Audio Journal: Day 1

[Anneysha7]

Hi,

 

I have recorded an audio of me speaking in Chinese. Please let me know if I have made any errors. 

 

Listen to Day 1, Jan 11 2018: Greetings! by Anneysha #np on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.com/anneysha-sarkar/day-1-jan-11-2018-greetings

 

1: 你好！

2: 你好！

1: 请问,你贵姓？

2: 我姓李。你呢？

1: 我姓王。李小姐，你叫什么名字？

2: 我叫李友。王先生,你叫仔么名字？

1: 我叫王朋。

2: 王先生，你是老师吗？

1: 我不是老师，我是学生。李友， 你呢？

2: 我也是学生。你是中国人吗？

1: 是，我是北京人。你是美国人吗？

2: 是，我是组約人。

[Publius]

Not bad for a beginner. But there are mistakes.

 

Firstly, many of the tones are off. But that's quite normal. I suggest you do some tone pair drills and resist the urge to use English sentence intonation when speaking Chinese (e.g. rising at the end of a question = ✘, falling at the end of a statement = ✘). You can also use Google Translate to practice tones in a sentence.

 

Secondly, there are traps and pitfalls in Pinyin. Read this article on how to avoid them. Specifically in your audio sample,

 

1) 贵, though spelled 'guì', is pronounced 'guèi', and rhymes with 为 'wèi'.

 

2) The only difference between the initial consonant 'p' in 朋 and the initial consonant 'b' in 不 is that the former is aspirated (accompanied by a puff of air). Indic languages have a four-way distinction of stops, so the actual sound isn't a problem, you just need to realize that Chinese 'b' = Hindustani 'p' (IPA /p/) and Chinese 'p' = Hindustani 'ph' (IPA /pʰ/). That puff of air is the only distinction and needs to be very clear to be understood correctly.

 

3) The 'ü' sound in 学 'xué' is a glide or semivowel. In glide position, /i/ becomes /j/, /u/ becomes /w/, and /y/ becomes /ɥ/. Your 学 sounds weird, because you pronounce /y/ and /e/ separately, not smoothly as one.

 

4) Similar problem with 友 in 李友，你呢 but at different position. In 'yǒu', /o/ is the nucleus or central vowel, the final /u̯/ is merely a glide-off. Chinese 'yǒu' rhymes with English 'show' and should not be pronounced like English 'you'.

 

5) The pronunciation of 也 'yě' is tricky, because Pinyin 'e' stands for multiple sounds. When preceded by a medial glide /j/ or /ɥ/, 'e' is pronounced /ɛ/ as in 'yes', not /ə/ as in 'err'.

 

That's about it. And you spelled two words wrong. 仔么 should be 什么. 组約 should be 纽约.

[stapler]

Your pronounciation sans tone is infinitely better than mine! What’s your native language?

[Anneysha7]

@Publius

 

Thank you so much for your correction! I will work on my tones and follow your advice. : )

@stapler

 

Thank you. : ) I believe I have a lot to work on.  : ) My native language is Bengali.