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The same happens with foreigners learning Mandarin Chinese. The consonants are easy, but each vowel can be pronounced with one of 4 different tones (or 5 if you
by rahimnathwani 6y ago
The same happens with foreigners learning Mandarin Chinese. The consonants are easy, but each vowel can be pronounced with one of 4 different tones (or 5 if you count the 'neutral' tone).
If you get a tone wrong, sometimes people will understand the erroneous word due to surrounding context. But pretty often you'll just elicit a blank stare. This is especially the case for short phrases, e.g. when you're asking for directions.
- chalcolithic 6y ago>The consonants are easy I wish. My teachers have no problem telling apart my j and q, but I rarely hear the difference despite all the cosonants in my native language coming in palatalized/non-palatalized pairs.
- rahimnathwani 6y agoI forgot that English speakers often have difficulty with these pairs of consonant sounds in Mandarin: j / zh q / ch (the former is further forward in the mouth than 'ch' in English, and the latter further back, with a fully clenched mouth)