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Not at all the same thing, but I was briefly capable of speaking enough Chinese to just barely make it around rural China for two weeks, and I attribute it to a

Not at all the same thing, but I was briefly capable of speaking enough Chinese to just barely make it around rural China for two weeks, and I attribute it to a tutor I had who was a musician and taught me to literally sing the tones. What I observe about most native English speakers who try to learn a tonal language is that they don’t really do the tones, but it isn’t because they aren’t capable. It’s because it feels silly or wrong to sing when you’re supposed to be talking. I’ve also noticed I have friends with, for example, an Italian accent who can mimic my English pronunciation pretty closely if they want to mock me. I think many people are pretty good at mimicry, but they probably keep their accent because doing it differently feels like they are being someone else, or they just feel silly or wrong doing it. So I guess I say, tutors are great. Also maybe just mess around with mimicking speakers you want to sound like and put aside whatever identity you have subconsciously tied to how you currently speak? Especially try not to think about how words are spelled. Just mimic the sounds.

uranusjr 4y ago
Also sometimes accent shows because the speaker isn’t sure at real-time how the sentence is “supposed” to be said, and therefore falls back to the way that feels the most natural. So yeah, listen to more people speak, mimic them, and practice repeatedly so it comes through naturally when you need them.
yodsanklai 4y ago
> it isn’t because they aren’t capable. It’s because it feels silly or wrong to sing when you’re supposed to be talking. My problem with tones is mostly that they are hard to remember. But I think you have a point that sometimes it feels silly. Especially if you learn with non-native with others who have the same bad accent as you, you don't want to stand out as the one who tries too hard. Another issue is when the language you learn use the same alphabet. For instance, if you're French learning English, you're tempted to read the English words with your French accent.
- causality0 4y ago
  Feeling silly can definitely hurt you. When I was learning Spanish in school I could never forget how stupid I felt assigning genders to inanimate objects.

uranusjr 4y ago

Also sometimes accent shows because the speaker isn’t sure at real-time how the sentence is “supposed” to be said, and therefore falls back to the way that feels the most natural. So yeah, listen to more people speak, mimic them, and practice repeatedly so it comes through naturally when you need them.

yodsanklai 4y ago

> it isn’t because they aren’t capable. It’s because it feels silly or wrong to sing when you’re supposed to be talking. My problem with tones is mostly that they are hard to remember. But I think you have a point that sometimes it feels silly. Especially if you learn with non-native with others who have the same bad accent as you, you don't want to stand out as the one who tries too hard. Another issue is when the language you learn use the same alphabet. For instance, if you're French learning English, you're tempted to read the English words with your French accent.

causality0 4y ago
Feeling silly can definitely hurt you. When I was learning Spanish in school I could never forget how stupid I felt assigning genders to inanimate objects.