Friday, 27 June 2014

Lesson 1: Hello! - 第一課:你好!


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Lesson
Character Practice (Traditional)
Character Practice (Simplified)

Sentences / 句子(geui jí

好!



Hello!
Néih
hóu!




嘛?

How are you?
Néih
géi
hóu
ma?


好好。




Very well.
Hóuhóu.





呢?



And you?
Néih
nē?




好好。


I’m very well, too
Ngóh
dōu
hóuhóu.




Cantonese Romanization and Pronunciation


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How to use the Pronunciation System

In these lessons we will be using the Yale romanization system, as it is one of the most widely-used romanization systems used in learning materials. Although I personally didn't like this system at first, due to the seemingly confusing representation of tones, it's actually easier than it initially seems.
N.B. Some resources may use different romanization systems, so I recommend becoming familiar with more than one.

Tuesday, 17 June 2014

Introduction to Cantonese

A few facts about Cantonese

What is Cantonese?

Cantonese is the official language of Hong Kong and Macau, and is spoken by over 60 million people across the world. Although much of it sounds very different from Mandarin Chinese, there are some common elements.

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

How to Form the Subjunctive in French

All types of the subjunctive described here use the same endings, except for Type 3 (read on to find out what 'Type 3' is!).
Pronoun Ending
Je -e
Tu -es
Il / Elle / On      -e
Nous -ions
Vous -iez
Ils / Elles -ent

Monday, 1 July 2013

Conditional Clauses in Spanish - Quiz

1. If you were Prime Minister, what would you do?





2. If you had been Prime Minister, what would you have done?




Conditional Clauses in Spanish - A Brief (-ish) Summary

There are two types of conditional clauses used in Spanish:

1. Clauses in which we talk about reality and possibility take the indicative

  • si + present indicative + future indicative
  • si + present indicative + present indicative
  • si + preterite + preterite

Examples

Si salgo temprano, llegaré a tiempo
If I leave early, I will arrive on time
Si salgo temprano, llego a tiempo
If I leave early, I arrive on time

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Common Misconceptions about Language Learning

In this wonderfully diverse world, there are around 7,000 languages. How many languages do you speak? Perhaps you are considering learning a language, but you're not sure if you'll be able to undertake such a seemingly daunting task. Have no fear, amigo! Soon you'll be ready to begin your language-learning journey. Here are just a few common misconceptions and thoughts about language learning.