easMonstret Posted December 9, 2008 at 03:21 PM Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 at 03:21 PM Hi, people. Here's a chance to get your whips out and do some serious damage to this newbe-ass. I'm looking for some comments on my pronunciation. This is me taking a stab at retelling a random story I was told: Video. Some background information: I am a post-beginner student. I've taken one year of college chinese. What I am curious about is the intelligibility of my output. Chinese seem to understand me, at times. So, what do you guys think? What should I concentrate one improving? Tones? Over-all phrase melody? Tanks a bunch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stifler&巫 Posted December 9, 2008 at 04:53 PM Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 at 04:53 PM well done. bascially ,i could understand you... but you didn't read the 从前有座山 very well it's "cong2qian2you3zuo4 shan1" but not "shan4"first tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanlink Posted December 10, 2008 at 06:11 AM Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 at 06:11 AM Your opening was very weak from a tonal perspective (4/10) and also phrasing (3/10), but from there, once the listener had adjusted to those elements, it became understandable. Your pronunciation was not too bad (6/10). However, you definitely need to practise and perhaps at this stage over-emphasise the tones (and correct ones at that). Without Chinese phrasing, the result will always be 'off'. Getting that right requires a great deal of attention and self-correction when interacting in Chinese with native speakers. I am sure that lots of Chinese will praise your Chinese to the sky for what you have done here, but you need to recognise that as either politeness or because they have such low expectations of what foreigners can do with such a 'difficult' language. Not bad, though, for your level and definitely full marks for bravery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hofmann Posted December 10, 2008 at 03:33 PM Report Share Posted December 10, 2008 at 03:33 PM I think your tones need improving the most. It sounds like you said "cong3 千有左扇..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdavid Posted December 11, 2008 at 12:54 AM Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 at 12:54 AM You are indeed a very brave soul! Kudos for that. Otherwise, aside from 和尚 and 故事 I had no idea what you were saying--and I only got those 2 words after about half of the story was finished. My Chinese wife also had a very difficult time understanding you. As suggested above, I recommend really working on your tones. Something that worked well for me was finding a "voice therapy" coach. I hired a tutor whose soul job was to help me sound like a native. You've only been studying for about a year now, so you still have an opportunity to turn it around. I'm afraid if you continue on your current path, however, bad habits will solidify and you'll have problems in the future. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glock2000145 Posted December 25, 2008 at 05:02 PM Report Share Posted December 25, 2008 at 05:02 PM I understood the story. It's funny I agree with the tones, and you gotta pay attention to `声母` s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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