Frequently Asked Questions About Shumianyu.

Chapter 1 / Part 3

Frequently Asked Questions About Shumianyu

Since this may be the first time you encounter shumianyu, you may have some questions concerning the study of it. In this section, we hope to clarify some of your questions that you might have by providing answers to some frequently asked questions. We hope that after reading this section, we will build a common ground on what to expect in the course of studying basic shumianyu and more importantly, you will be able to set up concrete learning objectives for your own study.

1. Why do I need to learn shumianyu?

Shumianyu is used by Chinese to compose and write for public and formal purposes. Virtually all written material you will encounter in Chinese newspapers, magazines and books is in shumianyu. Its vocabulary and structures are distinctively different both from everyday conversational Chinese and from the materials that you study and practice in your first-year Chinese language course. Though primarily used in writing, shumianyu is also used in formal speech at occasions and events such as TV news, lectures, presentations, and interviews.

2. I only want to learn how to speak Chinese. Do I still need to study shumianyu?

It is important to learn shumianyu even if your goal is only to learn to speak Chinese. Since the shumianyu style is used in formal speech, knowledge of shumianyu is necessary for students who want to use Chinese in any formal or professional context.

3. How many characters do I need to know before I study shumianyu?

There is no definite answer to this question. Learning characters should be the prerequisite for learning shumianyu, and being able to recognize characters in both traditional and simplified forms is essential. We also have to emphasize that merely knowing characters is not enough – you must also know a fair amount of spoken Chinese grammar and vocabulary. It is generally agreed upon that in order to read Chinese, one needs to know 2,000-3,000 characters. Taking this into consideration, this set of materials will use characters from the 2,000 most frequently used characters in Chinese.

4. Do students need to learn both to read and to write shumianyu?

Beginners of Chinese should focus on learning how to read and understand shumianyu first. Just as with learning characters, recognition should precede reproduction. Therefore, being able to read shumianyu texts will be your first learning goal. From a practical point of view, unless your goal is to become a professional writer in Chinese, it is not likely that you will have to compose in shumianyu. Although shumianyu writing practice may help you to understand the shumianyu vocabulary and structures better, if the time factor is a concern, it is not necessary at the beginning stage. After all, in order to be a good writer, one has to be a good reader first.

5. Can I learn kouyu and shumianyu at the same time?

It is certainly possible to learn kouyu and shumianyu together, but we recommend that you begin your study of shumianyu only after learning X characters and acquiring some understanding of spoken Chinese and Chinese characters. Spoken Chinese is structurally much simpler than shumianyu, but there are still significant similarities between spoken and written Chinese and knowing spoken Chinese will help you to understand the usage of shumianyu.

6. How much time should I devote to studying shumianyu?

We suggest that you should spend one-fourth of your study time on shumianyu, and the other three-fourths of your time on improving your speaking skills. In the classroom, one hour out of five-contact hours supplemented with homework assignments is a good proportion for shumianyu. But you will have to experiment to see what works for you. You need to develop language skills in four areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. You may have to devote more time to the skill area that gives you the most trouble.

7. Can I use shumianyu to speak?

In informal conversation, shumianyu words and phrases can sound stilted or odd to a native Chinese speaker. But some shumianyu is used in speaking in formal situations. As a novice learner, we want to warn you against using shumianyu in conversation since a more advanced mastery of the Chinese language is required to balance the informal and formal styles.

8. Is shumianyu related to Classical Chinese? Does learning Classical Chinese help with learning shumianyu?

Shumianyu contains some structures and words which originate from Classical Chinese, so knowing Classical Chinese will help you to read Chinese shumianyu text. However, Classical Chinese is much more difficult than shumianyu, in particular in its usage of particles. We recommend that you learn shumianyu first before Classical Chinese because Classical Chinese is an ancient form of Chinese that is even farther removed from the spoken language.

9. How long will it take to learn shumianyu?

We suggest that you first learn the basics of shumianyu using this material. After that, it really depends on your available time and your learning goals as well as the language learning resources you have. We estimate that college students majoring in Chinese can probably begin to study shumianyu in their second year to help prepare them to read authentic materials used in their later advanced-level Chinese courses. If you follow the step-by-step instructions provided by our materials, you will find learning shumianyu is not that difficult. Similar to learning any subject, learning shumianyu requires constant practice and concentration.