Hello again from Singapore!
I am writing this post to let you know that I have just uploaded my lastest video on my YouTube channel.
This time around, I have shot a video in Cantonese for the very first time!
Please check out this video. If you double-click on it to watch it on YouTube directly, you can choose to view it with English or Cantonese subtitles.
In my previous Mandarin video shot last year, I had already told my viewers that I would upload a video in Cantonese in the not-too-distant future. I'm delighted that I have finally made good on my promise, despite the fact that it took me more than a year to get around to it.
For those of you who understand Cantonese, I'd appreciate if you could give me your feedback as to whether you find my Cantonese understandable or not.
Also, if you are a beginner of Cantonese, I'd be delighted if you find this video somehow useful for your Cantonese learning.
Although Mandarin and Cantonese have a lot of things in common, speaking in Cantonese is definitely a big challenge for me, especially in terms of pronunciation, which is far more complicated for me compared to Mandarin.
By the way, I've finally made a decision to take off my sunglasses from this video onwards, as I've learned to become more confident in my pursuit of my biggest passion, which is learning foreign languages.
I've done an extensive search on YouTube and have yet to find any Japanese person doing a language-learning video in Cantonese, so I must be setting some kind of precedent here. It sure feels great!
I hereby promise everyone that I will continue to shoot more videos on YouTube, thereby continually challeging myself to new limits.
Talk to you again soon. Wish you all a prosperous new week ahead!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
Hello Uncle!
I watched the first 2 minutes of your Cantonese video. I have not learned Cantonese yet so I cannot comment on your performance, but I do know that Cantonese pronunciation is more complicated than Mandarin. For example, the Ngo sound. Plus, the tones are more varied (or numerous) than in Mandarin. Learning multiple languages at the same time must be a time management challenge. Perhaps you could write about that and tell us how you manage to do it.
Thanks for your video and your post!
Hi Keith,
Thanks for your comment! I've put a lot of time and energy into making this video, so I'm glad that you have taken the time to watch it.
Cantonese is indeed difficult, but it's a lot of fun, and I'm determined to master it one way or another.
As regards your question on time management, maybe I can shoot a video specially devoted to this topic. Will let you know.
Thanks again for your support and encouragement!
Uncle Polyglot
You are a great inspiration and role model for me!
I am shy about making youtube videos but I guess I can always make videos just for myself, only, to track my language learning progress :)
I had no idea you are an "イケメン". びっくり！You look like Tony Leung.
Uncle P, can you share your revision strategy? I learn new vocab and grammatical usage but sometimes I feel I'm not getting the revision part of it right. I would like to cover a lot of new points but it is not too productive if I can't revise as much. Do you revise everyday or every other day? Any tips there?
Also, I've been very confused lately. When I speak Mandarin, I use thinking words from Japanese :(
Maybe I should focus on ONE language for now.
Uncle P
I forgot to say that I can understand most of your Cantonese and vouch for your good pronunciation. My grandmother speaks Cantonese and as you know, Cantonese is the lingua-franca of all Chinatowns around the world. I am used to hearing Cantonese sounds but I do not speak that myself very much other than cursory hi and byes with people in Chinatown.
You sound like a native speaker. Well done!
Hi Nihonga100,
Thanks a lot for your kind comments and for taking the time to check out this video!
I'm delighted that you've found my Cantonese understandable. It validates my conviction that I'm on the right track as regards my Cantonese accent training. Aside from YouTube, I've also posted this video on the Chinese website Youku.com, and got some good reviews from my followers in China at Weibo.com. All this feedback is really encouraging and very important for me, as it propels me to move forward.
By the way, with regard to your question on my revision strategy, when I am learning vocab I normally do the revision on the next day at the latest, because otherwise I will forget most of what I have learned.
Good luck with your Mandarin and Japanese! :-)
Have you considered making videos of other languages in additions to the ones that you already did (i.e., Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, French and English)? I mean languages such as German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Greek, Korean, Russian, Filipino, Indonesian, Vietnamese, etc, none of which you have made any videos of. I know it is too much to ask, but can you do at least 2 to 3 of them?
Hi Anonymous,
Thank you for your comment. To answer your question, I don't think I can do videos in any other language, except maybe in Shanghainese, if I can find the time to brush up on my Shanghainese knowledge. However, I've been wanting to do for quite some time a video in which I speak English with a British accent. Will let you know when that happens!
Hello U. Polyglot: Your video in Cantonese is fascinating. Pronunciation is excellent! You truly are an inspiration to others. Thanks for sharing your strategies for learning Cantonese. You seem fluent already. Were you speaking a little slower for the video but actually speak at a faster rate during conversation -- just wondering! Please keep us updated!
Hi Anonymous,
Thank you for your kind comment!
In fact, I'm still struggling with Cantonese pronunciation, especially the tones, which are quite complicated compared to Mandarin.
In terms of vocabulary, I'm benefiting a lot from my knowledge of Mandarin, but I will still need study thousands of words that are unique to Cantonese.
All in all, my Cantonese still has a long way to go.
I hope to shoot another YouTube video soon. Hope you can check it out when I upload it!
Cantonese vocal requires more rough/intruding characteristic in conversation which is totally opposite from the way how Japanese people put their speech in more soft and humble manner.
But for uncle polygot, you could speak in such level I guess it has taken you incredible effort in those pronouciation.But after all, Mandarin/ English/Japanese would be tremendously good enough in Asia. Next may be you would want to challenge another dialect in Chinese would be "Hok Kien"...the "閩南語" in Taiwan. :)
You are my idol*--*
Hi reiko,
Thank you again for your kind comment!
I'm still struggling with Cantonese, but recently I've found a very good method to improve fluency in any language, so I believe that I can still improve.
As I'm quite busy preparing for the CFA exam now, I'll resume studying Cantonese in the latter half of 2012, and hope to shoot another YouTube video for an update.
Talk to you again soon! :-)
Hahaha..Uncle polygot,perhaps you should shot another youtube next time using Mandarin/Cantonese/French/English to discuss financial related topics, business and world economics. All the best to your CFA exams!!
Wow Uncle Polyglot - your cantonese is impressive!
I'm no expert in cantonese, I grew up in Australia with two cantonese speaking parents, but my english is much better than my cantonese.
However, I don't think I can see any problems with your pronunciation, it seems perfect. And your vocab seems to be extensive.
My only comment would be that to me, your speaking seems overly formal, like you're reading the news. Its not the type of cantonese that I use (and that could well be because my vocab is limited), but I also think its not the kind of cantonese that friends use with each other, or what you hear on HK films or drama.
But wow - as you have the pronunciation down pat, I think its just a matter of shifting your vocabulary and then your conversation will become much more accessible.
Well done!
Hi momo,
Thanks for your kind comment!
I also think that my Cantonese sounds a bit laboured and unnatural. I simply am not putting enough time and effort into learning Cantonese, and hope to be able to study harder going forward. If I make some progress in the future, I'll make sure to post another Cantonese video on my YouTube channel for sure.
Talk to you again soon! :-)
Post a Comment