[sytelus]

What surprises the most that he is able to distinguish sounds that are effectively all same for most non-Chinese people. Research says our ability to distinguish sounds in other languages ceases after first 8 months and that's why it's harder to understand someone talking in foreign language.

Did Zuck had any exposure to Chinese as a kid? Any info on how he learned Chinese? My guess is that he probably decided to talk with wife and relatives only Chinese for a long period of time. According to many this is the best way to learn new language (as opposed to passively watching videos and audio tapes). Another guess is that he may have some really top Chinese teacher giving few hours of tuition per week.

[kyllo]

Research says our ability to distinguish sounds in other languages ceases after first 8 months and that's why it's harder to understand someone talking in foreign language.

For me this obstacle went away with sufficient immersion and practice. I started learning Chinese at age 19, the following year I went to China as an exchange student and studied Chinese / Mandarin full time. By the time I came back I was fluent in the language, more fluent than all of the second-generation Chinese-Americans I knew, and with a native-sounding accent, although my vocabulary was still not quite native-speaker level.

I don't know exactly what Zuck is doing to study, but what I did was I went to school in China and spoke almost entirely in Mandarin all day, wrote essays in Chinese, read news articles and novels in Chinese, made Chinese friends, dated Chinese women (and eventually married one).

You really have to live in a foreign language for a period of several years in order to truly learn it.

[dhbanes]

What surprises the most that he is able to distinguish sounds that are effectively all same for most non-Chinese people.

Learning a new language, especially Mandarin, in adulthood is certainly an accomplishment for anyone, but Zuckerberg is not exactly the first person to do it.