> Enough making fun of Chinese pronunciation of English.

You should hear how the English mispronounce Chinese !!! :-).

I've been increasingly finding that there are reasons for various
pronunciations or "errors" that go beyond the normal explanations.

One of may many differences:  It is common to hear a native Chinese
speaker swap he/she ir use them randomly or use only eg "he"
regardless.
Chinese (if I can use so generic a term) has (I'm told) different
written forms for he/she BUT a single pronunciation. A significant
degree of brain programming is required to overcome such fundamental
differences.

English words tend to be assigned tones when adopted for chinese usage.
You are thus unable to pronounce them as you wish and have them understood.
There is a "Bell Tower" at the centre of the old Xian walled city and
it is named, not surprisingly,  "The Bell Tower" at least for tourist
purposes. Trying to locate it by using that name is another matter.
When they work out what you want passers by will often render "Bell
Tower" in passingly good English - but will still not understand you
(me anyway) if you repeat what you hear them say.

Sun Yat Sen is 'the man' in both China's - but not known to anyone if
you call him that. His "real" name I forget, but if I look it up and
say it it will not be recognised.

Cantonese/Mandarin is a nice trap for beginners.

Names on maps are transliterated phonetically into English at the whim
of the map maker. As are names on street signs. The map maker's whim
and the sign maker's whim usually don't match.

I'm sure much fun is made of how we furriners massacre their language ;-).


       Russell
--=20
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