Exploring language

Language is a bridge that connects people. April 20 marks United Nations Chinese Language Day. On this day, people around the world celebrate the Chinese language. TEENS has invited three Chinese learners to share stories of their studies!
语言是连接人类的桥梁。4月20日是联合国中文日。在这一天，世界各地的人们会为中文庆祝。《21世纪学生英文报》邀请了三位外国青年来分享他们学习中文的故事!

Mike Fuksman, US: Learning Chinese brings me joy
来自美国的麦克·福克斯曼：学中文让我快乐

When I first arrived in China, I didn’t speak any Chinese at all. I could only say “hello” and “thank you”. But since then, I’ve gotten a pretty decent grasp of the language.
我刚到中国的时候，根本不会说中文，只会说“你好”和“谢谢”。但自打那以后，我中文已经学得不错了。

One thing that I really appreciate about Chinese is that it is usually quite direct and literal. When you break each word down into its individual characters, they make sense together. “Elevator” is dianti – translated character by character, it means “electric stairs”. It’s pretty straightforward.
我很喜欢中文的一点是，中文通常非常直接，而且表达字面意义。你把每个词拆分成单独的字来理解时，再把它们放在一起就知道意思了。表示“Elevator”的电梯就是逐字翻译的，意思是“电动的楼梯”，非常简单明了。

Then again, there are plenty of odd words, such as dongxi, which means “things”. If you translate each part individually, it means “east west”. There are some interesting theories about how dongxi came to mean “things”. One theory goes that all marketplaces in ancient Chinese cities were set up along a single road that ran from east to west. So when you would say qu mai dongxi, you’d be saying, “I’m going to buy things.”
不过，也有很多奇怪的词，比如东西，意思是“物品”。如果你把每个部分单独翻译，意思则是“东方西方”。关于东西是怎么用来指代“物品”也有一些有趣的说法。有一种说法认为，中国古代城市的所有市场都沿着唯一一条自东向西的道路兴建而来，因此当你说去买东西时，你就是在表达“我要去买一些物品。”

Learning to read the characters themselves has been a challenge, but it has also been fun and made my life more convenient.
学习阅读汉字是一个挑战，但也很有趣，而且它让我的生活更方便了。

Alex Tani, UK: Learning Chinese can be enjoyable
来自英国的亚历克斯·塔尼：学习中文可以是一种享受

At the age of 13, I started taking Mandarin classes at school. It was a subject that could make the classroom deadly silent because of how difficult it was to learn. But when I arrived to China in 2021, I found that learning the language could be enjoyable.
13岁时，我开始在学校学习普通话课程。这门课会让教室里鸦雀无声，因为普通话太难学了。但2021年来到中国时，我发现学习中文可以是一种乐趣。

After I moved to Beijing, I lived with locals. As a language lover, I would try to chat with them in Chinese, sharing details about our daily lives. Sometimes we would also go to KTV together.
搬到北京后，我和当地人住在一起。我是一个语言爱好者，会尽量用中文和他们聊天，分享我们日常生活的细节，有时我们也会一起去练歌房。

When I stepped into the KTV room for the first time, the vibe was completely different from that of a classroom. But this was where the learning would take place. With every note sung, the characters began to make sense. Connecting with others made the process of learning less daunting. The music and language learning flowed with ease. As I sang with native Chinese speakers, it finally began to click. This was an environment where I could immerse myself in the Chinese language and culture while still expressing myself.
我第一次走进练歌房的包厢时，那个氛围和教室完全不一样，但这里就是能学中文的地方。我每唱一个音符，那些汉字就开始有了意义。和他人交往让学中文的过程不再那么令人生畏，随着音乐轻快流淌，中文学习也轻松自如。我和母语是中文的人一起唱歌时，一切终于开始对路了。在这样的环境中，我可以沉浸在中国的语言和文化中，同时也可以表达自己。

Living in China has added a much-needed element of necessity to language learning while making the experience fun.
我在中国生活，这让学中文多了一些必要的成分，同时也让学习的经历变得有趣了。

Jennifer Holstein, US: Learning Chinese changed my life path
来自美国的詹妮弗·霍尔斯坦：学习中文改变了我的人生道路

Since I started learning Chinese at the age of 5, the language has been part of my life. At the beginning, it was challenging. After six years of learning, I could still barely put a sentence together. But I never gave up. To improve my Mandarin, I moved to Beijing in high school for an intensive language program.
自从5岁开始学习中文，这门语言已经成为我生活的一部分。一开始，学中文非常具有挑战性。我学了六年中文，依然几乎说不出一句完整的话，但我从未放弃。为了提高我的普通话水平，高中时我搬到北京，参加了一个中文集训课程。

The school day was long and hard. Each morning, the sound of our wake-up call would ring at 6:30 sharp. Class went until 5:15 pm each day, and then of course we had another three hours of monitored night study in the evening. Each day we attended listening, speaking, reading and writing classes. Even gym and music classes were in Mandarin. For a 16-year-old American girl, this was a shock to the system. But I learned Mandarin quite well.
上学的日子漫长又艰难。每天早上，铃声都会在六点半整猛地响起，把我们叫醒。我们每天的课上到下午5点15分，然后当然，还要上3个小时晚自习。我们每天都要上听、说、读、写课，甚至体育课和音乐课上讲的都是普通话。对于一个16岁的美国女孩来说，这给我造成了冲击，但我的普通话因此学得很好。

It took a lifetime to learn, but once I had a good grasp of the language, opportunities started presenting themselves everywhere. Everyone wanted me to work for them. At that moment, I knew my effort was worth it.
我花了一辈子的时间来学习中文，而当我掌握了这门语言，到处都开始出现机会，每个人都想聘请我为他们工作。那一刻，我知道自己的努力是值得的。

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一866期