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Mandarin Chinese

普通话

Introduction

我想学中文。

I want to learn Chinese.

I have dabbled in self-study of Mandarin Chinese off and on for a number of years.

At-A-Glance

Native To	China
Native Speakers	925 million (Ethnologue, 2021)
Language Family	Sino-Tibetan
Dialects	Northeastern, Beijing, Ji-Lu, others
Writing System	Han script, Bopomofo script, Latin
Spoken In	Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia
Regulated By	China: State Language Work Committee (国家语言文字工作委员会); Taiwain: Ministry of Education (教育部)
Observations	UN Chinese Language Day (April 20)

Web Resources

• ChinesePod, the ChinesePod podcast was one of the first Chinese language resources I began using over ten years ago. The service has expanded quite a bit since then!
• Hacking Chinese, popular and long-running blog on learning and teaching Mandarin Chinese.
• MDBG Chinese Dictionary
• r/ChineseLanguage, reasonably active Reddit community with suggested starting points and resources.
• U.S. Foreign Service Institute Chinese language resources, nine-volume standard basic course with text and audio, and thematic optional modules with text and audio.

Open Textbooks

• Zhou, Wenying. (2022). Elementary Chinese I. Michigan State University Libraries. [MSU Libraries]
• Zhou, Wenying. (2022). Elementary Chinese II. Michigan State University Libraries. [MSU Libraries]

Open Courseware

• COERLL Language Learning Materials, collection of learning materials hosted by the University of Texas at Austin
• Chinese Basic, The Language Centre, University of Cambridge
• Chinese Language courses, MIT OpenCourseWare

Language Learning Apps

• ChineseSkill, super popular language learning app built by faculty from National University of Singapore, Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Indiana University.
• HelloChinese, another popular Chinese app, HelloChinese is one of my personal faves.
• Mango Languages, online language learning software offered by many libraries.
• Pleco, best Chinese dictionary app.

YouTube

Further Reading

• DeFrancis, John. (1984). The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy. University of Hawaii Press. [Internet Archive]
• Hessler, Peter. (2007). Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China. Harper Perennial.
• Hua, Yu. (2012). China in Ten Words: Essays. Anchor.
• Kane, Daniel. (2006). The Chinese Language: Its History and Current Usage. Tuttle Publishing. [Open Library]
• Ostler, Nicholas. (2010). Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World. HarperCollins. [Open Library]
• Tsu, Jing. (2022). Kindgom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern. Riverhead Books.

References

• Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). (2021). Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Twenty-fourth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
• Eberts, Jake (July 6, 2021). "Why Do Analysts Keep Talking Nonsense About Chinese Words?". Foreign Policy. Retrieved from: https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/06/chinese-characters-phrenology-orientalism/
• Mair, Victor H. (2005). "danger + opportunity ≠ crisis: How a misunderstanding about Chinese characters has led many astray". PinyinInfo.com. Retrieved from https://pinyin.info/chinese/crisis.html