Dabbler in oriental language getting zero (8,4)
I believe the answer is:
mandarin duck
'dabbler in oriental' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both animals as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'language getting zero' is the wordplay.
'language' becomes 'mandarin' (Mandarin is an example).
'getting' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'zero' becomes 'duck' (duck means zero in cricket).
'mandarin'+'duck'='MANDARIN DUCK'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mandarin duck that I've seen before include "Asian fowl" , "Bird that can be cooked" , "flier" .)