Post a sample of your pronunciation here!

[imron]

A great trick to play on people is to ask them ’三点水‘加一个“来”字，怎么念?  Most people will correctly get lái 涞.  Then straight away ask them 那，‘三点水’加一个“去”呢?  Most people will puzzle about this for a few seconds before saying 不知道, or even 有这个字吗, and then will laugh when you tell them fă 法

[thefamousamos93]

Here's a sample of me reading the same text in my normal Americanized Taiwanese accent, an attempt at a "standard" Taiwanese accent, and an attempt at a standard Mainland Chinese accent.

 

大家好.我叫吳忠穎,個人在台灣出生,美國長大的.我對中文文學非常有興趣,所以在大學是讀中文系的.目前住在美國德州休士頓.我也蠻喜歡看一些關於中國歷史的電視劇與文件.真的非常抱歉,住在美國實在太久了,所以我講的國語還是會有一些需要進步的地方.

 

I think the first accent in the sample, which reflects my normal way of speaking Chinese when talking to my parents and relatives, is the result of being initially having near fluent Mandarin (as expected of a 3 year old who just immigrated to the US from Taiwan), being forced to speak Mandarin at home until middle school, then slowly being influenced by my acquired American tongue.

 

The second one's pretty forced haha. I think I sound a lot more Taiwanese in my first accent demonstrated than my so-called "Standard Taiwanese Mandarin" demonstrated in the second one.

 

The third I acquired through listening to Mainlanders talk in various forms of media.

 

Any comments, observations regarding my pronunciation and writing is fully welcome!

140511-232543.mp3.mp3

[Vivi MENG]

 

 

The third I acquired through listening to Mainlanders talk in various forms of media.

Haha, nice try speaking in a Mainland China accent! It sounds like one of my high school classmate. The only pronunciation sold you out is the one of 文件， which is really strange. You made it 儿化音，like 文件儿. But I don't think it should be pronounced like that in any occasion. Without the “er", it well be perfect!

[Basil]

I think this is possibly the first time I've made or heard a recording of myself in Chinese.

 

It was this text:

 

我今天早上起床的时候觉得有点儿冷。
其实外边儿天气很好！
我忽然发现：
昨天晚上窗户没有关好！

 

I struggled with the 没有 as I usually drop the 有, or say 没得（meidei）Then I can hear a couple of what must be long standing bad habits in there.

 

At least it didn't come out in Sichuanese...

window.mp3

[Mahmoued]

where is your home.wma

 

can someone correct this?please

[edelweis]

Doing homework for my newspaper reading class, I thought I'd post this here...
It's not my first attempt, more like the 10th or something.
And listening to my previous recording I find I still read at the same rather slow pace, and possibly sound no less robotic than before. But at least I can read more hanzis and longer sentences.
 
It's a bit long, so perhaps you don't want to listen to the full recording, but if there are big issues with tones/pinyin I'd be grateful if someone let me know.
Also I'm always unsure about my j/q/t initials and my -en and -uan finals...
 
Original link here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/09/140929_hk_press_protests
 
Text also in the spoiler box here:

港媒就“占中”抗议发出不同声音

大批香港市民和学生聚集政府总部抗议人大政改方案，与警察对峙，香港媒体星期一（29日）纷纷报道了这一事件并发表了评论。

香港《信报》社评以“抚平社会撕裂主动权在政府”为题，指出占中冲突“归根究底是一个关乎价值观分歧的政治性问题，”建议“特区政府开诚布公与不满政改方案的民主运动参与者展开有意义的对话，而不是流于形式主义的所谓座谈。”

《明报》社评说，如今是香港处于是治是乱的重大关口，若权力当局与反对阵营仍然各持己见，不寻求妥协，日后的反对行动会出现什么场景将无法估计。

社评还表示期望警方控制局面，若局面恶化到警方无法控制，中央按《基本法》第18条介入，宣布香港进入紧急状态，实现所谓“由大乱到大治”，“那就是香港的噩梦了”。

中国政协常委何柱国控制的《星岛日报》的社评说，乱局越久，经济受到的冲击越大，社会对峙气氛愈严重，实现一人一票普选特首的机会就愈低。

社评认为，“占中”发起人把群众带到违法对抗的局面，但却不能控制形势，将香港推向愈来愈乱的危险地步，，“他们对此须负上最大责任”。

《商报》头版刊登了一封署名“香港部分学生的家长”的公开信，信中呼吁学生不要当无良政客的炮灰，并“谴责香港部分政客和汉奸卖国贼，以所谓公民抗命为由，教唆蒙骗学生废弃学业公开犯法”。

