Meaning, I want to address an old friend by saying "how is life treating you, Beautiful?"

I am about to finish learning Japanese and want to learn one more East Asian language before the Olympics in 2012.

My Chinese teacher wants me to email her in Chinese (pin yin) and find an app for word or another thing that i can write in Chinese with. FREE???

Mandarin or Cantonese? I've heard that Cantonese is more often used than Mandarin in countries in Europe (i.e. supermarkets, shops,..) I know that Mandarin is more "important" but I want to be able to put my Chinese to use. I don't really travel to mainland China nor to Hong Kong. I just want to speak with people here and maybe in USA as well. Help!

I know Mandarin and Cantonese are both dialects of Chinese but do they use different characters and is the sound very different from each other?

But, I don't know which self study book is the best to help me learn beginner Mandarin language or which is really suitable for a learner like me.

I'm kind of confused about these terms. So please help me understand them well enough. What is Mandarin/Mandarin Chinese or Chinese Mandarin? (Are they any different at all?) Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese Cantonese Han Chinese Hanyu(or is it Han Yu?) that's all. I just need some simple explanations for each. Thanks so much in advance.

I know basic things such as greetings, food, a few actions...things like that. But I'm wondering about how to speak Chinese well. I'd like any help about how to speak Chinese fluently.

I'm keep reading about the different forms/dialects of Chinese that is spoken in China. I was thinking on taking up Mandarin Chinese, but I'm not sure if I will be able to communicate with people from all over the country, since I love to travel all through out the area. Can someone give me some advice, tips, directions, and help with this problem? Also, could you also give me links to where I can buy Chinese learning material or links to different torrents which can be of some help? If this is of any help, I am also fluent in German, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, and French, next to my native tongue of English. Even though I grew up with German being spoken around me. I would also like to add that I would like to learn to read the language too, since I'm big into World Studies and History.

I asked my family what is the difference between Chinese and Mandarin. My sister said that Mandarin is the language, and Chinese is nationality, and my other sister said that Mandarin and Chinese are languages.

I'm interested in spending summer break in Beijing, China in order to learn teens Chinese. Does anyone know a good program that teaches reading, writing, and speaking?

Thought it would be good to learn some Chinese.

What are the differences in accent, vocabulary, grammar, and usage?

I'm an ABC, but Mandarin is my fourth language. My parents are Cantonese, so I know they have an accent too. So if they tried to teach me proper Chinese, it would be like an Italian guy trying to teach an Indian guy how to speak proper English. (I imagine the results won't be spectacular). So is there anyone whose family is from Beijing, or otherwise knows that he or she speaks perfect Mandarin, who would like to help me with my accent on Skype?

For those of you who know or have heard multiple Chinese dialects, which one(s) do you think is most beautiful-sounding?

I was once acquainted with people from Tianjin and Beijing. I noticed that when they speak Mandarin, the "w" sounds like an English "v". For example, "wen" sounds like "ven", "wang" sounds like "vang". Is this sound variation part of the Beijing or Tianjin dialects of Northern Chinese (北方話)? Where else does this sound change occur?