Chinese characters work as a pictographic writing system,

中文象形系統是如何運作的，

and analyzed the traditional method of teaching Chinese characters

也分析了傳統的中文教學方法，

and proposed a solution to the typical problems that arise

並針對外國人學中文遇到的困難

when a foreign student studies Chinese characters.

提供一個更好的學習方法。

In this segment we want

在這一段，

to speak directly to the people we expect will be watching these videos,

我們要直接的向那些正在 觀看這個影片的人說話，

commend you for being interested in Chinese

讚賞你對中文字的興趣，

and offer some encouragement to stick with it.

並要鼓勵你繼續學習。

First of all, the fact that you're watching these videos

首先，你正在看這些影片

means you're considering learning or improving your Chinese.

表示你正在考慮學習或加強你的中文能力。

Very good move!

非常聰明!

There are over one billion people in the world

全世界有超過十億人口

who speak Chinese as a first language.

以中文為母語。

That's 1/5th of the planet's population,

那是地球上五分之一的人口，

making it the most popular first language.

所以中文是最多人使用的母語。

Chinese is the 2nd most common language on the Internet.

中文是網路上第二常用的語言。

Similiar to how English is a required course

就像英文是許多非英語系國家學生

around the world for many non-native speakers in school,

必修的課，

China is pushing for the same to become true of Chinese.

中國正在推動類似的中文潮流。

In 2005, over 30 million people all around the world were learning

在2005年，

Chinese as a foreign language or second language

根據大陸漢語國際推廣領導小組辦公室，

according to the Ministry of Education's

(通稱漢辦)統計，

National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

全球學中文為外國語言或第二語言

(generally known as "Han4ban4").

的人數超過30億。

That number was forecast to have increased

人們預測這個數字

to over 100 million people in 2010.

在2010年會增加到100億。

Of all foreign languages,

在所有外國語言中，

Chinese shows the highest increase in enrollment in colleges and universities.

中文課的選修率是大專院校內最高的。

So it's great that you are also aware of this trend and are interested

現在你已經了解這個潮流

in preparing yourself along with the rest of the world.

並已準備好跟這個世界一起進步了， 太棒了！

If you're just starting out

如果你才剛開始學習

or still contemplating whether or not to learn Chinese,

或者還在猶豫要不要學中文，

have you considered what the benefits would be?

或者還在猶豫要不要學中文，

To state it briefly, "Business is booming!"

簡單來說， "中國正在蓬勃發展！"

China is the second largest economy in the world.

中國是世界第二大經濟國，

It has a growth rate averaging 10% per year,

每年平均成長值為10%，

making it the fastest growing economy in the world.

成為世界經濟成長最快速的國家。

It's the biggest global market in the 21st century.

也是21世紀最大的全球市場。

If you can speak, read, and write Chinese,

如果你會聽說讀寫中文，

an entirely new level of work opportunities will open up to you

不同層次及領域的工作機會就會找上你，

in various fields such as government, international relations, investment,

這些領域包括政府機關、 國際關係、投資業、

manufacturing, business, tourism, translation, and education.

製造業、商業、旅遊業、 翻譯及教育。

Also you're going to gain an advantage

同時，如果你是個會說中文，

in an increasingly competitive business world if you are

而不是個需依賴翻譯的外國人，

a Chinese-speaking foreigner instead

你在越來越競爭的工作環境中將

of a foreigner dependent upon a translator.

有很大的優勢。

If you can speak, read, and write Chinese,

如果你會聽說讀寫中文，

your value as an employee will double!

身為員工的你身價將會加倍！

Or perhaps you're simply interested in Chinese culture

或者你單純的喜歡中國文化，

and would like the opportunity to travel and perhaps live overseas.

想要嘗試到亞洲旅遊或住在那裡，

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, and Singapore are all exciting cities.

香港、上海、北京、台北和新加坡 都是很有趣的城市。

And there's one last thing you should

在你決定學中文是否值得的時候，

take into consideration when deciding if studying Chinese is "worth it":

還有最後一件事必須考慮：

Chinese is surprisingly easier to learn than a lot of other languages.

中文其實比其他語言好學很多，

1. There are no tenses or verbs to conjugate

1. 中文沒有動詞時態變化，

2. There's no subject/verb agreement

2. 主詞動詞不用一致，

3. There are no masculine/ feminine conjugations

3. 不分陰性陽性，

4. And there are no plurals.

4. 名詞沒有單複數，

So if this is true,

但是，如果以上是真的，

why do people always say Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn?

