Chinese

Did you know that one-fifth of the world’s population speaks Chinese? That’s more than 800 million people, making the Chinese language the world’s most spoken dialect. This dialect is spoken in cities around the world, from Boston to Barcelona, Memphis to Mumbai. Here’s everything you wanted to know about this language.
 
This dialect dates back more than 4,000 years ago and comprises of various symbols and letters. It is known as a tonal language, which means words change depending on the speaker’s tone. This might sound complicated, but it’s not. Here’s why:

• There are, in fact, four different tones in Mandarin — the official form of the language, spoken by more than 700 million people.
• Non-native speakers are often surprised at the complexity of Mandarin. As an ancient language that has evolved over centuries, you can find various dialects depending on where you travel to in China.
• In fact, many people in China speak more than one dialect. They might speak the “official” form of Mandarin, as well as a local or regional dialect, such as Cantonese.

Learning Chinese is Easier Than You Think

Learning a new vernacular is never easy. However, as Mandarin is so widely spoken around the world, you will likely find classes in a city near you. Alternatively, you can learn this dialect online or on your smartphone.
 
At first, you might struggle with written Mandarin because it differs so much from English. That’s because Mandarin is a logographic dialect, where each character means a syllable, rather than a just a letter of a word. This might take a little getting used to, especially if you have never learned the Chinese language before. However, with practice, you should be able to master this language.
 
Plus, unlike in English, there are no verb conjugations to learn in Mandarin, which makes the whole process a lot easier!