Recommended Resources

• Teach Yourself Mandarin Chinese, McGraw-Hill
  A good introduction to the language; graded lessons present a good introductory overview of Chinese language and grammar.



• Learn to Write Chinese Characters (Yale Language Series), Johan Bjorksten
  Learning to write Chinese requires focused effort and the book is an excellent place to start.  Not all students of the language may need to master the skill, given the advent of electronic media and software input methods such as Microsoft's Global IME.



• Wenlin                                                                                  A variety of features from animated stroke orders of each character to audio pronunciations and mouse-over translation of words make this software an invaluable resource for any student of Chinese.
  

Sound and Symbol in Chinese

"Chinese script, a genuine product of the creative power of the Chinese mind …, is cherished and revered in China to a degree that we can hardly understand. And this regard is the greater because its picturesque and varying form appeals to the imagination infinitely more than our jejune and matter-of-fact script. The former is a fair and beloved lady, the latter a useful but unbeautiful menial."

- Benhard Karlgren, 1923