為什麼人們總是說中文是 最難學的語言之一呢？

Chinese grammar is easy;

中文文法很簡單，

the difficult aspects of Chinese are its writing system and spoken tones.

困難的部分是書寫系統跟聲調！

These are the two biggest stumbling blocks

這兩項是學中文最大的絆腳石，

and greatest causes of frustration for Chinese learners...

也是最容易讓人有挫折感的部分，

but removing that frustration is our speciality at the ABCs of Chinese.

但ABCs of Chinese的專門就是移除這兩個困難。

Are you already living overseas in Asia for work or travel?

你目前為了工作或旅行住在亞洲嗎？

You can probably speak a fair bit of Chinese,

可能你會說一點中文，

but you've been putting off learning how to read and write Chinese

但是因為讀跟寫中文太困難了

because it's "too hard", right?

所以你一直拖延而不學，對吧？

In addition, you might think it's too much of an undertaking

而且，既然你沒打算待那麼久，

since you're not planning to be in Asia for "that" long.

since you're not planning 學讀跟寫中文似乎是個很沉重的承諾。

Does this situation sound familiar:

這些情況是否聽起來很熟悉呢？

You can't order your own food in restaurants

你無法在餐廳自己點餐

because you can't read the menu.

因為你看不懂菜單。

You rely on already knowing how to say what you want to order,

你只能靠著說出已經知道的菜名，

pointing to the item, or having others order it for you.

手指著圖片， 或依賴別人幫忙來點餐。

Or how about this one:

或這樣，

You're looking down a packed city street trying to find a shoe store,

你看著擁擠的街道想找一間鞋店，

but you can't read any of the big shop signs.

但是你看不懂招牌上任何的字。

The only way you can find it is

你唯一可以找到的方法大概是

to physically be standing right in front of the store so you can see

必須親身站在鞋店前面，

the shoes in the window.

看著店裡的鞋子，才知道那是鞋店。

You are "functionally illiterate" ...and it's frustrating,

你等於是"功能性文盲"， 很挫折吧，

but you've gotten used to this and simply have to factor it into your life.

但是你已經習慣了也把 這個當做生活的一部分了。

We've been in your situation, so believe us when we say

我們也經歷過這樣的情況，

you will significantly improve the quality of your life

學了聲調跟文字後

by mastering your tones and learning Chinese characters.

你的生活將有巨大的改變。

And the good news is

好消息是，

you don't need to dedicate 4 years of your life to taking Chinese classes.

你不用犧牲四年的時間上中文課。

If you take the right approach, you can have perfect tones

如果選擇適合的學習 方法，你的聲調會

in a month, and you can easily learn all 400 of the building blocks

在一個月後變得完美， 也很容易就可以

of Chinese characters within 70 hours.

在70個小時內學完400個中文部件。

When you do that, all of the signs and posters that you've gotten used

在學習期間，你會發覺那些你已習慣忽略

to completely ignoring will suddenly start to jump off the wall at you.

的招牌跟海報突然間從牆上朝你跳出來。

It's an incredible feeling,

這是種很奇妙的感覺，

like a blind person suddenly being able to see.

像是一個盲人突然間看得到了。

Your world will become so much bigger when you understand

當你看得懂你家

the sign in your elevator that says the water in your building

大樓電梯裡的海報說

will be turned off next Tuesday,

下星期二要停水，

when you can read the advertisement saying there's a big sale somewhere,

當你看得懂某處有個大拍賣的廣告，

and you can understand why there are extra charges on your phone bill

你不需母語人士幫忙就知道 為什麼電話帳單變貴了的時候，

without having to bother your native-speaking friends.

你會發現你的世界大了好多。

Of course your friends always help you....

當然，你的朋友會一直幫助你，

like a mother helping a child...

就像一個媽媽幫助她的小孩，

but when you can read and write Chinese,

但如果你能讀跟寫中文，

people will be shocked and you will get massive respect.

人們會很驚訝，而你會得到很多的尊敬。

With just 70 hours of working through our engaging writing curriculum,

只要花70個小時在我們的寫字練習課程，

you can remove the handicap of illiteracy.

你就能擺脫文盲的身分了。

Lastly, if you're worried about having to spend time memorizing how to write,

最後，如果你擔心要花時間背下

"Older sister, what should we buy mommy for her birthday?!"

怎麼寫初學者課本裡的 "姊姊，我們要送媽媽什麼生日禮物呢？"

from a beginner's textbook, don't worry about this.

