Image-conscious China chides its 'unruly' tourists

Chinese Language

Number of Chinese speakers in US rises 360pc in 30 years

9 Aug 2013

The number of Chinese speakers in the United States has increased by almost 360 per cent over the past 30 years, new government data has revealed.

10:57AM

China must make its mark on global language map on its own terms

3 Jun 2013

Most people believe that the secret to promoting Chinese culture is to have as many foreigners as possible studying the Chinese language. But there is a better way.

2:32AM

6 comments

South Asian students thwarted by lack of Chinese-language skills

6 May 2013

Local primary students have no problem reading and writing the Chinese characters for common words such as “mushroom”, “pumpkin” or even “universal suffrage”. Not so for Pakistani girl Igra Khan,...

10:51AM

Hard labour for lawyers who speak only English

1 Apr 2013

With more court cases being heard in Chinese, lawyers who know only English say the amount of work available for them has dropped, causing some to earn less, go into early retirement or move...

9:57AM

8 comments

Hong Kong trails rival Singapore in students' English skills

3 Feb 2013

Many parents spare no efforts in brushing up their children's language skills - and not just in English. Demand for Putonghua teachers is soaring as China's clout in the global economy increases...

10:22AM

20 comments

Publisher receives funds to revise authoritive Chinese dictionary

12 Dec 2012

A mainland publishing house was given 27 million yuan (HK$33.2 million) in state funding to revise the Hanyu Da Cidian (Comprehensive Chinese Word Dictionary), in the first revision of the premier...

4:32AM

Opinion

Alex Lo

Rankings belie the real purpose of universities: to educate

3 comments

12:54AM

Howard Winn

Way to go

2:01AM

Putonghua lessons can be supplemented out of school

My son has been learning Putonghua at school and I want him to make progress. But I am not a Putonghua speaker, so how can I help?

9:32AM

Keeping Chinese language free from outside influence an impossible goal

Nations with a proud history and culture are also likely to be jealously protective of their language. For a country fast on the rise like China, that is guaranteed to be doubly so.

1:44AM

American Metro Vocal Group makes splash with Canto-pop covers

When four Americans came to Hong Kong in 2005 to sing at the opening of Disneyland they had little idea what they would be doing four years later - singing unaccompanied in two Chinese dialects,...

3:47AM

Lai See

Census department's population projections begin to wobble

10:47PM

Designated Drivers: How China Plans to Dominate the Global Auto Industry

Designated Drivers: How China Plans to Dominate the Global Auto Industry
by G.E. Anderson
Wiley

10:31PM

letters

Putonghua is a vital language for us

Putonghua, also known as Mandarin, is the mainland's official language. In Hong Kong, it is the third language all students have to learn as a...

10:21PM