为什么中文TM这么难

Why Chinese is so 'damn hard'

为什么中文TM这么难

Editor's note: CNN's Beijingbureau chief Jaime FlorCruz has lived and worked in China since 1971. Hestudied Chinese history at Peking University (1977-81) and was TIME Magazine'sBeijing correspondent and bureau chief (1982-2000).

主笔信息:杰米·福劳克鲁兹是CNN驻京办的总编辑，并自1971年便在中国生活与工作。他在1977-81年曾在北京大学学习中国历史，曾任时代杂志驻北京的通讯员和总编。（1982-2000）。

Beijing (CNN) -- Who would've thought? Facebookfounder MarkZuckerberg speaks Mandarin.

谁曾会料想到脸书的创始人马克扎克伯格竟然会说中文。

When I first read a bannerheadline saying that the 20-something billionaire spoke fluently in Chinese, Iwas skeptical.

当我第一次看到头版大标题上写着这位20多岁的亿万富翁说着流利的中文时候，我相当怀疑。

Yes, I know he's young andsmart. Yes, he's married to Priscilla Chan, a publicity-shy medical doctor ofChinese parentage. But she's also American-born Chinese and, like many of them,does not necessarily speak Chinese like a native. Besides, one does not learn aforeign language simply by marrying a Chinese speaker

是的，我当然知道他很年轻也很聪明。我也知道他娶了普里西拉·陈，一位行事低调的华裔医生，但她只是个美国出生的中国人，和很多美籍华裔一样，根本不必像个土生土长的中国人一样说中文。
除此之外，一个人也不会仅仅因为和一个会说中文的人结了婚，就跑去学习中文。

But the Facebook CEOimpressed his star-struck Chinese audience when he spoke in Chinese during a30-minute Q&A recently at Beijing's Tsinghua University.

但在其最近的清华大学之旅中，这位脸书CEO在30分钟问答环节，全程使用中文，着实给台下的崇拜他的中国观众留下了深刻的印象。

"He showed respectfor China by taking the trouble to learn the language and I think the audienceappreciated it," said John C. Thomson, one of the pioneers of teachingChinese as a foreign language and a former Chinese translator for Ronald Reagan.

“他用努力学习中文的方式表达了对中国的尊重，我认为台下的观众会很赞赏这点”约翰 C汤姆逊说道，他是从事中文教学的先锋人物之一，并曾任里根总统的中文翻译。

Zuckerberg spoke entirelyin Mandarin, albeit with a heavy accent and the occasional error.

扎克伯格全程使用普通话，虽然夹杂着浓重的美国腔和偶尔的小错误。

Yet some Chinese-speakingexpatriates disparaged his Chinese proficiency -- deeming it "poor"and "mediocre," while others dismissed the session at Tsinghua as aPR stunt, perhaps to curry favor in China where Facebook has remained blockedsince 2009.

可还是有些说中文的侨民认为他的中文不够熟练，只能用“差劲”和“一般”来形容。虽然其他人都把扎克伯格在清华说中文当做是公共关系方面的某种噱头，也许是为了取悦中国，毕竟自2009年脸书就被禁了。

Learning for 42 years

42年的学习中文之旅

But I was impressed.
His tones might have been off most of the time but then so weremine when I was just beginning to get a "feel" for the language.

但我真的挺佩服扎克伯格的
他的中文腔调还差得很远，但当我刚对中文有“感觉”时，我也是这个熊样。

As a famous billionaire hecould have said no to the idea, instead of risking looking like a fool inpublic.

作为一个超级富豪，他本可以对学习中文说“不”，但他却不顾说不好中文而在众人前出丑的风险，选择了学习。

"He deserves creditfor undertaking sustained study of Chinese while growing a major Internetcompany," agreed Thomson. "He and his firm do not need more PR, butfull access for Facebook in China would be great."

“扎克伯格在发展壮大他的网络公司的同时，还能够长期坚持中文学习，这理应受到称赞。”汤姆逊对此表示赞同“他和他的公司已经不太需要公关了，但是能让中国解禁脸书的话，那将对其大有裨益”

I'm impressed not becauseI'm star-struck but because I know how hard a language Chinese is.

我佩服扎克伯格不是因为我崇拜名人，而是我知晓学习中文之艰辛

Two months into my firstChinese course some 42 years ago, I was ready to give up, totally intimidatedand overwhelmed by its grammar rules (or lack of them), five tones andpictographs.

42年前，当我首次的中文课程行进到两个月时，我准备放弃了，我彻底被中文的语法规则吓住了，或者干脆说中文压根就没啥语法规则，我完全不知所措，当然还有那五声调和象形字。

Fortunately, I persisted.After several months of drills and practice, I got into the Chinese language"zone" and started to enjoy it.

