Update
01-31-2009 Learning to curl the tongue
10-20-2008 Settling on the Far Side of the Sea
