Flag of China. Red with yellow stars. Five five-point stars, one large, four small.
The last line is the numbers 0123456789 in Chinese. Source: Wikipedia.
Problem
I am afraid to go to a Mandarin-speaking club in Singapore.
I am lost in most of it.
My friend Marshall says he can evaluate the performance of a speech by looking at the speaker. He is ticking the boxes for voice: volume and pitch and variety; eye contact; interaction with the audience; confidence; and a definite ending.
His aim is to be invited, even though he speaks almost no Mandarin. If that's what you want, fine, go along.
That's not enough for me. I want to learn a few words of Mandarin.
However, I realised that when I meet somebody who says, "I also belong to a Mandarin club," or, I speak Mandarin, that's my opportunity to ask just one question.
I asked Wil, "What's the Mandarin for Toastmasters' Club?"
He replied, "It's .....-......-........ which means speak-act-club."
That's very logical. I can learn one phrase, plus three words. Now, all I have to do is to learn the Mandarin.
Useful Websites
Google translate
https://translate.google.com/
Toastmasters International find-a-club
https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club
Meetup
meetup.com
Duolingo
Duolingo.com
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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