很幸运，我坚持下来了。经过了数月的钻研和苦练，我终于进入了中文“模式”，并开始享受中文学习。

Still, I do not think Icould have learned it well if I had only attended courses overseas -- withoutthe immersion that I got by living and studying in China. I acquired it becauseI was surrounded by Mandarin and because I had to.

至今我都坚信，如果没有在中国生活学习过，没有那种中文环境的浸润，单靠学习一些中文课程，我是无法掌握中文的。因为我身处中文环境，必须要使用它，所以我学会了中文。

David Moser, a veteransinologist and a long-time Beijing resident, explained why Chinese is sodaunting.

大卫·摩瑟，一个长居北京的经验丰富的汉学家，他解释了为何中文学习中常遇到挫折。

"Those who undertaketo study the language for any other reason than the sheer joy of it will alwaysbe frustrated by the abysmal ratio of effort to effect, he wrote in a paperwhen he was at the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies.

他在密西根大学中国研究中心曾发表过一篇论文，其中提到“不去享受中文纯粹的乐趣，而因为其他原因而学习中文的人，经常会因为付出和回报及其不成比例而大失所望。”

"Those who areattracted to the language precisely because of its daunting complexity anddifficulty will never be disappointed."

论文还提到“相反，那些对中文的复杂性和难度极其感兴趣的人往往不会失望”

Moser ticked off severalreasons why Chinese is so damn hard:

摩瑟点出了一些“中文为什么这么难”的原因

-- Because the writing system is ridiculous.
-- Because the language doesn't have the common sense to use analphabet.
-- Because the writing system just ain't very phonetic.
-- Because tonal languages are weird;
-- Because East is East and West is West, and the twain have onlyrecently met.

--因为书写系统太荒谬
--因为中文不用字母表
--因为书写和发音往往不对应
--因为声调语言就是这么怪*
--因为东方是东方，西方是西方。两者只在近现代才有交汇。
*声调语言的特点，就是指只发同一个语音的时候，用不同长短、不同高低的声调，会构成不同的意思（即语意或语义）的话与涵义。同样道理，非声调语言就是指语音声调在不同样的长短时，只是表示出语气、而不会影响到其语意之语言。
概括的说，印欧语系的语言，如英语、法语、德语等，多属于非声调语言。而很多汉藏语系的语言，包括汉语、藏语、苗语、羌语等，则多属于声调语言。

Culturalshift

文化领域的转变

Remarkably, Chinese is nowenjoying a new found popularity

很明显，中文开始走红了

Just as English became thepopular choice as a second language because of the influence of the BritishEmpire before the World War I and the U.S. after World War II, we're nowwitnessing "a major shift in economic and cultural influence, from the U.S.to China," said Thomson, who spent 30 years in China, most recently asdirector of the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Study at TsinghuaUniversity.

因为一战前的大英和二战后的美国都极具影响力，所以英语成了第二语言的热门选择。现在情况有些类似，我们正见证着“经济和文化领域的巨大转变，从美国转向中国。”汤姆逊说。他在中国已经30年了，最近正在清华担任跨大学研究中文项目的指导。

He cites China's majorpush to promote Chinese language overseas, combined with a growing recognitionthat Chinese language ability will give people a huge advantage in dealing withChina and its people.

他解释道，人们越来越认识到当他们和中国（人）打交道时，掌握中文能给其带来巨大优势，因此中国正大力在海外推广中文。

"Compared with theseveral American students studying Chinese in Taiwan in 1966-68 when I wasthere as a student, there are now about 25,000 American students in China eachyear, most of them studying Chinese language, and a large and a growing numberof Americans are studying Chinese as part of their K-12 education in the U.S."

“在1966-68年，只有寥寥几个美国学生在台湾学习中文，包括我。形成鲜明对比的是，现在每年有25000名美国学生在中国学习，他们大多数专攻中国语言。此外一个巨大且在增长的群体出现在美国，他们把学习中文纳入了K12教育体系(美国的基础教育)”

His tip to Chineselanguage students?

汤姆逊对学习中文者的一些忠告

"First get a goodfoundation overseas for grammar and pronunciation, followed by an extended stayin China for study or work where most or all people speak Chinese all day."

“先在本地打好中文基础，主要是语法和发音，随后长时间在中国工作或者学习，毕竟在那里，全部或者大多数的人都会整天说中文。

You have to use it, lestyou lose it.

别忘了，用进废退

"China is a greatcountry," Zuckerberg told his Chinese audience on why learn Chinese."I think learning the language can help me know the country's culture... And Ilove a challenge."

“中国是个伟大的国家，”扎克伯格向台下的观众说明为什么他要学习中文“我认为学习中文有助于我了解中国文化，而且我喜欢挑战自我。”

Learning Mandarin, somesay, is for those who don't mind making fools of themselves. Just like theFacebook billionaire.

有这样一种说法，学习中文是为那些不介意出丑的人设置的，就像脸书的这位亿万富豪一样。