The University College of the Fraser Valley is adding one of the most widely spoken languages in the world to its calendar for the fall. For the first time, Mandarin, the official language of China , will be available as a course for credit.

The first class, a beginner’s course in Mandarin, is set for September, with a follow-up class slated for the second semester. Twenty-six spots are available for each course. Classes will be at the Abbotsford UCFV campus.

Mandarin joins French, Spanish, Russian, and Japanese as language courses for credit at UCFV. Also new this year is the option to choose French as a minor, and the introduction of conversational Punjabi to the Continuing Studies program.

The addition of Chinese language studies at UCFV has been in the planning stages for the past year. Dean of Applied Arts Virginia Cooke says excitement about the course is spreading by word of mouth.

“It was obvious that we should be offering Mandarin,” she says. “I’m encouraged by the fact that people are already finding out about it.”

The course will be taught by Linda Qiao. She has a B.A. in Chinese literature and language from Nankai University in China and an M.Ed in language/education from the University of Sydney in Australia . She has taught post-secondary courses for more than 20 years in China , the United States , Australia , and in Canada at Camosun College , Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria .

Cooke says the idea behind UCFV’s Mandarin program is to offer students a more rigorous environment than typical continuing education courses, which focus more on conversational skills for travellers.

“Mandarin will be like our other language courses in that it will focus on written and oral material,” says Cooke. “There are many opportunities built into our program for students to practise.”

The emphasis of Mandarin 101 will be split between oral, listening, reading and writing skills, as well as background in Chinese culture. The follow-up course, Mandarin 102, will expand on these areas.

Cooke says the courses are ideal not only for language students but for people in business with ties to China and even members of the UCFV faculty, some of whom work with programs in China .

For example, last year UCFV’s Computer Information Systems program announced a joint partnership with Beijing Concord College of Sino-Canada for students in China to study, spending the first two years in their own country before coming to UCFV for the final two years. Some UCFV instructors are teaching CIS courses in China .

At present, UCFV only has plans for the two Mandarin courses but Cooke adds that future demand could mean more offerings in Mandarin.

“If there is a lot of interest from students, we could build on the program.”

Mandarin is spoken by approximately 850 million people around the world. Although it is one of the eight main linguistic groups in mainland China , it is the official language in mainland China , Taiwan , and Singapore . There are also many Mandarin speakers in Malaysia and Indonesia , as well as outside of Asia .

For more information about the new Mandarin language courses at UCFV contact Betty-Joan Traverse at 604-504-7441, local 4715 or email molainfo@ucfv.ca  

[Sidebar] Some interesting facts about the Mandarin language

·        Mandarin is the most widely spoken of all Chinese dialects in the world. It is spoken by more than 70 percent of the population of China and is the official language in mainland China and Taiwan .

·        Mandarin is one of the five official languages in the United Nations.

·        Mandarin is written in traditional Chinese characters, a system of writing that for the most part does not symbolize the spoken language. Because it is ideographic, speakers of all Chinese dialects, regardless of the similarity of spoken form, can read and understand Chinese writing and literature.

·        There is also an official romanization called Pinyin, developed in the 1950s.

·        Mandarin is recommended for those learning Traditional Chinese Medicine because the names of the acupoints and herbs are from Pinyin.

·        Mandarin for the most part is devoid of inflection, which characterizes many European languages including English.

·        Compared with other languages, word structure is also simple and uncomplicated, with words consisting of one or two morphemes. (A morpheme is a meaningful component of a word. For example, “unsportsmanlike” has four morphemes: un, sports, man, and like; “dogs” has two morphemes: dog and ‘s’.)

·        Mandarin syntax is unusual from the standpoint of English, but is rather simple and uncomplicated because notions such as subject and direct and indirect object play no significant role.