《文汇报》及《大公报》社评都谴责了“暴力占中”，并支持依法处置暴力冲击的违法分子。

《文汇报》社评指出，“占中”组织者的目的是要制造大规模的激烈违法行动，冲击香港的繁荣稳定，以此增加要挟中央及特区政府的筹码。

社评还称，“占中”组织者企图以暴力违法行径推翻人大决定是“蚍蜉撼大树、螳臂当车”，实在“太狂妄，太无知，可笑不自量”。

《东方日报》评论说，李柱铭、黎智英及陈日君勾结外部势力，以争取民主之名，行反中乱港之实，在其煽惑下，部分市民“与文革时红卫兵‘革命无罪、造反有理’的所做所为何其相似乃尔”。

评论还说，有人利用青少年的理想和激情，把学生推向前台，“目前香港的政治气氛，与八九年天安门‘六四事件’有惊人相似之处”。

一向支持民主派的《苹果日报》发表由卢峰执笔的社评，题为“丧心病狂的专权政府，滚吧”，指出学生和市民的活动都是“理性非暴力的”，但“横蛮无理残暴不仁的689政权”回应的是强力的胡椒喷雾、近距离发射催泪弹和杀气腾腾的警棍。

文章也指出：“市民、学生的高洁、热情跟警队的冷血镇压委实跟当年的六四相似”。

article_hk_2.mp3

[陳德聰]

港媒就“占中”抗议发出不同声音

gǎngméi jiù "zhànzhōng" kàngyì fā chū pùtóng shēngyīn

gǎngméi jiù "zhànzhōng" kàngyì fā chū bùtóng shēngyīn

大批香港市民和学生聚集政府总部抗议人大政改方案，与警察对峙，香港媒体星期一（29日）纷纷报道了这一事件并发表了评论。

Dàpī Xiānggǎng shìmìn hé xuéshēng jùjí zhèngfú zǒngbù kàngyì[rén dà]zhènggāi fōng'àn, yǔ jǐngchá duìzhì, Xiānggǎng méitǐ xīngqīyī (èrshíjiǔ hào) fēnfēn bàodào (French) le zhè yī [jiàn shì]* bìng fābiǎo le píngluàn.

Dàpī Xiānggǎng shìmín hé xuéshēng jùjí zhèngfú zǒngbù kàngyì réndà zhènggǎi fāng'àn, yǔ jǐngchá duìzhì, Xiānggǎng méitǐ xīngqīyī (èrshíjiǔ hào) fēnfēn bàodào le zhè yí shìjiàn bìng fābiǎo le pínglùn.

 

香港《信报》社评以“抚平社会撕裂主动权在政府”为题，指出占中冲突“归根究底是一个关乎价值观分歧的政治性问题，”建议“特区政府开诚布公与不满政改方案的民主运动参与者展开有意义的对话，而不是流于形式主义的所谓座谈。”

Xiānggǒng "Xiàn Bào" shèpíng yǐ "fǔpíng shèhuì sīliè zhǔdòngquán ... zài zhèngfú" wéi tí, zhǐchū zhànzhōng chōngtū "guīgēnjiūdí shí yīgé guānhǔ jiàzhíguān fēnqí de zhèngzhìxìng wèntí, "jiànyì" tèqū zhèngfú kāichéng[gōngbù]* yǔ bùmǎn zhènggǎi fōng'àn de mínzhǔ yùndòng cānyùzhě zhǎnkāi yǒuyìyì de duìhuà, ér búshǐ líwúyú xíngshìzhǔyì de suǒwèi zuòtán."

Xiānggǎng "Xìn Bào" shèpíng yǐ "fǔpíng shèhuì sīliè ... zhǔdòngquán zài zhèngfú" wéi tí, zhǐchū zhànzhōng chōngtū "guīgēnjiūdǐ shì yígè guānhū jiàzhíguān fēnqí de zhèngzhìxìng wèntí, "jiànyì" tèqū zhèngfú kāichéngbùgōng yǔ bùmǎn zhènggǎi fāng'àn de mínzhǔ yùndòng cānyùzhě zhǎnkāi yǒuyìyì de duìhuà, ér búshì liúyú xíngshìzhǔyì de suǒwèi zuòtán."

 

I only did the first minute of six.

 

Tendencies:

- word segmentation/unnatural pauses like turning "抗议人大政改方案" into "抗议人大政改方案" and "抚平社会撕裂主动权在政府" into "抚平社会撕裂主动权在政府"

- pronouncing "-ang" as "-ong" or what I suspect might actually be a French accented "-ang" where the "a" is nasalized so it sounds like "-ong", e.g. "Xianggong" and "fong'an"

- adding vowel sounds/not pronouncing diphthongs fluidly enough, e.g. píngluàn, "Xiàn Bào", and líwúyú

- reversing two syllables, e.g. 一事件 became "一件事", and 开诚布公 became "开诚公布"

- destressing syllables resulting in a feeling of quasi-third-tone-ness, e.g. 关乎 became "guānhǔ/guānhu" and 而不是 became "ér búshǐ/búshi"

 

Other:

- There was one time when you said "le" it sounded just like a French "le" to me, correct me if I'm wrong. The vowel here was not Mandarin "e" but sounded like IPA [ø] as in "le" or "oeufs".

