I did a CISA Lunch talk (for leisure topics), on some practical knowledge of Chinese (language). You may download the presentation slides.

The circulated abstract is:

Based on my personal experience in the UK, many non-east-Asian people have various misconceptions of Chinese language. I'd like to clarify them, and provide some practical knowledge of "reading" Chinese. You'll also hear some fun / annoying facts.

Topics involve:

• what does Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Modern Chinese, Classical Chinese, ... mean

• what are the options to type Chinese on a computer

• why simply using Pinyin instead of glyphs is not enough

• how to pronounce (read) Pinyin

• brief history

• YOUR own question