xiaojiang216 Posted February 14, 2009 at 12:50 AM Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 at 12:50 AM 大家好!Hi everyone! I am performing a xiangsheng for a Chinese New Year festival at my school (yes, it is a little late). I'm really nervous, so I'm trying to memorize it by making a recording of me doing the routine, and going back and listening to it a lot. This is based off of a xiangsheng by 马季 (Ma Ji) called "广东话". Does anyone have any suggestions? There are some phrases in Tianjin, Shanghai, and Guangzhou dialect. If anyone speaks those dialects, do you have any pointers on how to prounce the words better? I didn't put much enthusiasm into it as I am just trying to get the routine right. I find that I can put more enthusiasm and "punch" into it with nervous energy. Any help would be really appreciated! I threw this recording together really quickly, so my apologies if I sound bad. (I am a non-native speaker.) Here's the link to the mp3 file: http://www.webfile.ws/d/8522 The password is: xiang4sheng5 Thanks so much!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wai ming Posted February 14, 2009 at 01:45 AM Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 at 01:45 AM Dammit, my browser crashed while I was trying to reply >.< Your putonghua sounds really good! As for Cantonese/广州话, here are my comments (caveat: I am not a native Cantonese speaker): 马季:In Yale romanisation, it should be ma5 gwai3. The '3' in 'gwai3' is not like Mandarin third tone. Rather, it's a middle-level, flat tone. You can try saying it like Mandarin first tone, but then lower it so it is neither at a high pitch nor a low pitch, almost as if it had 'no pitch'. I think that's the best way I can describe it. As for the vowel in 'gwai3', it is somewhere between Mandarin 'ui' and 'uai' - listen here. Numbers: 一 :In Yale romanisation, it should be yat1. The vowel should sound like the 'u' in English 'but', and the 't' is not actually pronounced, but you position your tongue as if you were going to pronounce it (I know there's a proper technical term for this, which someone else will probably provide ) 六 :In Yale romanisation, it should be 'luk6'. The 6 indicates a low tone, which you pronounced fine, but the actual sound should be like Mandarin 'lu' with a 'k' which is not actually pronounced (but you put your tongue in that position). 八 :In Yale romanisation, it should be 'baat3'. Like Mandarin 'ba' but with a slightly elongated vowel and a final 't' (not pronounced, as for 一 / yat1). The tone should be mid-level and flat. Here/喺呢度 : in Yale romanisation, it should be 'hai2 ni1 dou6.' I think it would sound better if you made your 'ni1' slightly higher, almost like Mandarin first tone. Anyway hope that helps - 加油! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaojiang216 Posted February 14, 2009 at 02:58 AM Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 at 02:58 AM Thanks for the pointers! I can't speak much Cantonese, so I was wondering about that. Thank you! Was there anything regarding pronunciation in Mandarin? Edit: Also, does anyone find this offensive to Southern Chinese people? I really don't want to offend anyone. I was really worried when I saw some negative posts on Ma Ji's version on . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hofmann Posted February 15, 2009 at 01:54 AM Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 at 01:54 AM The Cantonese 季 should not sound like Mandarin 鬼. It is romanized gwai3, but it should not sound like 怪 either. This is MDBG stuff for 季. You can click on "gwai3" to hear it pronounced, but the audio file sucks. 一二三四五六七八九十 are read is many languages, including Cantonese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaojiang216 Posted February 15, 2009 at 02:50 AM Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 at 02:50 AM Thank you, Hofmann! That link is very helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wushijiao Posted February 15, 2009 at 04:18 AM Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 at 04:18 AM Very good Mandarin! I had the audio file playing while my wife (Mainlander) walked in....she couldn't even recognize (until I said so) that you are a non-native speaker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhchao Posted February 16, 2009 at 02:53 AM Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 at 02:53 AM Are you sure you're a one year student? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaojiang216 Posted February 16, 2009 at 04:52 AM Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 at 04:52 AM wushijiao, 不敢当啊 我还真是个菜鸟! Hi, bhchao! I am indeed a freshman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted February 16, 2009 at 07:36 AM Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 at 07:36 AM But bhchao, just because someone is a freshman at university, doesn't mean they haven't been studying the language for years already. Just looking at the joined date, xiaojiang216 has been on the forums for 3 and half years already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaojiang216 Posted February 16, 2009 at 03:14 PM Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 at 03:14 PM Very true! I am very greatful for Chinese Forums and all of its friendly and helpful members It has been a great help and I have learned a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
being jocular Posted February 21, 2009 at 06:40 AM Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 at 06:40 AM unbelievable, amazing performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heifeng Posted February 21, 2009 at 06:36 PM Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 at 06:36 PM heya, I remember you, you had that cute youtube joke video a while ago. Sounding even better than before, keep up the good work! You make us so proud...*snf* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymoose Posted February 22, 2009 at 03:05 AM Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 at 03:05 AM Wow, very good indeed. The shanghainese was a little 'off', but the mandarin was excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaojiang216 Posted February 22, 2009 at 04:57 PM Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 at 04:57 PM The shanghainese was a little 'off' Agreed! Ma Ji is an excellent person to learn from in terms of performing Xiangsheng, but certainly not dialects! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangix Posted February 27, 2009 at 07:43 AM Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 at 07:43 AM Amazing.. I'm Chinese, you're really excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaojiang216 Posted February 28, 2009 at 10:56 PM Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 at 10:56 PM (edited) 没什么呀~ this recording isn't that great. It turned out really well when I performed it, probably because I was under some pressure. I wish I had a recording of it! I did however speak a litte too fast because of nerves. How could I improve this if I ever perform it again? 谢谢大家! Edited March 11, 2009 at 03:29 PM by xiaojiang216 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaojiang216 Posted April 4, 2011 at 01:20 AM Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 at 01:20 AM 大家好~ I just thought I would share another video with you all. This was recorded at the ending ceremony of my semester abroad in Beijing. The 相声 I performed with my very tall classmate to my right is based off of one that 大山 and 赵炎 did years ago called 《一样不一样》, which can be found here . You can watch our performance or here if you are unable to access YouTube. You can skip the first minute and a half, as it is slow because I was very nervous and forgot most of my lines! My parents don't even believe this is me because I would never dare to get on a stage and perform like this! If you have any suggestions about how to improve my Chinese, I would love to hear them. 谢谢!—小陶 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymoose Posted April 4, 2011 at 04:20 AM Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 at 04:20 AM xiaojiang216, that's pretty good. How long have you been studying Chinese for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaojiang216 Posted April 4, 2011 at 01:48 PM Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 at 01:48 PM anonymoose, I think it's been around 6 years now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaojiang216 Posted April 8, 2011 at 12:56 PM Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 at 12:56 PM HAHAHA I just noticed that you can hear a little girl in the background saying, "好慢呀!" and her father saying, "别闹!" I don't blame her! Any other suggestions other than it being too slow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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