Chicago school kids learn CHINESE!

Vanity ^ | 1-29-2006 | Dick Bachert

[Dick Bachert]

Just caught a network news segment on how the Chicago government schools – at the alleged urging of parents – are teaching kids there CHINESE, a language having 3 gazillion unique GRAPHIC – as opposed to our 26 alphabetical – characters and 4 or so basic SOUNDS!

They claim they’re doing this so our kids can COMPETE with the Chinese – most of whom are busy learning a much easier language: ENGLISH!!

I think teaching American kids Chinese is wonderful. These kids will then be able to explain why they are ignorant of biology, physics, math, basic science, etc. – IN CHINESE because their local educrats stole time from THOSE vital skills necessary for us to compete with the Europeans and the Chinese – to teach them CHINESE!

[marron]

Good.

[Bob J]

In twenty years the Chinese will have the biggest economy in the world. How are we to do business or compete, much less put lots of spies there if no one learns Chinese?

You might want to rethink your position on this.

[tanknetter]

Think about this: KNOW THINE ENEMY.

No kidding. Throw in JOB SECURITY as well. Especially working for various organizations within the US intelligence community.

[bikepacker67]

Saussure's Cours is not a bad read.

That's a dangerous suggestion 'round these pahts ;-)

[Hildy]

I think learning Chinese is wonderful and it could ONLY help them with every other subject and the world they will grow up in.

[VadeRetro]

If you think simplicity is the hallmark of a good language, be aware that Chinese has only one-syllable words, each starting with one of 21 consonants, and ending with one of 16 vowel sounds. Not all permutations are used.

So there are only a few of these basic word-blocks and they get used over and over and over again. Simplicity is not an unmixed blessing. Ambiguities similar to puns abound.

[RightWhale]

Sure is. But, you can't tell the players without a scorecard.

[True Capitalist]

We placed our daughter in an all Chinese language school at age 3. At the time she spoke no Chinese. Now she is fluent in Chinese and doing extremely well in a top kindergarten in NYC (which is an English only school).

Young children are blessed with amazing linguistic abilities. I believe that learning in Chinese for two years actually improved all of her language skills - Mandarin and English. In fact, you'll find this interesting DaughterofEve, she is the only student in her class that actually read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe before seeing the movie.

P.S. Our nanny is originally from Beijing and speaks exclusively to both our daughters in Chinese.

[bikepacker67]

Ya know what it is... I don't want conclusions, I want to have some cool unknown facts, and let me draw my own.

[buccaneer81]

Yep. This dude is seriously shortsighted. Had I a child in the 1950's or 60's, he would have been learning Russian if at all possible.

[RightWhale]

At a physics conference in 1960:

We sit with the giants on whose shoulders we stand.

[jamesissmall218]

Why exactly is this a bad idea?

[SWAMPSNIPER]

http://www.theflasharchive.com/f/f-85.htm

[Netheron]

Old Japanese men still sound like that. It takes a lot of practice though.

[Atlas Sneezed]

So there are only a few of these basic word-blocks and they get used over and over and over again. Simplicity is not an unmixed blessing. Ambiguities similar to puns abound.

---

No argument. But I am not the ignoramus who is arguing that kids shouldn't be studying one of the most-spoken languages on the planet, because it has too many words.

[jude24]

Actually, this is brilliant. If I ever have kids, I will probably try to find just such a program.

[Dutch Boy]

Simplified Chinese has about 2500 words, Traditional has over 50,000. In simplified here are something like 240 radicals (partial words used to convey general meaning). There are eleven basic strokes. There are four(4) full tones and a half tone. Words also have different meanings based on the other words around it. It's enough to make my head explode.

Go to a book store and pick up a Chinese to English dictionary. I use the Xinhua dictionary with English translations the most. There is absolutely no way to sound out a Chinese word. I also have an electronic dictionary that speaks. That helps quite a bit too when I forget how my Chinese language professor said something.

[fzx12345]

Knowing a foreign language is a good thing. Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish will probably be the most desirable in the 21st Century. In fact, I learned much of what I know about English grammar in H.S. French class.

The biggest problem I had with the French language, other than the fact that is spoken by the French people, is that as a rule, the final letter is always dropped in pronounciation, so a certain sound can be a dozen or so different words.

[RightWhale]

The trick is to relax the throat. Otherwise it is a shortcut to a sore throat.

[bikepacker67]

Isn't that:

In the sciences, we are now uniquely privileged to sit side by side with the giants on whose shoulders we stand

? ;-)

Which to me, seems always the case. I mean... even I know more about the Atom then did J.J. Thomson - and it ain't because I'm gigantic!