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Most Malaysians are bilingual, having a command of the national language as well as English. A good chunk of Malaysians, both Chinese and non-Chinese, are also capable of speaking Chinese dialects.
With the growing global prominence of Mandarin as a language, it might be tempting to pick it up for one’s own benefit. Yet, Mandarin is known to be difficult to learn.
Here are seven reasons why this may be the case, based on the writer’s own experience.
1. ‘Your mum is a what?’
One of the biggest challenges for first-timers is the mastery of the four tones. The tone of Mandarin word can change its meaning entirely, which can be confusing for those who are used to speaking in languages with fewer variations.
Just look at the word “ma”. It can either mean “mother”, “horse”, “scold”, or “numb”, depending on the tone used.
As such, it is not uncommon for novice speakers to unintentionally call someone’s mother a horse!
2. Character overload
To learn Mandarin, you must learn its writing system which is… well, complicated, to put it lightly.
There are thousands of characters you need to memorise, which is difficult even for native speakers, what more for first-time learners!
If you are used to Bahasa Melayu or English, the 26 letters of the Roman alphabet would seem very comforting now.
In truth, you’d only need to learn about 3,500 characters to get by – a tiny portion of the total number of Chinese characters in existence.
3. Grammar structure
Picking up the nuances of Mandarin grammar can be challenging, especially for those who are used to the structures of other languages.
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Mandarin grammar heavily emphasises context and word order, with many rules and the odd exception here and there.
For example, in English, if you were asking for the time, the most common way of phrasing it would be: “What time is it?”
In Mandarin, you would ask, “Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?”, which roughly translates to: “Now is what time?”
Getting used to the grammar structure takes time, although as with all things, it gets easier with practice.
4. Pronunciation differences
Many Malaysians are literate in dialects other than Mandarin. For these folks, pronouncing Mandarin words could be an issue, given the dialect’s own set of consonants and vowels.
Also, some sounds in Mandarin do not exist in certain other dialects and vice-versa. Cantonese and Hokkien speakers can attest to this.
Hence, it could take a while to get the pronunciation down to a tee, with the “r” sound being notably tricky for some.
5. Cultural references
There’s more to language than grammar and vocabulary; there’s also the cultural aspect. Mandarin is no exception, and first-time learners may find themselves encountering cultural references and idioms with which they are unfamiliar.
For example, English speakers will know of the idiom: “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” Did you know there’s a similar version in Mandarin as well? “Shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào”.
Translated, it means: “Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives.” Only folks who are acquainted with “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” will know who or what Cao Cao is!
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6. Social stigmas
While some people are encouraging of others who seek to learn another language, prejudice can be hard to escape.
For bananas, or non-Mandarin-literate Chinese, entering a Mandarin class is often accompanied by questions of “why didn’t you learn it sooner?!”
Then there are those who associate learning another language as an act of betrayal towards one’s own cultural identity.
These social stigmas can be discouraging for any aspiring student who wishes to embrace the language but doesn’t feel embraced by the community.
7. Regional variations
Just as English in other parts of the world can be indecipherable to Malaysian English speakers, local Mandarin speakers may have trouble understanding other Mandarin speakers.
After all, it is spoken by over a billion people globally, so inevitably, there are many variations. For instance, the Beijing dialect is apparently spoken relatively fast, with certain words rarely used here.
Even within Malaysia itself, someone from Kuala Lumpur might even use different slang and pronunciations compared with someone from Miri!
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