Today is Chinese Language Day. 10 things you might not know about the Chinese language:
It is one of the oldest languages on Earth. Chinese writing, dating back to 1250 BC have been found, engraved on animal bones.
It doesn’t have an alphabet, but uses pictorial characters, not unlike Egyptian hieroglyphs. Chinese is, in fact, the only pictorial language still in use today.
And it’s used by a lot of people: something like 1.3 billion, or 15% of the people in the world. It’s not only spoken in China but also in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Mandarin is the most widely spoken form of the language, and the official language of China. However, there are many other forms, including Wu, Xiang, Cantonese, Putonghua, Min, Hakka and Gan.
There are over 50,000 distinct Chinese characters, with more being added every year as the language evolves. The good news for anyone thinking of learning Chinese, is that you only need to know about 2,500 characters to read a Chinese newspaper. You could probably manage without the most complicated character, “biang”, which is made up of 57 strokes and has to be written twice. It’s an unofficial character representing the sound of noodles being banged against a table.
The spoken language is tonal, which means that the same word can mean several different things depending on the pitch or tone which is used. For example, in Mandarin, the syllable "ma" can mean "mother," "hemp," "horse," or "scold," depending on the tone.
Chinese has no articles, verb inflections, or plurals; no masculine, feminine or neuter words. There is no word for “yes”, either. If a Chinese speaker wants to affirm something, they repeat a key verb or phrase from the question. For example, the answer to “Are you coming?” would be “Coming.”
Learning Chinese is said to be good for the Brain because it uses a range of different functions including recognising pictures and interpreting tones.
Chinese has been an official United Nations language since 1946, but it wasn’t used for the UN General Assembly until 1973.
Chinese texts were written right to left because in ancient times, they didn’t use pens, but brushes. This was the best way to write so that the writing didn’t smudge.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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