A Frequency Dictionary of Mandarin Chinese is an invaluable tool for all learners of Mandarin Chinese, providing a list of the 5,000 words and the 2,000 Chinese characters (simplified) most commonly used in the language. Based on a fifty-million-word corpus composed of spoken, fiction, non-fiction and news texts in current use, the dictionary provides the user with a detailed frequency-based list, as well as alphabetical and part-of-speech indexes. All entries in the frequency list feature the English equivalent and a sample sentence with English translation. The Dictionary also contains thirty thematically organized lists of frequently used words on a variety of topics such as food, weather, travel and time expressions. A Frequency Dictionary of Mandarin Chinese enables students of all levels to maximize their study of Mandarin vocabulary in an efficient and engaging way. It is also an excellent resource for teachers of the language. Former CD content is now available to access at www.routledge.com/9780415455862 as support material. Designed for use by corpus and computational linguists it provides the full text in a format that researchers can process and turn into suitable lists for their own research work.
A dictionary of the 500 most frequently used words in the Chinese language, this instructive reference provides meaning and grammatical explanations for the use of each word. Based on a scientific study that concludes that learning a language can be achieved by mastering its most used words, the text acts as both a traditional dictionary and a teaching guide to the world's most widely-spoken language. Each entry is presented in both Chinese characters and roman letters, with pinyin transcription. This book also includes an introduction to the Chinese language and a pronunciation guide.
First published in 2010. 500 Common Chinese Idioms is a unique tool for learners. Presenting the 500 most commonly used Chinese idioms or ‘chengyu’, this dictionary presents: The idiom in both simplified and traditional characters The idiom in pinyin romanisation A literal English translation and English equivalents Two suitable example sentences, plus explanations and usage notes The dictionary offers a step-by-step approach to gaining greater fluency through a grasp of the most common idioms in the language, making it the ideal resource for the intermediate learner of Chinese and for Chinese language teachers. The book is also accompanied by recordings of all 500 idioms, available free through the companion website.
A Frequency Dictionary of Czech is an invaluable tool for all learners of Czech, providing a list of the 5,000 most frequently used words in the language. Based on data from a 100 million word corpus and evenly balanced between spoken, fiction, non-fiction and newspaper texts, the dictionary provides the user with a detailed frequency-based list, as well as alphabetical and part of speech indexes. All entries in the rank frequency list feature the English equivalent, a sample sentence with English translation and an indication of register variation. The dictionary also contains twenty thematically organised and frequency-ranked lists of words on a variety of topics, such as family, food and drink and transport. A Frequency Dictionary of Czech enables students of all levels to get the most out of their study of vocabulary in an engaging and efficient way. It is also a rich resource for language teaching, research, curriculum design, and materials development. A CD version is available to purchase separately. Designed for use by corpus and computational linguists it provides the full text in a format that researchers can process and turn into suitable lists for their own research work.
Mandarin Chinese, with over a billion speakers, is the most widely spoken language in the world. The People's Republic of China, where it is the official language, is becoming increasingly central to international commerce. Containing a bilingual dictionary and a practical phrasebook, this is an essential book for students, travellers and businesspeople. Features: 4,000 total dictionary entries; Chinese words printed in Chinese script with Pinyin romanisations; Comprehensive phrasebook; Easy-to-use pronunciation guide; Special section devoted to Chinese grammar.
A Frequency Dictionary of French is an invaluable tool for all learners of French, providing a list of the 5000 most frequently used words in the language. Based on a 23-million-word corpus of French which includes written and spoken material both from France and overseas, this dictionary provides the user with detailed information for each of the 5000 entries, including English equivalents, a sample sentence, its English translation, usage statistics, and an indication of register variation. Users can access the top 5000 words either through the main frequency listing or through an alphabetical index. Throughout the frequency listing there are thematically-organized lists of the top words from a variety of key topics such as sports, weather, clothing, and family terms. An engaging and highly useful resource, the Frequency Dictionary of French will enable students of all levels to get the most out of their study of French vocabulary. Former CD content is now available to access at www.routledge.com/9780415775311 as support material. Designed for use by corpus and computational linguists it provides the full text in a format that researchers can process and turn into suitable lists for their own research work. Deryle Lonsdale is Associate Professor in the Linguistics and English Language Department at Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah). Yvon Le Bras is Associate Professor of French and Department Chair of the French and Italian Department at Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah).
