Demonic_Duck Posted April 21, 2015 at 04:17 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 at 04:17 PM You mean this particular phrase, not erhua in general, right? I mean 儿化音 in general. There are some exceptions, of course. I think it's often easier to dismiss an extreme view than consider it. I do think the recording sounds awful and awkward, but I think it's more to do with her actual pronunciation. It could be pronounced with erhua and still be soft, but she sounds like she's trying to use a hammer to smash a square peg into a round hole. To me her tone of voice for the Mandarin part just sounds a little patronising in general. I don't think the use or pronunciation of the word “小孩儿” has much to do with it. I guess the issue is that what sounds normal up north may sound unnatural/forced down south. And to be fair, I don't think Brits would take kindly to the use of Americanised pronunciation (lots of R化音) on the London underground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted April 21, 2015 at 06:01 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 at 06:01 PM Having finally heard the recording, to be honest it sounds completely natural to me. Her tone of voice is a bit cheerful-annoying, but I don't hear anything wrong with her erhua. At the same time, my latest stint in Chinese-speaking places was 2.5 years in Beijing, so I'm completely used to northern pronunciation. I can fully appreciate that a southerner doesn't like such an invasion of northern speech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
889 Posted April 21, 2015 at 06:17 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 at 06:17 PM Bear in mind the difficulty a voice artist faces here. On the one hand, it's a safety announcement so it has be read in a voice that will be noticed, not one that fades into the background. She certainly succeeds on this point. And on the other hand, the voice has to be somewhat warm and friendly; it can't sound like a hectoring parent because that sort of voice heard over and again would drive even the most patient of passengers to complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renzhe Posted April 21, 2015 at 07:18 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 at 07:18 PM I mean 儿化音 in general. There are some exceptions, of course.Well, it's certainly quite common in literature. Not sure about other forms of official writing (probably not in contracts or something like that). Lu Xun is notable in never using erhua in his writing. Pretty much everything else I've read used it within reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonic_Duck Posted April 21, 2015 at 07:29 PM Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 at 07:29 PM I guess I'm thinking more of non-fiction writing than novels and such. You won't find much (if any) in a typical newspaper article, for instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted April 22, 2015 at 10:00 AM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 10:00 AM Is it just me or is the 站 in 站稳扶好 way off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted April 27, 2015 at 09:46 AM Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 at 09:46 AM I have just received a reply from the railway company. This seems to be a nice enough reply, and I am not going to further pursue it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted April 27, 2015 at 09:49 AM Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 at 09:49 AM Quite nice that they gave a reply that addressed your actual opinion, not just a 'we received your message' kind of reply. Even if this is rather non-committal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted April 27, 2015 at 09:53 AM Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 at 09:53 AM I particularly like the WC/jl mark at the end of the message. It seems so old-fashioned, and Mr Cheng has a secretary/assistant to type up letters and emails for him. I bet my assistant does not know what that is. Haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonic_Duck Posted April 27, 2015 at 10:11 AM Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 at 10:11 AM Just goes to show that respect and consideration for one's customers goes a long way, even if the response isn't what they were hoping to hear. Out of interest, what does WC/jl refer to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted April 27, 2015 at 10:14 AM Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 at 10:14 AM They are reference initials - https://www.google.com.hk/search?q=reference+initials&gws_rd=cr,ssl&ei=rws-VfDeE6T3mQWs44CQAg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted April 27, 2015 at 11:20 AM Report Share Posted April 27, 2015 at 11:20 AM Ha, I hadn't even noticed that. It makes the whole thing look both more official and more personal. If I send a complaint letter to the Dutch railway system, I'm lucky if it's signed by a person at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
陳德聰 Posted April 29, 2015 at 06:41 AM Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 at 06:41 AM It feels a bit 敷衍 even though it addresses your concerns directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted April 29, 2015 at 08:17 AM Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 at 08:17 AM Is there any large company/organisation that doesn't 敷衍 most complaints? Their goal is just to make the complainer shut up as effectively as possible while still preserving overall confidence of the public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted May 22, 2015 at 01:02 AM Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2015 at 01:02 AM That announcement has been replaced. Instead of asking passengers to take care of children/the elderly, it has now become 攜帶行李的乘客請使用升降機. Is the change related to my "comment"? Or is it a scheduled change? I don't know. But I feel better now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max_power Posted May 27, 2015 at 05:30 AM Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 at 05:30 AM It is easy, 小孩 in chinese is just like your "child". And 小孩儿 in chinese is just like your "kid". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted May 27, 2015 at 03:20 PM Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 at 03:20 PM This is the new announcement. I recorded it today. 升降機.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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