Abstract: Pronunciation is truly the product of multiple factors—habits from speaking one's native language, innate vocal qualities, and the influence of local dialects from where one grew up... Most people's practice goals should be: "Fluent conversation" + "Sound like a native speaker."
This article is a discussion on 3B: Pronunciation - Ye Junxiao's Article - Zhihu.
Pronunciation Class#
A poor student from the Japanese major at a foreign language college recalled the pronunciation class taken in the second year: it only lasted one semester (not in the official curriculum, no credits, and not sure if this class still exists), once a week, about one and a half hours each time (after school at noon), with only five students in class (yes, to correct the pronunciation of over a hundred second-year students, our department's teachers were assigned this task). The class content was also very simple: each person read a passage, and the teacher would listen to the pronunciation, point out errors, and suggest corrections (although very few students could correct themselves on the spot).
However, compared to this concentrated teaching format, I feel that my pronunciation in Japanese was more helped by my intensive reading class teacher: during the first and second years, and during winter and summer breaks, she required us to send her recordings of us reading our texts, about one minute long. She would point out the areas where we didn't pronounce well (です、なら、long and short sounds, verb intonation), and we would re-record and send it back to her (often still not corrected, and the teacher would comfort us by saying that it was okay to just try our best). Unfortunately, every semester ended up being abandoned halfway, and now I've completely given up 233.
About Pronunciation#
Regarding practicing pronunciation, Professor Chihiro Eiichi's [[“Methods for Progress in Foreign Languages”]] has some interesting discussions in chapters nine and ten:
- Sometimes, the reading and writing level of a foreign language is completely unrelated to the pronunciation level... Overall, when learning grammar and vocabulary, everyone starts on the same starting line. But the situation with learning pronunciation is different... If a person has very standard pronunciation when learning one foreign language, then their pronunciation will also be very standard when learning another foreign language. (The [[Reflod]] column seems not to mention this; from my observations of classmates and teachers around me, students with standard pronunciation often have the following characteristics: they have been exposed to Japanese for a long time; they often shadow while watching Japanese dramas; they sing on pitch, quickly learn dialects, and have standard Mandarin; they have hobbies in voice acting or experience working in broadcasting.)
- In terms of learning pronunciation, teachers not only need to have standard pronunciation but also need to have a clear understanding of the differences in pronunciation between Japanese and the foreign language being learned. (The sounds す and し are really not exactly the same as in Chinese; I couldn't hear it at all in my first year, but I'm better now.)
- When first learning pronunciation, the standard of pronunciation is almost unrelated to the effort put in by the learner, but once non-standard pronunciation is formed, it is nearly impossible to correct it. (Okay, I'm just making excuses for myself 233.)
- To pronounce correctly and distinguish different sounds, one must master basic phonetics knowledge.
- Buying a phonetics book is no different from talking about military strategy on paper, but it is still better than doing nothing. (This sentence and the one above are the author's original words 233.)
- For those lacking phonetic talent, it is better to first learn some phonetics knowledge before learning a foreign language. (I was wrong; I will go read it now.)
- When learning pronunciation, the number of people should not be too many; around ten is more suitable, as pronunciation should be practiced one by one, distinguishing the differences in pronunciation. If there are people around who provide this kind of training, about ten classes can lead to significant improvement. Foreign language teachers themselves should be people who have received this kind of training. (But the actual effectiveness still depends on comprehension and persistence afterward.)
- All languages have variations in intonation, and a smooth and coherent sentence must have a certain intonation pattern. (The intonation of Japanese verbs changes after conjugation, but most dictionary software cannot find this, and many textbooks do not mention it. Students self-studying Japanese should pay attention to this. If you find that the tones in Hujiang and MOJi are inaccurate or too few, you can refer to: “Da Cilin,” “Shin Meikai,” and “Nihon Koku Dai” (Da Ciquan does not have tones), OJAD (intonation after verb conjugation), and the paper version of “Sanseido Shin Meikai Japanese-Chinese Dictionary” from Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (the appendix explains the rules of intonation changes after verb conjugation), and “Comprehensive List of Japanese Quantifiers” (the combination of numerals and classifiers also changes).)
