Welcome to the Mandarin Chinese studies at the University of Canberra! Mandarin, also known as P?t?nghu? or Standard Chinese, is one of the most important languages of the world, one of the six official languages of the United Nations, and one of the top four languages used for internet sites. We have been teaching Mandarin at UC for over 30 years, with a focus on practical and contemporary Chinese and achieving a high degree of communicative and cultural competence in it.

Introduction: Some Important Points about Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin is understood by about 90% of the population of Mainland China (including Hong Kong) and freely used by over 50% of that population. This proportion of users is constantly growing, along with the growing status of Mandarin as China's official national language. Mandarin is also understood and used by the vast majority of the population in Taiwan and Singapore; and it is the second language of over 40 million people of Chinese descent throughout the world.

While Chinese dialects are still important for some spoken communication in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and elsewhere (for example Cantonese in Hong Kong and Hokkien in Singapore), nevertheless Mandarin is the common means of spoken communication between all Chinese, regardless of their dialect background. Moreover, dialects are not often written down - for reading and writing, Mandarin is the standard in all Chinese communities. Another important point about the Chinese language is that it is the bearer of a rich cultural tradition still of great importance not only in the PRC itself but also elsewhere in East Asia, for example in Korea and Japan.

Visit Felicia Zhang's Chinese learning pages for some sample lessons.