Studying Chinese Words

by Eric
(Yukon, Canada)

"I have severe hearing loss...I need to see the words to help me pronounce..."

I am looking for a programme that has transliterated Chinese words. I have a severe hearing loss but I need to see the words to help me pronounce the words correctly.

For example, I have seen some examples from this website, such as the phrase "I love you" in Chinese, but transliterated to help speak the words. Example: Whoa eye knee. It would help for the tones in specific Chinese words.

I appreciate any help or suggestions.

Thank you,
Eric (Canada)

Victoria's Answer:

Hi Eric,

Thanks for your question.

As we all know, Chinese is one of the hardest languages in the world to master. Especially because of all the Chinese characters instead of just 26 letters. But it is also easy to learn if you find the right way and learn from basic Pinyin.

My suggestion is that if you want to be professional and learn Chinese well, then start from Pinyin, then step by step, you will master the Chinese language.

If you learn it just for interest's sake (for instance, to enjoy some Chinese TV programmes) then you can use the English International Phonetic Alphabet to help you pronounce the words. Even if the English International Phonetic Alphabet can't pronounce Chinese words correctly.

For instance, “Shanghai.” In Pinyin, its correct pronunciation in Pinyin is “sh.” It's close to the English International Phonetic Alphabet “s,” except when you pronounce it, you have to curl your tongue upwards.

Anyhow you are not a Chinese native, so nobody will laugh at you. As long as you can make others understand you, it is okay.

Best regards,

Victoria

Photo courtesy of Ivan Walsh.

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Studying Chinese Words

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Two more resources
by: Jeff

Hi Eric,

I'm the one who writes those transliterated words for the website. It's tricky because people from all over the world (including the Yukon!) visit this site. So the transliterated words need to sound close to the Chinese pronunciation whether you speak them with a Southern drawl or a British accent.

You might investigate the Yale romanization system. It's an alternate to Pinyin, and the letters are pronounced very closely to regular English words.

Here is an online Chinese English Dictionary that features the Yale romanization system.

Best wishes to you on your Chinese studies! (Stay frosty...)

Jeff

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