- Repeatedly listening to foreigners read not only helps grasp the pauses between sentences and the different tones between narrative and dialogue but also helps understand the intonation changes at the ends of phrases, clauses, and main sentences. (There is no need to specifically memorize the changes in intonation; just understand it and practice repeatedly using shadowing, and after practicing a lot, you will naturally realize that there are indeed patterns.)
- Not saying anything naturally avoids making mistakes, but foreign language proficiency will not improve in silence. (Let’s encourage each other; now listening to recordings of myself awkwardly chatting with classmates in my second year still gives me a sense of “I have improved,” even though my pronunciation is still terrible... )
- Conversation is about expressing what you want to convey to others and understanding what others express, rather than just saying a few sentences when you happen to encounter something you can say (a small advertisement: the Japanese corner at Sichuan International Studies University is held every Wednesday and Sunday evening at 7 PM in front of the cafeteria at the Shanshang campus, with no specific theme, and the foreign teachers are very やさしい. Students self-studying Japanese in Chongqing are welcome to join anytime.)
The actual content of this book is not as utilitarian as the title [[“Methods for Progress in Foreign Languages”]] suggests; the overall style is more like a conversation between elders and juniors in a family. I recommend students with free time to take a look; it’s a thin little booklet. However, since it is a book from the 1980s, and it does not discuss detailed planning and practical methods, students who are focused on exam scores should not waste their time.
Finally, the reason I have rambled so much under this article is that, before seeing this [[Reflod]] series column, I realized some points through exploration but lacked systematic organization. After seeing Brother Ye's column, I really felt a sense of regret for not having discovered it sooner!!!
Secondly, I feel that the small book “Methods for Progress in Foreign Languages” and Brother Ye's translated column are consistent in many ways: they do not have the “language that shocks people to death” style of various teaching materials in China, and it gives a feeling similar to Su Shi's words in “Sending Zhang Hu” that “broad observation and concise extraction, thick accumulation and thin release, I will stop here.”
To be honest, even in foreign language majors, it is still “score-oriented.” Perhaps my level is not enough; maybe the top foreign language schools like Beiwai and Shangwai are a bit better.
Lastly, here are some of my personal views: pronunciation is truly the product of multiple factors—habits from speaking one's native language, innate vocal qualities, and the influence of local dialects from where one grew up... But most people learn a foreign language not to become hosts/simultaneous interpreters/voice actors; what most people need is “fluent conversation” + “sounding like a native speaker,” so the practice goal should not be to envy others or reach the level of professional broadcasters who can win awards.
But whether it’s the gimmicks of training institutions or the first thoughts that come to mind for most people when they want to practice pronunciation, they are all aimed at this, right? But even in the foreign language college I attend, there are really not many who can reach this level.
I have read early in the library and playground for two years, and occasionally I listen to the pronunciation of the classmates around me. My feeling is indeed that “it really sounds like English”—I am not belittling them (they are really much better than me), but if I were to post this on Zhihu, I would probably face ridicule from various experts. However, compared to my classmates in the science class in high school (this is probably the true level of most people, right?), the “average” level of these classmates I encountered during early reading is the goal suitable for most people practicing pronunciation.
Every university has an English major; if everyone has time to get up early, it shouldn't be hard to find them in the library and playground. You can stand a bit farther away to listen to their pronunciation and try to get closer to them.
Finally, instead of stubbornly focusing on phonetic pronunciation like broadcasting students (of course, you still need to focus on it at first, but if you can't distinguish and imitate after trying your best, just let it go for now), I also recommend spending more time on shadowing practice, with deliberate phonetic practice interspersed among a lot of shadowing practice. Additionally, recordings can be saved for a year, and after a year, you should see some surprises!