Written by: Amna Naseem
Posted on: February 26, 2020 | 
The Faculty of Confucius Institute University of Karachi (photo credits to CIUK on Facebook)
The Mandarin Chinese language is generally considered as one of the most difficult languages to learn, however my experience learning it was very different from what I initially had in mind. As I was growing up, I was always fascinated by people with multilingual skills, as language is key to understanding foreign cultures. Back in 2018, one of my best friends went to a summer camp in China, which sparked an interest in me to know more about this vast and mysterious country.
Chinese language dates back thousands of years ago, but has passed down from generations to generations, in a much simpler form than before. But the traditional and classical style of writing is still followed in some areas of the country. The Mandarin-Chinese is divided into two written forms, making it easier and understandable for new learners. Pinyin, the English form of Chinese, borrows alphabets to create sentence structures. Each Pinyin word comprises of 4 tones (sometimes there is no tone, it is called neutral), that are usually placed on any of the 16 vowels.
A Display of Chinese Cultures (photo credits to the writer)
Every Pinyin has a unique character assigned to it. For instance, the word “Hello” in English can be translated as ‘NiHao’ and in character ‘你好’. Another interesting fact about the written Chinese language is that while there are several words that are same in Pinyin even in terms of tones, but the characters are different.
In China, the locals generally use characters to write, even the sign boards are written in characters. Although there are 32 minor or regional dialects of Chinese, Putonghua (or simply known as Mandarin) and Cantonese are considered as 2 of the main dialects. Others include Yue, Min, Wu, Gan, Xiang and Hakka dialects. Putonghua or Mandarin Chinese is usually spoken in the north and southwest of China; people in Beijing use Putonghua dialect to communicate.
The Costume Department with Traditional Chinese Clothes (photo credits to the writer)
The Confucius Institute at University of Karachi (CIUK) (Pinyin: Kongzi Xue Yuan 孔子学院),was established in 2013, and is sponsored by the HanBan, the headquarters of all the Confucius Institutes. It is the largest Chinese language center in Pakistan, in terms of the number of teachers, students and teaching sites. Other Confucius institutes can be found in Islamabad (established in 2005), Lahore (2015), Faisalabad (2014) and Sargodha (2019).
The institute offers 6 level courses, ranging from HSK 1-6, YCT 1-2 and HSKK preparation. The HSK level is a semester study with weekly classes, in which the students are taught vocabulary and general knowledge about the country and its deep rooted culture. Other than that, the institute also provides optional, extra-curricular activities like calligraphy, tea culture, dance, Chinese martial arts, Chinese culture lectures, Taiji and paper-cutting classes.
Other than that, the institute offers extra classes for listening and speaking Chinese, to build confidence and fluency. These classes culminate in the HSKK international test, which is a step higher than HSK. While HSK tests prepare the students for writing and standard language test, HSKK focuses on the speaking and listening skills.
The classrooms are well equipped with air-conditioning, digital classrooms with computers and projectors, auditoriums, conference rooms, an activity room and a library. The institute also displays distinctive facts about China’s culture and heritage, general knowledge about provinces of Mainland China and the autonomous regions. Most of them are made by the present and alumni students of the CIUK, while some of the paper cutting art, paintings and character writings have been done by the teachers on different occasions.
Chinese Tea Ceremony (photo credits to the writer)
Some Chinese words are not too dissimilar from our language, which comes as a surprise to those who believe it to be in a completely different family of languages. For instance, the word Chá (茶) is ‘tea’ in Chinese language, while we know that the word ‘Cha’ is also used as an alternative of ‘chai’ in Punjabi dialect. Just like the word Māmā (妈妈), is used for mother, and Bàba (爸爸) for father. The fruit Litchi/lychee has the same pronunciation in Chinese, ‘ Lìzhī ’ (荔枝).
At the ending of every semester, several cultural events are celebrated by the faculty and students. Students of different levels request their Lǎoshīmen ‘老师们’(teachers) to give a Hotpot (Huǒguō 火锅) party. Our teacher not only hosted an amazing lunch for us, but she also taught us how to roll dumplings and make our very own Hotpot.
End of the Year Hotpot Party (photo credits to the writer)
My Laoshi, Wen Yan Yan has been teaching our class since level 1, and our relationship has developed into a more causal and friendly one than just professional. She often shares stories about her hometown Henan, in China’s Yellow River Valley. Her main focus has been to teach us the right way of pronouncing tones, and the correct ways of writing Hanzi 汉字 (Chinese characters).
My one year journey at CIUK is one of the most enriching experiences of my life, as I’ve learned so much about China’s language, people, food, culture and values. I wish that this cultural exchange between the two countries increases as steadily as our economic alliance with China.
Bā zhōng yǒuyì wànsuì 巴中友谊万岁
Long live Pakistan-China friendship.
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