Learning any second language requires commitment and perseverance. However, as you go through the peaks and troughs of effort and advancement, you have your off-days, but you also have those fleeting, slightly deluded moments where you feel almost fluent. Different days, different moods, different sleep patterns, different situations: they all contribute towards your feelings of progress or conversely, non-advancement. Then, of course, there are the different types of people you speak with. They can make some of the deepest impacts on your relationship with your language learning and they tend to fall into one of the following three categories:

The Roadrunner

Although often with the best of intentions, your introduction to The Roadrunner using your basic Mandarin is all they need to embark on an Indy 500 barrage of natural (to them) Chinese. No matter how distressed you look, no matter how many times you ask them to speak slowly, it makes no impact. You need time to process the first sentence, but they’re off, spouting their second, third, fourth… 

The Sporadic Switcher

Related to the Roadrunner, this speaker is like the aforementioned but bears similarity to a gremlin whose been fed after midnight. The second sentences are just for starters. This speaker’s going to mess you up. Mainly because they switch subject matter almost instantaneously. They demand information, then before you’ve fathomed the gist, they are demanding something else of you. Jeez! Your VPN only goes and disconnects at this point, so you can’t even use Google Translate. Oh, you feel like a loser alright? Well just wait until you leave the situation, genuinely believing that your Mandarin is poor and perhaps that normally you are experiencing the Kruger Dunning (Google it!) effect on most other days. 

The Considerate Speaker

They do exist. Have faith. This speaker is basically a pleasant person with a sense of humanity. They empathize with you straight away, speaking in bite-sized chunks, using easy language, and leaving thoughtful pauses. Damn it, some of them mime for you. Love them. They’re quite widespread, but then, so are the other two. It’s the luck of the draw which you encounter though. Depending on which one the universe has matched you with that day, your outcomes may well be the feeling of an accomplished student of Mandarin who is progressing every day, or a loser. I know I prefer the former. How about you?

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As travel becomes a reality once more, together with the new demands that COVID brings, the age-old challenge for foreigners visiting China remains. This is, of course, the language barrier. In this article, we’ll examine the diversity of the Chinese language, China’s English language ability, and how you can approach learning a functional level of Mandarin Chinese.

Chinese Language Diversity

Firstly, understanding the challenges of the Chinese language will enable you to better prepare. Or indeed, understanding the challenges of ‘languages’ in China might be a better phrase to start with. There are circa 300 living languages in China, a figure that varies depending on your definition of language and dialect. For the sake of time and to position this article as an introductory resource, we’ll save China’s minority languages for another time and focus on the Chinese language. The Chinese language spans 10 dialect groups. Many are related, some more so than others, but the dialect that most visitors to China will benefit from learning and using is Mandarin.

Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 920 million people worldwide and is the majority language throughout most of the Chinese-speaking world. Known as Putonghua, or the people’s language, it’s the country’s official language and the language the government is dedicated to promoting throughout education and the media.

Every major city and region has its own dialect, but apart from in the south of the country, there will usually be a strong Mandarin uptake. Incidentally, the country’s second most spoken language is Cantonese. Although Cantonese and Mandarin are not mutually intelligible, they do share the same written language. The only differences here are that Cantonese people tend to use traditional Hanzi (Chinese characters) and mainland Mandarin speakers use simplified Hanzi: a system that removes excessive, superfluous strokes from the characters. Both systems are generally mutually intelligible.

China’s English Ability

China is undoubtedly developing at a fast pace. It’s making its mark on the global economy and rapidly becoming a major world player. As an example, there are close to 180,000 Chinese students in the UK alone, and countless Chinese manufacturing and export hubs liaise with western clients every day. However, assuming that the English language is widely used throughout China is a misconception and one that you should take into consideration before planning your China trip.

English is taught in schools throughout China from roughly the age of eight upwards. As with many school subjects, if they are not learned as a passion, they will probably not be pursued and mastered. Therefore, just because English is taught doesn’t mean it’s spoken well. Also, it’s often taught by English teachers who learned their English in China and who have never been to an English-speaking county.

The extent of English language usage in China tends to correlate with the Chinese city tier structure. China’s tier 1 cities comprise Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing. These cities welcome western business people, foreign students and they are even home to international schools. The English language is relatively common. However, visit lesser-known peripheral cities and you may not see another foreigner, nor experience a local who is proficient in English all day.

Recommended Learning

As well as demonstrating respect to your country hosts, learning some basic Mandarin will serve you extremely well. There’s a vast array of Mandarin learning resources online, from websites to videos, podcasts to apps. Some resources are completely free, some feature additional charges, and some are subscription-based.

Everybody’s learning style is different, though, so undertaking some Google searches should help you locate some initial resources to trial.

Translation Restrictions

In this smartphone age, we rely on our devices more and more, and language translation is no exception. However, if you intend to entrust Google Translate, although it’s an undeniably powerful translation resource, bear in mind that it won’t work in mainland China unless you use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) app on your devices.

Google services, along with an increasing majority of western web pages and internet services are blocked in mainland China. The app will simply not load and definitely won’t be able to connect and produce any translation. If you do want to use Google Translate, before entering mainland China you must download and subscribe to a VPN app service. These connect your devices to a server in another country, effectively tunneling through what is referred to as ‘The Great Firewall of China’.

Alternatively, download another Chinese dictionary, like Pleco, which will provide you with word translation both on and offline.

Your Chinese Language Options

Knowing the limited extent of the English language in China and the challenges facing those needing to tackle the Chinese language in mainland China will enable you to plan ahead.

If you currently possess no Mandarin ability and intend on visiting tier 3 Chinese cities, consider traveling with an interpreter, or liaising with a competent Mandarin speaker on arrival, be that a Chinese colleague, supplier, or someone from a Chinese agency.

Learning some basic Mandarin prior to your trip is highly recommended and the more you learn, the better. Depending on your location and timescales, you could opt for Chinese classes or even 1-2-1 teaching. Simple Google searches should enable you to locate these resources.

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