Book launch: Be a part of Chinese success story, the easy way
Fluency in Mandarin will open a host of opportunities: author.
ISLAMABAD:
The latest to join the colleges and schools offering Mandarin courses is the NUST Business School (NBS).
The college on Monday announced that it will offer a basic Mandarin course.
The announcement was made during the Islamabad launch of “Chinese Made Easy”, a Mandarin language guide.
The book has been written by Hasan Javed, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Singapore, and will be part of curriculum at the college.
NBS Principal Ashfaque Khan said though China and Pakistan have strategic relations in defence and politics, trade and investment between the two countries have been low due to the language barrier.
He hoped that better learning opportunities will help bridge this language divide.
The writer has served in China in various capacities and studied Chinese at the Beijing Languages Institute. Javed said he fell in love with the Chinese language and culture.
“When I started learning Chinese it wasn’t as popular as it is today and yet the benefits I have reaped from learning this language are immense. Your generation can actually list this as an asset in your resumes and I assure you it will take you far,” he told Sundus, a student attending the launch.
Prof. Zhourong, currently teaching at the University of Peshawar, commended the language guide for its simplicity and cultural sensitivity.
The book covers word meanings, text, spelling, pronunciation and accents in Chinese, Pinyin, English, Urdu and Roman Urdu, he said. Pinyin is the official system for transcribing Chinese characters into Latin script, which aids quick learning.
The guide, priced at Rs300, took the author two years to compile.
While speaking with The Express Tribune, Javed stressed on capitalising on Pakistan’s large demographic dividend by equipping them with Mandarin, “the language of the future”.
“China is a success story, and we can be part of that success if we work towards similar objectives, sharing a common language,” added Javed.
Former ambassador to China Akram Zaki said that as he doesn’t speak Chinese fluently, he found the book very helpful in honing his language skills.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2012.
The latest to join the colleges and schools offering Mandarin courses is the NUST Business School (NBS).
The college on Monday announced that it will offer a basic Mandarin course.
The announcement was made during the Islamabad launch of “Chinese Made Easy”, a Mandarin language guide.
The book has been written by Hasan Javed, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Singapore, and will be part of curriculum at the college.
NBS Principal Ashfaque Khan said though China and Pakistan have strategic relations in defence and politics, trade and investment between the two countries have been low due to the language barrier.
He hoped that better learning opportunities will help bridge this language divide.
The writer has served in China in various capacities and studied Chinese at the Beijing Languages Institute. Javed said he fell in love with the Chinese language and culture.
“When I started learning Chinese it wasn’t as popular as it is today and yet the benefits I have reaped from learning this language are immense. Your generation can actually list this as an asset in your resumes and I assure you it will take you far,” he told Sundus, a student attending the launch.
Prof. Zhourong, currently teaching at the University of Peshawar, commended the language guide for its simplicity and cultural sensitivity.
The book covers word meanings, text, spelling, pronunciation and accents in Chinese, Pinyin, English, Urdu and Roman Urdu, he said. Pinyin is the official system for transcribing Chinese characters into Latin script, which aids quick learning.
The guide, priced at Rs300, took the author two years to compile.
While speaking with The Express Tribune, Javed stressed on capitalising on Pakistan’s large demographic dividend by equipping them with Mandarin, “the language of the future”.
“China is a success story, and we can be part of that success if we work towards similar objectives, sharing a common language,” added Javed.
Former ambassador to China Akram Zaki said that as he doesn’t speak Chinese fluently, he found the book very helpful in honing his language skills.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 9th, 2012.