Learn Chinese Online
Chinese Learn Online is the most effective way to learn Chinese online fast! Our progressive immersion system only teaches a few new words in each lesson. As the lessons progress, we replace English with Chinese words that have been taught previously, resulting in constant review!
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October 1st, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Hi, I was wondering about the accents of your normal speakers. Do they (Kirin, etc) speak with a Taiwanese accent or more biaozhun than a normal Taiwanese person? I know you’ve also had some speakers from various regions of China on the podcasts too.
One thing that I do like about CLO (and Taiwan I guess) is the absence of the 儿 sound everywhere. But that’s because my fiancee is from Zhejiang and she told me that I wasn’t allowed to speaker like a Beijinger.
Your speakers definitely say ch, zh, sh, though I’ve heard many Taiwanese don’t. My fiancee doesn’t seem to distinguish those (though she claims she does and makes sure that I do).
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:29 am
Hi Anthony,
Good observation! Yes, our speakers are Taiwanese, but we do try to get them to use a more neutral accent than typical Taiwanese.
Yes, you will find different regions have their own dialect variations, as your fiancee pointed out. I find the Taiwanese style of pronouncing more clear to learners, since they tend to emphasize the tones more so than other regions do.