Standard Mandarin vs Beijing Mandarin

[keith]

Sorry but after reading some threads here I am getting quite confused. If Beijing is not the ideal place to learn standard mandarin, where can I learn it then??

Is there such a big difference between CCTV standard Mandarin and the mandarin the Bejing people speak??

[roddy]

There's a tendency for fairly simple questions to head off into intricate linguistic discussions.

Beijing and pretty much anywhere in North-eastern China will be fine - any city in NE China will claim to have the 'most standard' Mandarin - Harbin, Dalian, Tianjin, Beijing - taxi-drivers in all these cities will congratulate you on your choosing their city for its pure pronunciation.

In reality, there are going to be differences between your CCTV standard and what you hear in the streets - but they are relatively small. As you head further south from Beijing, there are going to be bigger differences - however, you will still hear plenty of Mandarin (you think everyone in Shanghai comes from Shanghai?) and you'll get a good training in Mandarin in the classroom. Dealing with the differences between on and off campus may even do wonders for your listening skills.

Turn the question back on itself - where would you recommend someone live in the UK to learn BBC English? There's no one place - you'd probably recommend somewhere in or around London, but anywhere would be possible.

That's kind of a rough-and-ready analysis, but I reckon its good enough. I'm sure someone will be along in a minute to tell me otherwise.

Roddy

[confucius]

Believe it or not, it's not always easy to find real Peking Man in Beijing. There are so many Chinese people from the provinces living in the capital that you almost need to head for the hutongs (what's left of them) in order to immerse yourself into a true Beijing-hua environment with first generation speakers of the authentic Peking dialect.

[maracucho77]

This is an interesting topic that has been brought up. Mandarin vs. Beijing Mandarin.......hmmmmmmmmm.....

so, here is the low-down. Growing up having to split 2 different Chinese languages. (Cantonese primarily and secondly Mandarin but barely....) my background is a mixture of Cantonese and Taiwanese.

Well, despite how some people view Taiwan having it's own world and it's own place, Mandarin certainly still is spoken.

You'll find different accents from different regions in a Country respectively. aka.

US - midwest, northeast, southern, etc...

Canada- you has it's own from their EastCoast Maritimes

UK- and so on.....

Well, back to my point, although with all the political mumbo jumbo, I came to Beijing to work on my Mandarin and further it. Out of all the people including my Taiwanese background, I was guided this way by my own father. I think that says a lot to how the source of Putonghua.

I'm not saying nowhere else in China has it, but this is the academic and cultural capital.

Most people would agree similarly.

Bottom line it's up to you. Study on!

[ala]

Certainly Beijing is good for learning Mandarin. The city has a lot of non-native Beijingers, so you have more exposure to different styles. Places like in the Dongbei tend to be more isolated, and although they speak very good Mandarin, their tolerance of accents are significantly lower. If you want to develop some real tolerance of variations in speaking, go to Shanghai. You will find that Chinese grammar is awfully flexible too, with some Shanghainese people speaking to you using Shanghainese words/phrases (蛮好、看看叫、不要太。。。) here and there with perfect Mandarin pronunciation.

[Guest Yau]

If you talk about tolerance, then it should be shenzhen, a southern city just next to hongkong.

It's one of the most dynamic city that attracts mainlanders from everywhere. They speak perfect putonghua and highly tolerate putonghua with heavy accent. There's plenty of massage shop--- as cheap as RMB50 for 3 hour massage and you can have private language tuition. People also tend to learn cantonese and adopt them in conversation, which is the home to the pop culture and the dialect you can most likely hear in western world. The black market for unauthorized books and movies are also highly efficient.

If you have a home sick, just take a US$6 bus ticket to cross the boundary to Lan-Kwai-Fong in Hong Kong. It's a gueilo-town (vs. Chinatown) with lots of pubs and discos. Considering the fake and poison products in mainland china, you can feel free to enjoy a safe dinner there too.