不用擔心，

You're not a child and you don't need to be taught child-aged dialogues.

你不是個小孩，不用學小朋友的對話。

You're an adult and you want to learn relevant vocabulary.

你是個成人而且想要學相關的字彙。

If you learn the 400 basic components, you can learn whatever you want.

學了這400個基本部件， 你就可以學任何你想知道的字。

If you're a lawyer, you can learn all your law terms.

如果你是個律師， 你可以學法律相關的字彙；

If you're a quality control manager at a factory, focus on those characters.

如果你是個工廠品管師， 就專注在這些字上面；

If you love Chinese food,

如果你喜愛中國食物，

you can quickly learn to read and write all the characters on a menu.

你可以快速學會讀跟寫菜單上全部的字。

You can use these 400 components to learn the characters you want to know

根據你的興趣跟職業

depending on your interests and occupation.

你可以利用這400個部件學任何你想知道的字。

Maybe you fall into a different category:

可能你是另一種類型，

You're already studying Chinese in school.

你已經開始在學校裡學中文了。

If the homework and tests are starting to make you feel frustrated,

如果作業跟小考開始讓你覺得挫折，

we can help.

我們可以幫忙。

Additionally, take some comfort in realizing that non-native speakers

另外，這樣想你可能覺得比較安心：

wanting to learn Chinese is really a new phenomenon

外國人學中文已經是個新氣象，

and schools haven't necessarily figured out

但教學者還沒找到最適合

the best methodology to helping foreigners learn Chinese.

教外國人中文的方法。

They are still using the exact same methodology they use for teaching

他們仍然使用

native-speaking children who have spent their entire lives

和教從小在中文環境長大的

immersed in a Chinese-speaking society.

母語人士一樣的方法來教外國人。

They're teaching you with an immersion methodology when you're not immersed,

他們用沉浸式教學法教你， 但其實你沒有沉浸在這環境裡。

so it's not your fault if you're struggling.

所以如果你正在掙扎，這不是你的錯！

Many people have tried learning Chinese this way

很多人試著用這個方法學中文，

and gotten overwhelmed in the process.

而在學習過程中被打敗。

So if you're in high school or college sweating it out thinking,

如果你是高中或大學生，正想著

"I can't do this"...

"我辦不到..."

yes, you can.

其實你可以。

The curriculum we have designed

我們設計的課程是一個針對你的上課需求

will be an extremely useful supplement to what you have to do in class.

很有用的輔助工具。

It will seamlessly apply to your studies

它可以融入你的學習課程，

and take you from just getting by and constantly thinking about quitting

讓你從一直想著要放棄的學生

to someone who really gets it.

變成可以駕馭中文的學生。

Or maybe you're one of the rare few who are studying Chinese

或者你是少數正在學中文

and love Chinese characters.

且熱愛中文的人之一。

You are a true Sinologist and linguist at heart!

你是個真正的漢語學家及語言學家！

If this is the case, you are going to love this building block approach

若是這樣，你將會愛上這種用積木

to learning Chinese characters.

學中文字的方法。

There is so much culture and history locked away

中文字裡藏有太多的

in a Chinese character's composition!

文化與歷史故事了。

As you learn why each Chinese character is written the way it is

一旦學了為什麼中文字是這樣寫

- why it is a combination of those specific components -

- 為什麼是由這些特定的部件組成 -

it will hugely increase your cultural awareness.

你對中國文化的意識也會大幅提升。

After watching these presentations

看完這些影片後，

we hope you can see how obviously worthwhile

希望你已經了解

the endeavor to learn Chinese is.

認真學中文是非常值得的。

Whatever the reason for your interest in Chinese

無論你學中文的動機為何，

and no matter what your current study situation is,

或者學習情況如何，

we are at your disposal to help you

我們都會在你身邊幫助你

enjoy mastering the two most difficult skill sets of Chinese:

享受駕馭中文最難學的兩個部分：

Chinese characters and tones.

文字和聲調。

Click the "Create a free trial account" button at www.abcsofchinese.com

在 www.abcsofchinese.com 點選"註冊免費試用帳戶"，

to learn the 30 most frequently used basic components,

開始學習最常使用的30個基本部件，

enabling you to write 180 Chinese characters

讓你可以寫180個中文字，

and discover over 2,500 Chinese characters

並發現超過2500個

that contain those 30 building blocks.

包含這30個積木的字。

Or try the interactive demo

或者試試這個互動教學片，

to see exactly how our writing curriculum works!

看看我們的寫字課程是如何運作的吧！ �