China is quickly becoming a world superpower. Every country wants to be China’s partner and many people, are trying to learn the Chinese language so they can keep abreast of China’s capabilities. Some of the more fluent and adaptable Chinese language speakers go on to work for professional translation services.
Fact #1
The Chinese language is not one single entity but is made up of several languages such as Mandarin, Minnan, Putonghua and Cantonese. The most widely spoken is Mandarin. This is China’s official language. It is one of 4 official languages in Singapore and it makes up 1 of 6 official languages of the UN. It is spoken across Malaysia and Taiwan and in many countries and cities throughout the world that have Chinatowns such as New York. In fact more than a billion people globally speak Mandarin.
Fact #2
Mandarin does not have an alphabet but uses Chinese symbols which are made up of both simple and traditional characters. Macau and Taiwan use traditional characters while China uses simple characters. These characters may be written in several directions which are right to left, left to right, and top to bottom, making for a very versatile script.
Fact #3
There does not seem to be any certainty on how many characters there are but the estimate is at least 10,000. Surprisingly new characters are being added all the time.
Fact #4
Pinyin is when Mandarin characters are expressed in the Roman alphabet. Pinyin commonly used in Chinese educational institutes worldwide. Signboards and street names often are found in Pinyin in both China and Taiwan.
Fact #5
Mandarin possesses four tones which basically mean every word can have four different meanings. This earmarks Mandarin as being one of the most complex languages in the world. Once tone had been learned the language is relatively easy to master because of its straightforward grammar. The language does not conjugate any verbs; there are no verb tenses and it has no number concepts. Translation services in Australia have many bilingual translators who have successfully mastered Mandarin and can provide exceptional translations from English to Mandarin and visa versa.