500 Common Chinese Proverbs and Colloquial Expressions is a dictionary of key Chinese proverbs or suyu. Suyu are vivid and colourful expressions widely used in Chinese language. The smooth use of chengyu in Chinese writing and of suyu in spoken Chinese not only makes communication more effective, it is also an indicator of mastery of the language. This dictionary will provide an ideal resource for all intermediate to advanced learners of Chinese. Concise and practical, it draws upon a large corpus of authentic language data to present 500 of the most commonly used Chinese suyu. The suyu are listed and organised according to their frequency, enabling easy and convenient access for the reader. Each proverb listing: is given in both simplified and traditional characters offers an English translation, followed by English equivalents is followed by two examples, written in Chinese, Pinyin and English, plus explanations and usage notes. Examples are given in the form of dialogues reflecting typical situations, and helpful cultural annotations are provided throughout. A Pinyin index, a stroke index and a Chinese word index are presented at the back of the book and accompanying audio is also available for free download at www.routledge.com/9780415501491. Recorded by native speakers and covering the whole range of proverbs, expressions and example sentences featured in the book, this invaluable resource will help students to build up strong comprehension and communication skills. This dictionary is suitable both for class use and independent study and will be of keen interest to students and teachers of Chinese alike.
Learning Chinese can be frustrating and difficult, partly because it's very different from European languages. Following a teacher, textbook or language course is not enough. They show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don't teach you how to learn them! Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking. If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them. Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students: How do I learn characters efficiently? How do I get the most out of my course or teacher? Which are the best learning tools and resources? How can I become fluent in Mandarin? How can I improve my pronunciation? How do I learn successfully on my own? How can I motivate myself to study more? How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule? The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you! This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself. That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself. This is what a few readers have said about the book: "The book had me nodding at a heap of things I'd learnt the hard way, wishing I knew them when I started, as well as highlighting areas that I'm currently missing in my study." - Geoff van der Meer, VP engineering "This publication is like a bible for anyone serious about Chinese proficiency. It's easy for anyone to read and written with scientific precision." - Zachary Danz, foreign teacher, children's theatre artist About me I started learning Chinese when I was 23 (that's more than eight years ago now) and have since studied in many different situations, including serious immersion programs abroad, high-intensity programs in Sweden, online courses, as well as on the side while working or studying other things. I have also successfully used my Chinese in a graduate program for teaching Chinese as a second language, taught entirely in Chinese mostly for native speakers (the Graduate Institute for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University). All these parts have contributed to my website, Hacking Chinese, where I write regularly about how to learn Mandarin.
A Frequency Dictionary of Spanish has been fully revised and updated, including over 500 new entries, making it an invaluable resource for students of Spanish. Based on a new web-based corpus containing more than 2 billion words collected from 21 Spanish-speaking countries, the second edition of A Frequency Dictionary of Spanish provides the most expansive and up-to-date guidelines on Spanish vocabulary. Each entry is accompanied with an illustrative example and full English translation. The Dictionary provides a rich resource for language teaching and curriculum design, while a separate CD version provides the full text in a tab-delimited format ideally suited for use by corpus and computational linguistics. With entries arranged both by frequency and alphabetically, A Frequency Dictionary of Spanish enables students of all levels to get the most out of their study of vocabulary in an engaging and efficient way.
A Frequency Dictionary of Russian is an invaluable tool for all learners of Russian, providing a list of the 5,000 most frequently used words in the language and the 300 most frequent multiword constructions. The dictionary is based on data from a 150-million-word internet corpus taken from more than 75,000 webpages and covering a range of text types from news and journalistic articles, research papers, administrative texts and fiction. All entries in the rank frequency list feature the English equivalent, a sample sentence with English translation, a part of speech indication, indication of stress for polysyllabic words and information on inflection for irregular forms. The dictionary also contains twenty-six thematically organised and frequency-ranked lists of words on a variety of topics, such as food and drink, travel, and sports and leisure. A Frequency Dictionary of Russian enables students of all levels to get the most out of their study of vocabulary in an engaging and efficient way. It is also a rich resource for language teaching, research, curriculum design, and materials development. Former CD content is now available to access at www.routledge.com/9780415521420 as support material. Designed for use by corpus and computational linguists it provides the full text in a format that researchers can process and turn into suitable lists for their own research purposes.
