外国人惊叹中文难学七大原因

    外国人惊叹中文难学七大原因
    在一些外国人看来，学习中文已成为他们最为头疼的事情。汉语的语调和汉字好像都是个难题。
In some foreigners eyes'， the learning of Chinese has become the most difficult thing for them． T he tones of Chinese and Chinese characters all seem to be a difficulty。
那么到底是什么原因使中文这么难学的呢？
Then what has made the learning of Chinese difficult?
原因一：书写方法简直是天方夜谭
Top 1 Because the writing system is ridiculous
汉语之所以难学，就是因为要学的汉字实在太多，这也是绝对的事实。
It is absolutely true that Chinese is hard because of the huge number of characters one has to learn。
还有，汉字的拼写方式也不是很规则，也就是说，如果从一个汉字的组合方式中得不到任何显而易见的语义提示，或者其中没有包含什么有用的偏旁部首，就会把一个汉字的写法忘得干干净净。
And Chinese is not very phonetic¹， which means that often you just completely forget how to write a character， if there is no obvious semantic clue in the radical²， and no helpful phonetic component³ somewhere in the character。
原因二：汉语是不能用通俗意义上的字母排列来表意的
Top 2 Because the language doesn't have the common sense to use an alphabet
英语之所以好学，就是因为掌握英语书写方法所需要的技能也就是26个字母而已，而且只要沿水平方向、从左到右、从页面的一边写到另一边就可以了。
The English is so easy because of the skills needed to master the writing system are 26 letters and they are written from left to right ，horizontally， across the page， with spaces to indicate word boundaries。
相比之下，尽管中文也有组成汉字的那些共用的偏旁部首，却没有相应的字母。
In comparison， Chinese has nothing that corresponds to analphabet， though there are recurring⁴ components⁵ that make up the characters。
可以说，组成汉字的偏旁部首是按照两个方向来排列的，而不象字母那样只按一个方向排列，看起来很整洁。
It can be said that the components of Chinese characters are arrayed in two dimensions， rather than in the neat one－dimensional rows of alphabetic⁶ writing。
原因三：即使在字典中查汉字也是非常复杂
Top 3 Because even looking up a word in the dictionary is complicated
学习汉语最莫名其妙的困难之一，就是即使仅仅学会怎么查字典，也要耗费一个秘书学校整个学期的学习时间。
One of the most unreasonably⁷ difficult things about learning Chinese is that merely learning how to look up a word in the dictionary is about the equivalent of an entire semester of secretarial school
汉语一定是地球上最精于运用字典的语言了，因为各种各样的字典实在太多。
Chinese must also be one of the most dictionary－intensive languages on earth for there are various dictionaries。
原因四：中文里面还有古汉语（文言文）
Top 4 Because there's classical Chinese （wenyanwen）
古汉语确实含有数千年来积累起来的各种宫廷秘闻，用词简洁扼要，简直象某种密码，只适合那些天生的知识精英，他们对文学的一切了然于心。
Classical Chinese really consists of several centuries of esoteric anecdotes⁸ and in－jokes written in a kind of terse⁹， miserly code for dissemination¹⁰ among a small， elite¹¹ group of intellectually－inbred bookworms who already knew the whole literature backwards¹² and forwards。
原因五：（罗马式）拼音方案太多且都让人精疲力尽
Top 5 Because there are too many Romanization methods and they’ll suck
也许听起来有些刺耳，但汉语的拼音方案确实太多，而大多数的拼音方案不是什么文字委员会提倡的，就是语言学家提出来的，更糟糕的是由那些语言学家组成的文字委员会提出来的。
Perhaps that's too harsh， but it is true that there are too many of them， and most of them were designed either by committee or by linguists¹³， or －－ even worse －－ by a committee of linguists。
原因六：汉语语调稀奇古怪
Top 6 Because tonal languages are weird¹⁴
外国人惊叹中文难学七大原因
  语过程中，最容易听到的抱怨正是这一点，西方人对汉语最害怕的也是这一点，简直是妇孺皆知。
It's one of the most common complaints about learning Chinese，and it's also one of the aspects of the language that westerners are notoriously bad at。
如果不是从小就会说汉语，那你就等着不停地去死记那些元音辅音吧。
As non－native speakers， you must memorize along with the vowels¹⁵ and consonants¹⁶。
汉语的那些语调和强调习惯简直是与生俱来的，根深蒂固的，简直不可思议。
Intonation¹⁷ and stress habits are incredibly ingrained and second－nature。
原因七：存在文化差异
Top 7 Because there is culture difference
东方、西方相互之间文化分隔的时间太长，这也是汉语对于西方人来说为何那么难学的主要原因。
One of the main reasons Chinese is so difficult for westerners is that the culture between the East and the West has been isolated¹⁸ for so long。
尽管在过去几十年里中国和西方之间有了广泛的接触，然而，中国人的知识和思想浩瀚如海，西方人却无缘享用。
China has had extensive contact with the West in the last few decades， but there is still a vast sea of knowledge and ideas that’s not shared by both cultures。
即使有朝一日西方人想和中国人融合成一体，其障碍往往也并非只是语言一个方面而已，最大的障碍是巨大的文化差异。
When westerners and Chinese get together， there is often not just a language barrier， but an immense cultural barrier as well。

1 phonetic   

adj.语言的，语言上的，表示语音的

参考例句：

• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。
• English phonetic teaching is an important teaching step in elementary stages.语音教学是英语基础阶段重要的教学环节。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

4 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

5 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

6 alphabetic   

adj.照字母次序的，字母的

参考例句：

• A generic name for a device that can store and process numeric and alphabetic in formation. 能存储和处理数字与字母信息的设备的总称。 来自辞典例句
• A coded character set whose character set is an alphabetic character set. 一种编码字符集，它的字符集是一种字母字符集。 来自互联网

7 unreasonably   

adv. 不合理地

参考例句：

• He was also petty, unreasonably querulous, and mean. 他还是个气量狭窄，无事生非，平庸刻薄的人。
• Food in that restaurant is unreasonably priced. 那家饭店价格不公道。

8 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 terse   

adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的

参考例句：

• Her reply about the matter was terse.她对此事的答复简明扼要。
• The president issued a terse statement denying the charges.总统发表了一份简短的声明，否认那些指控。

10 dissemination   

传播,宣传,传染(病毒)

参考例句：

• The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传，误人不浅。
• He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。

11 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

12 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

13 linguists   

n.通晓数国语言的人( linguist的名词复数 )；语言学家

参考例句：

• The linguists went to study tribal languages in the field. 语言学家们去实地研究部落语言了。 来自辞典例句
• The linguists' main interest has been to analyze and describe languages. 语言学家的主要兴趣一直在于分析并描述语言。 来自辞典例句

14 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

15 vowels   

n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

16 consonants   

n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母

参考例句：

• Consonants are frequently assimilated to neighboring consonants. 辅音往往被其邻近的辅音同化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 intonation   

n.语调，声调；发声

参考例句：

• The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
• Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。

18 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。