Mandarin or Amoy?

[Memphis Raines]

I'm currently trying to learn how to speak and understand Chinese language (Amoy) since I really need it when trading.

Which is better or faster to learn? I'm not really familiar which is more widely used in the business community but my chinoy friends say that it is better for me to learn Amoy first then Mandarin.

Thanks!

[Isuzoom]

Amoy or Fookien is just a chinese dialect in the fujian province and also taiwan..most of our southeast asian neighbors speaks canotonese and mandarin. Go for Mandarin.

[testament11]

sir gone in 60 seconds, i suggest fukien. why? kasi most chinese speaks fukien. after learning fukien, then go to mandarin kasi this is the national language ng china and eto ang internationally spoken chinese dialect.

so sir, kung plano mo lang eh for local conversation o pang pilipinas lang, fukien is the way to go. but learning both is good.

[Zeus]

Majority of the local Chinoys here speak Fookien language, but Chinese schools here teach Mandarin which is the official Chinese language with the medium of instructions and explanation in Fookien

[tidus1203]

Mandarin. Pero Fookien is more used by FILIPINO-CHINESE since most Tsinoys came from Fujian province. Pero Mandarin is the common language of everyone. Pumunta ka Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan and yes even Xiamen in Fujian maiintindihan ka nila kapag Madarin.

[testament11]

Majority of the local Chinoys here speak Fookien language, but Chinese schools here teach Mandarin which is the official Chinese language with the medium of instructions and explanation in Fookien

naalala ko sinabi ng chinese teacher namin nung high school, dapat daw fukien ang tinuturo sa mga bata kasi eto ang mas ginagamit sa pilipinas.

ang amoy, parang hindi ko pa ata naririnig eto

[ghosthunter]

I'm currently trying to learn how to speak and understand Chinese language (Amoy) since I really need it when trading.

Which is better or faster to learn? I'm not really familiar which is more widely used in the business community but my chinoy friends say that it is better for me to learn Amoy first then Mandarin.

Thanks!

Are you planning to do trade from abroad? If yes, then mandarin is your choice of language.

[redorange]

naalala ko sinabi ng chinese teacher namin nung high school, dapat daw fukien ang tinuturo sa mga bata kasi eto ang mas ginagamit sa pilipinas.

ang amoy, parang hindi ko pa ata naririnig eto

Amoy aka Xiamen is a place and not a language, they speak Fukien in that area of China.

TS if you do international business then learn Mandarin if just regional business then Fukien is fine.

[renzo_d10]

[SIZE=1]Mandarin for me [/SIZE]

[Isuzoom]

If you want to trade in binondo...fookien... if international trade...mandarin. taiwan also speak fookien but very sharp sound unlike in the philippines it more with "ah" at the end.

Think Global

[Isuzoom]

pero ok din amoy fookien....

[testament11]

Amoy aka Xiamen is a place and not a language, they speak Fukien in that area of China.

TS if you do international business then learn Mandarin if just regional business then Fukien is fine.

hahaha, nakakahiya chinese pa man din ako

[Memphis Raines]

Thanks so much guys for your insights

Ah yes, fukien, that was mentioned by some for local business. Quite common daw.

I do have have suppliers from China that I talk to over the phone from time to time so I guess Mandarin will come in handy. It's kinda hard to distinguish the two. It would also help if I could understand what they are talking about whenever I'm around them

[boybi]

Mandarin would be easier to learn between the two. Mandarin have the pinyin to help you pronounce chinese/mandarin words.

from Wikipedia:

Pinyin, or more formally Hanyu Pinyin, is the most commonly used Romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu means the Chinese language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound". Developed by a government committee in the People's Republic of China (PRC), the system was initially approved by the Chinese government on February 11, 1958. The International Organization for Standardization adopted pinyin as the international standard in 1982,[3] and since then it has been adopted by many other organizations. Since January 1, 2009, it is also the official romanization system in Republic of China (ROC). It is used to teach Chinese schoolchildren and foreign learners the standard pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese, to spell Chinese names in foreign publications and to enter Chinese characters (hanzi) on computers.

Sa Fookien, you have to memorize the pronounciation of each word

In the end, whichever dialect you choose to master, if you don't speak it often, makakalimutan mo rin yan.

[ans_lim168]

Good day, Tsinoy here and I speak Fookien and Mandarin. For me it's better to study Mandarin coz like what was stated this is our national language. Almost all Chinese know how to speak this, Fookien is a dialect mainly used by the Chinese migrants from Fujian province.

Good thing I still know my Chinese lessons and Mandarin from way back, at least my 13 years of study did not go to waste.

[vinrem]

If you are dealing with chinese at the mainland, you should learn mandarin, all chinese mainlanders knows how to speak mandarin but not all mainlanders know how to speak fukien or cantonese.

[Memphis Raines]

Mandarin would be easier to learn between the two. Mandarin have the pinyin to help you pronounce chinese/mandarin words.

from Wikipedia:


Sa Fookien, you have to memorize the pronounciation of each word

In the end, whichever dialect you choose to master, if you don't speak it often, makakalimutan mo rin yan.

Yes that's right, I'm having difficulty with my fookien when it comes to the intonations because the lessons specify this, especially the highs and lows hehe.

Somebody is also offering 'conversational lessons' for Mandarin. Will this be easier on me if I just converse?

[ghosthunter]

Yes that's right, I'm having difficulty with my fookien when it comes to the intonations because the lessons specify this, especially the highs and lows hehe.

Somebody is also offering 'conversational lessons' for Mandarin. Will this be easier on me if I just converse?

Even mandarin has the same requirements for intonations (up, down, up-down, flat) as used in fookien.

Spoken with the wrong intonation, a word can mean the exact opposite of that you meant to say.

[testament11]

Good day, Tsinoy here and I speak Fookien and Mandarin. For me it's better to study Mandarin coz like what was stated this is our national language. Almost all Chinese know how to speak this, Fookien is a dialect mainly used by the Chinese migrants from Fujian province.

Good thing I still know my Chinese lessons and Mandarin from way back, at least my 13 years of study did not go to waste.

buti ka pa bro. samantalang ako, basic nalang ang alam

[testament11]

Even mandarin has the same requirements for intonations (up, down, up-down, flat) as used in fookien.

Spoken with the wrong intonation, a word can mean the exact opposite of that you meant to say.

correct. may mga words na same character, different intonation will give different meaning.