ChinesePod
Okay, now THIS is a discovery! Check out ChinesePod, free Chinese language tutorials in simple, plain English which you can download to your iPod or stream online. I’ve been listening to these today and I think I’ve learned more just from these than I have from three months with a professional Chinese tutor at work. Seriously, these are amazing.
Check one out, it covers how to say Good Morning. Actually try and pronounce these words using the tones.
In a previous post I meantioned the word zǐ. The accent mark over the word indicates it is to be spoke in a curved tone, down then up again. You might think it’s “zee” or “zy” but it’s actually closer to “tsuh” or “tcheah” with a slight pause before you begin saying the sound. There’s really no English sound which directly matches, and it’s damn near impossible to say without practice.
I’m all over ChinesePod, though. I think this is going to make my language skills take a quantum leap forward.
