'Being a good neighbour': Why people are taking Mandarin classes in Charlottetown

Every Wednesday evening in Charlottetown, a diverse group of people gathers to learn a language from a country half a world away, the native tongue of about one billion people.

The Mandarin classes are free, offered by volunteers. Maria Chen co-ordinates the program.

"It's fun to learn a new language. I think people want to learn something new," said Chen.

But for many of the students it is more than just a novelty.

"I live in the east end," said Dan Hughes.

"We have a lot of people that speak Mandarin that have moved in the monks and the nuns, and I have a friend that speaks Mandarin so I may apply it at some point in time, but now it's just interest."

Immigration has changed on P.E.I. in the last 20 years. Most immigrants are now coming from Asia, and most of them are settling in Charlottetown.

Danny Tweel is a Charlottetown lawyer, and he sees a lot of immigrants from China. They need help buying a house, or setting up a business, or just dealing with the bureaucracy of being an immigrant.

"I made an effort to try to learn a little bit to make them feel at ease," Tweel said.

It's a difficult language for English speakers, based as much on tone as on sound. What sounds like "bah" in English can mean four different things, depending on the tone in which it is pronounced.

"It sort of feels in some ways like going back to first grade, and starting printing again and reciting things, memorization," said student Kathleen Brennan.

Brennan is enjoying the classes, meeting new people. She wanted to keep learning after she finished school, but she also feels the subject matter is important.

"Part of it, I think, is just about being a good neighbour," she said.

"There's a people moving to P.E.I. from China and other parts of the world, and Mandarin is the most popular language on the planet so it just seemed like something that I should try to learn."

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