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Anonymous
I want very badly to go to China for an extended backpacking trip. Probably as long as I can get a visa for, and possibly longer if I can afford to cross out of the country and return. I want to get out of the eastern cities and visit the central and western parts of the country, but I'm concerned about the language barrier. I am a native English speaker, nearly fluent in Japanese and intermediate with German and French. I'm sure the latter two won't be of much help, but what are the chances of running into English speakers or communicating by kanji cognates?

I've also considered taking a year or so of Chinese in preparation, but I don't really understand the dialects. It's my understanding that Mandarin in the official dialect but it isn't spoken in a majority of places, especially rural areas away from the capital. Would a year of Mandarin be helpful? If not, is there a dialect that would be more useful?
>> Anonymous
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So I'm thinking of going on an extended backpacking trip in Europe, but I'm concerned about the language barrier. Or rather, since I guess it's the European Union now, I guess dialect barrier. I'm a native American speaker, nearly fluent in kitchen Mexican and intermediate with Canadian and leet speak. I'm sure the latter two won't help much, but what are the chances of communicating by talking louder and slower and repeating the same thing more and more angrily as I fail to communicate my point?

I'm also considering taking a year or so of European, but I don't really understand the dialects. It's my understanding that Germans once ruled a wide area of Europe, but I've also heard the German dialect is not spoken everywhere, particularly in more rural areas away from Berlin. Would a year of German be helpful? Is there another dialect that might be more useful, such as Finnish or Portuguese? Or are they all pretty much mutually intelligible?
>> Anonymous
Mandarin will definitely help, but understand that out in the rural west and north, Mandarin will be a second language to both of you.
>> Anonymous
>>10012
Wow, thanks for the help. That realistic and valid analogy sure puts things in perspective.

>>10017
Thanks. Are the languages spoken dialects of Chinese, or are they linguistically independent? Do they use the same writing system? Are they regional languages as in relatively large areas like provinces or are they distinct to towns and villages?
>> Anonymous
>>10012
You'd be surprised how many Europeans speak English. I took two years of German, only to go to Germany and find out everyone spoke English better than I could Deutsch.
>> Trip to Europe KA
Dont U have any geographic lessons in the US??
>> Anonymous
>>10024
The writing system is EXACTLY the same for all the dialects. Regardless of location, accent, time. Someone from Beijing and someone from the rural south could have no idea what someone is saying, but they could read exactly what the other person has written. Even grammar would not be an issue thanks to the relatively simple grammar of written chinese. As far as dialects though, consider them about as far apart as English, Norwegian, and German in the most extreme cases. Some of them are similar, but some of them are nearly incompatible. Accents unfortunately tend to be more Town based in less developed areas, but like I said, Mandarin is the Latin of China in that anyone who wants to get jack shit done in their life speaks it. Mandarin, fortunately, will become even more influential as time goes on.
People bitch about languages going extinct; these people are rarely the ones who have to suffer through conversations that go "Oh you speak chinese, talk to this guy! "Sorry, he speaks a dialect specific to a fishing town of 27". Fuck linguists.
>> Anonymous
>>10053
INTANET
>> Anonymous
watch out for those kidnappers who'll turn you into slaves
>> Anonymous
>>10053
And no their not, they are mostly same but has alot of variation in writing. Ask shanghai ppl, canton ppl etc. for examples. Nigger.