Comments on: Free Gifts

By: MandarinMnemonics.com

MandarinMnemonics.com — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:11:36 +0000

If someone from an area that pronounces an “n” as an “l” were more educated, would they strive to not have that quirk. I guess I am asking if it is wrong for them to do it that way or is it just different?

By: Jane

Jane — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:43:16 +0000

Olle Linge: Let me try again – I don’t think I actually merge the sounds, but when I sound it out, they’re close enough, so it sounds like I’m saying the same thing. You’re right that the Beijing accents are hard to understand not because of the separation of z/zh and s/sh. I’ve actually been thinking about that and trying to pinpoint what it is that makes it hard to understand.

By: Olle Linge

Olle Linge — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:33:18 +0000

Jane: How can merging two separate sounds make something clearer? I mean, yes, you might be used to it, but it seems to defy logic that merging sounds in a language such as Mandarin, which already has very few sounds to start with, would make it easier to understand? I can understand that you think Beijing accents are difficult to understand, but I have a hard time believing it’s because of the separation of z/zh and s/sh.

By: Jane

Jane — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:02:52 +0000

I learned my Mandarin in Malaysian schools but grew up in the States and frequently watch Taiwanese shows I noticed that when I was in a Chinese school, we were taught to differentiate between the s/sh and z/zh sounds but when we speak Mandarin, the s/sh merge and the z/zh merge (I think Singaporeans do this too).
Therefore, when hear a Taiwanese speaking or hear anybody merge those sounds, I’m used to it. I actually think it’s easier to understand than the Beijing Mandarin and their, in my opinion, really strong accent.

By: Albert

Albert — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:30:11 +0000

David,

No no. Just a little phonetic humor there.

But if you want some weird examples, I’ve met Chinese people who turn initial “h” into “k.” I discovered it because they pronounced the English “hi” the same as “key!” The weirdest though was when I met two people from very different parts of China (I met them in two different cities, in fact) who pronounced all Ls as some sort of uvular plosive (IPA /G/ ???). That should probably be classified as some sort of speech impediment though because no one else in their family produced Ls that way, and with (a lot of) coaching from me eventually had the ability to produce the dental/alveolar L we’ve all come to know and love. But no, the /x/ thing was just a joke.

By: David

David — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:49:39 +0000

Albert, were you just being lighthearted or are there really places in China where initial “n” turns into Scottish “ch” (IPA /x/)??

By: Yvonne Yuen

Yvonne Yuen — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:57:17 +0000

Interesting observation about the initial onset switching. All the sounds mentioned here are very similar sounds… have the same place of articulation, but using different articulators. You guys are talking about the switches of speakers in their native languages (whether be Cantonese or Putonghua). I SHALL look into my students’ pronunciation of English and start analyzing. I am sure there’s some L1 interference for them.

By: Olle Linge

Olle Linge — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:28:08 +0000

A: What? Do you get used to it? I’ve lived her for over a year and I still think it’s very, very hard to understand people sometimes because of the sh/s, zh/z, ch/c switches.

By: Olle Linge

Olle Linge — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:25:25 +0000

It’s sometimes perplexing how such easy things can make it impossible to understand what somebody is saying. I’m living in Taiwan and people here have the same pronunciation problem. Since I’m from Scandinavia, I tend to be “a bit” more tolerant to cold than people here, so I constantly have people asking me “你不會冷嗎？“ which should be easy to understand. The first time somebody said that though, “ni bu hui neng ma” (sorry, no tones), I was clueless. Even though my friend repeated the sentence three times, i still didn’t get it. She had to use body language for freezing before i understood.

Another example is from yesterday when I bought tea and the lady asked me “le4 de ma?”, and I thought, what, do I want happy tea? What’s she talking about? Then i figured, ah, she’s saying 熱 “re”, not 樂 “le”. Another common problem. The strange thing is that even though I know this is common, I still run into these basic communication problems. Perhaps it’s because for me, these sounds are so obviously not the same that I can’t get it into my head that they can’t distinguish between them. Well, hopefully I’ll learn. Some day.

By: A

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:50:38 +0000

I noticed classmates from Taiwan doing a sh/s and zh/z switch, which is pretty disarming until you get used to it. Doesn’t Sichuan do both an n/l and f/h switch?