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After proving myself incapable of mastering clear English pronunciation in 13 years, I have a serious fear of languages like Chinese where two-sound word can mean three different things depending on how you speak - up, down or flat.
Is your daughter musical? Chinese being a tonal language, musical ability probably helps.
Chinese grammar is way simpler than Russian grammar.
But, yeah, different people have different talents, and what's hard for one is not necessarily hard for another.
Actually, yes. In elementary school she played trumpet, then switched to tenor sax for concert band in middle school and bari sax for jazz band through high school.
after reading all your messages I have more clean what to choose
First i have to thank everyone for writing it was useful to choose a decision .I have been still seeking in other forums and youtube videos ,and this is what i discoveried
considering that russian people prefer to emigrate to north countries of Europe than US ,and Chinese people are beginning to open to the world... ,that there are more areas in US with a strong influence and population from chinese people (fews of chinetowns in any cities...) than russian people in US (they are usually from eastern countries of Europe like Hungarian ,Albanians ,Polish...) ,but they aren t focused in big communities
to learn Madarin Chinese you have to learn first PINYIN (it s a combo of occidental-Chinese as a first step to be able to get the real chinese) ,there are 4 tones ,vowels ,combinated vowels ,writing...ect
to learn Russian you have tu learn a new alphabet with hard sounds (unless it looks like a combo of french + slavics languages) ,words very long ,...ect
I guess i ll choose Mandarin ,i don t know why but i think chinese people is going to emigrate to US more than Russian guys
I'm not aware of university programs that teach pin-yin before characters. Most start out from the very start, having you memorize all those little scratchings. As I mentioned before, I hope you have a strong visual memory. Otherwise, you might find learning the writing system to be torture.
My four-year-old grandson started both Spanish AND Chinese in Kindergarten this year. Heck, I didn't take German until seventh grade (but my family at home already spoke fluent PA Dutch, which is very similar, so it was a no brainer).
after reading all your messages I have more clean what to choose
First i have to thank everyone for writing it was useful to choose a decision .I have been still seeking in other forums and youtube videos ,and this is what i discoveried
considering that russian people prefer to emigrate to north countries of Europe than US ,and Chinese people are beginning to open to the world... ,that there are more areas in US with a strong influence and population from chinese people (fews of chinetowns in any cities...) than russian people in US (they are usually from eastern countries of Europe like Hungarian ,Albanians ,Polish...) ,but they aren t focused in big communities
to learn Madarin Chinese you have to learn first PINYIN (it s a combo of occidental-Chinese as a first step to be able to get the real chinese) ,there are 4 tones ,vowels ,combinated vowels ,writing...ect
to learn Russian you have tu learn a new alphabet with hard sounds (unless it looks like a combo of french + slavics languages) ,words very long ,...ect
I guess i ll choose Mandarin ,i don t know why but i think chinese people is going to emigrate to US more than Russian guys
Our ES and another in the county have Mandarin Immersion Programs along with Spanish Immersion. My daughter is in the Mandarin program and this year is her 4th year. She took Mandarin in Kindergarten as a special (the whole school takes it in K) and then she started the immersion program in 1st. My son took Spanish in K (he went to a different school in K) and then took Mandarin in 1st.
They just opened a Mandarin Immersion School in my area this year serving kids Pre-K to 4th grade.
English and Chinese are the two most important useful languages to learn. If I was a kid again or have children, these two languages are my choices as must have.
The only reason I would even bother to learn Russian is if I'm planning to join the Russian Mafia or marry a Russian Mail Order Bride. Beyond that, I wouldn't waste my time on Russian.
Mandarin Chinese is a much more useful language to learn. And for those that think it's the writing portion that's hard, and while it is hard, I would argue that it's the pronunciation that many people would find more difficult. Considering that Chinese is a tonal language, a slight change in tones, despite the word sounding almost the same, can change the meaning. A popular example would be the different ways to pronounce "ma". 4 different ways to pronounce the word. 4 different meanings.
I took Russian for three years. Since then, I actually have had occasion to use it twice. And, given Russia's continued slide into irrelevancy, it will matter even less in the future.
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