- General tone mistakes like shìmìn and yī sandhi.

 

Places for practice:

- When you are comfortable, maybe start listening for the rhythm of newscasters. This may help you break free of the stilted "every-fourth-tone-sounds-identical" robotrap.

[edelweis]

Thanks a lot for the detailed correction and advice 陳德聰

I was more or less aware of the 一 tone sandhi issue in this particular passage because the 事件 without a measure word surprises me every time, but I was not aware of the other issues, it's quite interesting, I see I have a lot of work to do

I am not sure about the vowels, because I actually speak French with a (slight??) regional accent, so even in French I'm never sure whether I'm saying the standard French "le" or the Swiss-like "leu"...

Thanks again for the detailed comments, that's a great help.

 

For some reason I'm actually thrilled to know that I have a French accent when reading Chinese aloud

Perhaps it's the novelty of reading newspaper articles in Chinese or perhaps it's related to the amount of chocolate I had today...

[Mr John]

Hey all,
 
Its been really cool listening to all your efforts so I thought I'd upload my own.
 
I'd appreciate any feedback regarding tones, pronunciation, stress etc or anything else you guys think I should work on.Pronunciation.mp3

 

P.S - Realised after I posted that I said 早上 instead of 晚上 at the end there...

[陳德聰]

Hey Mr. John, you've got good tones.

 

There are some vowel changes I would make to sound a bit more standard, and I think that your j/q/x series could use a bit of work.

 

First vowel issue: juéde <- the u here is actually a ü, but you pronounce it much more like a u. Your j then comes out sounding closer to zh.

 

Second vowel issue: shíhòu <- the ou needs to be fully pronounced, but you did something that sounded like you were dropping the u.

 

Third vowel issue: lěng <- the e here should be more back, closer to ɤ but you've pronounced it like schwa, almost like the English word "lung".

 

Your j/q/x sometimes sound like zh ch and s. Your tiānqì came out like qiānqì, where both q were a bit like soft ch. Your fāxiàn came out like fāiàn.

 

But there was no impediment to understanding so I'd say you're doing good.

[Mr John]

Hi 陳德聰,

 

Thanks heaps for the feedback. It can be really hard to get an honest assesment once you're mostly comprehensible, so I really appreciate you taking the time to help.

 

I'll do my best to work on the areas you identified.

 

I may be pushing my luck a little, but do you have any suggestions regarding method or materials that might help?

 

Thanks again   

[陳德聰]

Listen to how the vowels are supposed to sound by using some sort of online dictionary with audio. Record yourself repeating after them. Compare the recording to the pronunciation you were trying to mimic. Repeat until it sounds the same.

Imron usually has a million methods and tips and tricks. Or was it roddy?

[imron]

Nope, it was imron.

 

(and more here).

[Kenny同志]

kenny's recording 01.mp3

I will be practising listening and speaking every day over the next few months starting from today. This is my first recording. Let’s see what will happen after this period of time!

In order to measure my progress, I’d like some comments on this first recording. Do you find it easy to understand? And specifically, what should I improve?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

[Mr John]

Hey Kenny,

 

I had a listen to the recording and I can understand the majority of it.

 

I can't really give you any specific advice regarding problem sounds etc as I don't have that kind of expertise. However, I think it might be worth trying to get a recording of whatever you are practicing done by a native speaker first, and then shadowing it, to improve your pronunciation, rhythm, stress etc.

 

I'd be happy to help out if you decide that it would be useful.

 

Best of luck,

John

[Kenny同志]

Thank you John.

 

In fact, I had repeated the conversation after two native speakers many times before making the recording. I think I am just not good at imitating people but I will keep trying. : )

[wushucrab20]

I have been thinking lately that it would be a good idea to practice speaking and posting about some topics here, but I can't figure out how to upload audio files. If somebody could let me know how to do it I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

[imron]

'More reply options' in the bottom right corner next to the 'Post' button.  You can then add attachments to the post.

[wushucrab20]

Thanks imron, I knew it was probably something obvious I was just totally missing, but for some reason I didn't even see it

[wushucrab20]

So I've prepared the first set of audio samples. My plan is to at least once a week, hopefully more frequently practice by:

 

1: Without any preparation talk about a topic for 30 sec-1min.

2: Talk about it in English and compare the clarity, logic, and fluency on my own. Then use the English version to write up a better, more organized Chinese version, practice it, and then deliver it from memory.

3: Read the final written form directly.

 

I am partly just doing this so I force my self to improve my speaking skills, but it would be great at the same time if anyone, native speakers or Chinese learners have feedback for me. This time I directly uploaded one audio file that contains all portions listed above consecutively, but I can do them separately in the future too if it is more convenient. Since today was the first time I have tried this each portion was quite a bit over the 30- 1 min limit, but in the future I will try to more closely follow this guideline. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!