Pnyin - Comment on my accent!(2) -

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Comment on my accent!(2)
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Pravit -

Most of us would agree that developing an authentic-sounding accent in a certain language is
near-impossible if you don't begin learning it as a child, and that having a good accent is not
necessary for being understood.

Nevertheless, I like trying to develop a decent accent when I learn foreign languages and
appreciate comments on what sounds foreign or weird. I've done a post like this before and
received some very helpful answers. Anyhow, I felt like trying out my accent again, so if anyone
has the time, I've attached the MP3s.

One of them is me reading from the beginning of Camel Xiangzi, however I fear I may not be
entirely understandable, so here is the text(please listen to it before looking, though).

I talk to some Chinese on QQ every now and then, but in general I don't have much native speaker
contact when I'm not in China. So I'd really appreciate it if any native speakers listening could
point out foreign sounds, mispronounced words, or bad habits in my pronunciation. Thanks!



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semantic nuance -

Pravit,

I think you've done a great job. Only 2 pronunciations I found questionable:

駱駝 --in Taiwan we pronounce it as 駱4 駝 2, not 駱4 駝 4.
著落 --we pronounce it as zhou 2 luo4, not zhuo2 luo4.

Hope it helps!










skylee -



Quote:


Originally Posted by semantic nuance

著落 --we pronounce it as zhou 2 luo4, not zhuo2 luo4.


Are you sure? Did you mean zhao2 (wrong) vs zhuo2 (correct)?










djwebb2004 -

Pravit, I would LOVE to have a Chinese accent like that!










HashiriKata -

I've only listened very briefly but you sound quite convincing, Pravit, particularly in the first
passage. Keep it going!

With regards the pronunciations skylee & semantic nuance are about, they're still beyond me but
belows are the 3 entries from Wenlin. I also had a peep in "新时代汉语大词典" but only the
1st entry was there:

zhuóluò (= whereabouts, result, outcome)
zháoluò (= solution)
zháolào (= way out of difficulty, hope, prospect)

Edit: Pravit seems to pronounce the word as zhuòluò, semantic nuance may have meant this?










djwebb2004 -

Pravit, I played your audio to a Chinese friend, and he did not believe you are a foreigner and
told me you are Chinese. I told him you must be Indian because of your username Pravit, but then I
looked at your blog and I am not sure if the Chinese man in the pictures is you or not. Your
Chinese is very convincing. Are you Chinese?










Pravit -

djwebb: Thanks! Yes, the Chinese guy in the pictures is me, but I was born and raised in the US by
(ethnic Chinese) immigrants from Thailand. However, the family has been in Thailand long enough
that nobody really speaks putonghua. I've been learning Mandarin for a couple years now, though,
and went to Beijing last summer to do a short-term course. A lot of Thai names(like Pravit) are
similar to Indian names because of the Sanskrit influence.

HashiriKata: I was pretty unsure how to read "着落", since my dictionary gave me a bunch of
readings and I wasn't sure which one applied to the sentence(...连”车分儿“也没着落...)

Any other comments?










djwebb2004 -

Pravit, Wenlin has this to say:



Quote:

着 seems to have more pronunciations and meanings than any other Chinese character. Don't be
discouraged. Even Chinese people can't always get it straight, especially the distinction between
着 zháo and 着 zhuó. For example, a friend of mine says 着陆 as zháolù though the
dictionaries say zhuólù. The dictionaries disagree on whether 着 in 不着边际 ('not to the
point') should be zháo or zhuó. On the other hand, the distinction between 着 zhe and 着 zháo
really is important.

Some words are definitely meant be said with zháo and some with zhuó and some words can be said
with either. It is a bit of a meess. 着眼点 is listed as zhuóyǎndiǎn
or zháoyǎndiǎn, focal point, but Chinese friends say the former is more common. Looking in the
dictioniary 着先鞭, to go to the fore, is also listed under both pronunciations. The putting on
clothes meaning should definitely be zhuó and the reaching meaning should definitely be zháo.

A similar thing is 熟 shú, which can also be shóu. Wenlin says the latter is colloquial, and
there is no list of words where one is prefered and not the other. "The pronunciation shóu
commonly occurs with the same meanings and uses as shú."










bomaci -



Quote:

Most of us would agree that developing an authentic-sounding accent in a certain language is
near-impossible if you don't begin learning it as a child, and that having a good accent is not
necessary for being understood.

Actually I don't agree. I think it is very possible to develop a near-native or native accent in a
foreign language if you use the right metodology. I have been using the chorus method described
elsewhere on this forum (look for the thread called "Near native accents") and it is quite
effective.










Pravit -

Thanks for the insight, djwebb, it's comforting to think that native speakers get these characters
wrong sometimes too. I have always wondered about the shu2/shou2 thing, although every person I've
talked to pronounces it "shou2".

bomaci: To be honest, I agree with you. I really can't stand it when people start complaining that
it's impossible for them to learn X language because they're too old to be learning languages.
While I think that some people are more naturally talented at acquiring foreign accents than
others, I think some people are downright lazy when it comes to pronouncing foreign languages
properly. There are some people I've met who had been in China for YEARS, who could read difficult
texts without any problem, but still had not mastered four simple tones. I just don't get how some
people are able to read Lu Xun without a dictionary yet still pronounce Pinyin "z" as you would in
English or "mo" as "moe." In fact, my biggest gripe with Sinophiles(in academia) is that the
majority of them(that I've met) seem to either (1)not even try to pronunce the tones or
(2)pronounce them wrong. Why?!

PS: Bomaci, I will look at that thread later, seems very intriguing. Do you know anyone who speaks
Chinese with a near-native accent due to that method? If so, any recordings?

Any more input from native speakers?












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