sandraf wrote:I have recently started learning Mandarin Chinese. We have a local free television station (SINO TV) that plays shows and movies in Mandarin and Cantonese. Even though I only understand a few words, I like to turn the channel on in the background. The problem is that I may have the channel on for some time before I begin to suspect that the people are not speaking Mandarin.
My question is whether or not there is an easy way for a beginner to differentiate between Mandarin and Cantonese (telltale words or sounds that will determine which language is being spoken)?
If the variety is Beijing Mandarin (or something close to it, as
PRC standard strives to be), then the difference is quite striking. Just listen for the
retroflex consonants--the "rrr" sounds. But these sounds are missing from many varieties of Mandarin (primarily those spoken in Southern China and Taiwan).
So one shibboleth I find more foolproof is to listen for the syllable 係 [hɐi˨], the Cantonese equivalent of 是. In addition to being the Cantonese copula, this is also the most common word for "yes" in the language, so it's very common in speech. The nearest Mandarin equivalent is [haɪ̯˨˩], but it doesn't occur as often and never on its own. Also, listen for the syllabic nasals, especially 唔 [m̩˨˩] "not". They're not as easy to hear, but the Mandarin equivalents (like 呣) aren't words but interjections, so they're not nearly as frequent and usually occur on their own. The Cantonese sounds, on the other hand, are extremely common and show up everywhere.
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons