Read and Write Chinese Script: Teach Yourself by Elizabeth Scurfield and Song Lianyi

Summary: 

Master Chinese script with this straightforward guide from Teach Yourself - the No. 1 brand in language learning. Read and write Chinese script is a clear step-by-step guide to the written language, with plenty of examples from real-life texts to show how it works in context and lots of exercises to reinforce your learning. This new edition has an easy-to-read page design.

Now fully updated to make your language learning experience fun and interactive. You can still rely on the benefits of a top language teacher and our years of teaching experience, but now with added learning features within the course and online.

Learn effortlessly with new, easy-to-read page design and interactive features:

NOT GOT MUCH TIME?

One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.

AUTHOR INSIGHTS

Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.

USEFUL VOCABULARY

Easy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking.

TEST YOURSELF

Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.

EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Extra online articles at: www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the culture and history of China.

TRY THIS

Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.

• This step-by-step introduction makes learning the Chinese script easy and enjoyable
• There is plenty of practice of each point to help you remember what you have learnt
• Lots of examples from real-life situations will help you to understand the most important signs, notices, headlines and menus on your next trip to China
• By the end of the book, you'll have everything you need to build on your knowledge and go on to further courses in Chinese

Table of Contents:

Introduction

01 Origins of the script

02 How Chinese characters are formed

03 Writing Chinese characters: basic rules, strokes and word order

04 How words are formed

05 Signs (1): At the hotel

06 Signs (2): Directions

07 Signs (3): Shopping

08 Entertainment: Going places

09 The weather

10 How to use a Chinese-English dictionary

Key to the exercises

Table of radicals

Pronunciation guide

Some useful public signs and notices

Chinese-English vocabulary

English-Chinese vocabulary

About the Author(s):

Elizabeth Scurfield was until recently Chair of the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Westminster in London, where she was a founder member of the Chinese section.

Song Lianyi grew up and was educated in Beijing. He has taught Chinese as a foreign language for more than 13 years. He is at present Lecturer in Chinese at SOAS. He completed his PhD in language teaching techniques at the Institute of Education, University of London.