Chinese Accent Hello,everybody,I am Amby from China.Recently,I feel very confused because of my strong Chinese accent.When i talk with my teachers,they always say i have a strong Chinese accent,they s

Amby Huang

Chinese Accent Hello,everybody,I am Amby from China.Recently,I feel very confused because of my strong Chinese accent.When i talk with my teachers,they always say i have a strong Chinese accent,they suggested that i should imitate more.I tried it,but it seems doesnt work well to me.I tried to change my tune,but no mater how i changed it,it still doesnt like the way native English speaker do.So i wonder whether you guys think accent is a big problem when we speak English? Beside,i also have a problem with pronunciation,i hope some partners can help me.In reture,i will try my best to help your Chinese if you are learning Chinese.Thank you.谢谢大家，我期待能与你们做语言伙伴。

Sep 2, 2014 11:18 AM

Corrections · 4

Chinese Accent

Hello, everybody, I am Amby from China. Recently, I feel very confused because of my strong Chinese accent. When I talk with my teachers, they always say I have a strong Chinese accent, and they suggested that I should imitate more. I tried it, but it seems it doesn't work well to for me. I tried to change my tune, but no mater matter how I changed it, it I still doesnt don't sound like the way a native English speaker do. So I wonder whether you guys think accent is a big problem when we speak English?
Besides, I also have a problem with pronunciation, so I hope some partners can help me. In reture return, I will try my best to help your Chinese if you are learning Chinese. Thank you.

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I don't think accent is a "big" problem, and you should not be worried or confused. Nonetheless, reducing your accent will definitely improve your spoken English.

Personally, I find it very hard to "imitate" someone by concentrating on my speech—it makes my speech slow and awkward. I find it easier to "pretend" to be someone else entirely. If I "act" like someone else, I am no longer concentrating on my speech, so I continue to speak naturally.

My suggestion is for you to find your favourite native-English actress. She should be well-spoken, so be careful in your choice. When you next speak English, you can "pretend" to be her. You won't sound the same, but you will surely speak with less of a Chinese accent. Don't concentrate on imitating her speech, but pretend to be her completely. Soon, you will no longer have to "act" like her—you will have developed your own English accent.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

September 2, 2014

Without listening to your accent, I can't really tell how distracting your accent is if at all. Could you lose your accent, yes, you could .. but it would take years. You have spent 20 years trying to learn perfect Mandarin plus whatever dialect you speak. These sounds are not easy to make but you have trained your mouth, lips, tongue to produce these sounds. Lots of sounds in English, do not exist in Chinese. So unless, you were working with someone who could see the way your mouth and lips form to pronounce these English words, you probably can't get ride of an accent just by listening. Remember that kids, listen and see what a teacher is doing with her mouth in order to learn pronunciation.

September 2, 2014

Unless you are not understood it should not be a big deal. I am South African and we have an accent of our own. I have both British and American friends and mimic them when I am conversing with them, due to this I am able to understand how to alter an accent and might be able to help you. I personally don't think accents should be a big thing but I know a lot of native speakers and for some reason they like to tease/be mean about accents. Do not let it get to you, if you would like I can help you. Here is a picture I show people when they try to make fun of my accent https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t1.0-9/10307213_10152279905456840_5790951931590091461_n.jpg

September 2, 2014

Suggestion: Hey everyone, I'm Amby and I'm from China. I've been feeling a little down recently because I have been made more aware of the fact that I have a strong Chinese accent; whenever I talk with teachers they always say that I have a strong accent. They have suggested that I try to listen more, but no matter how much I listen I don't seem to be able to imitate an accent of a English speaker from England or the U.S. Why do you think that I have such a large problem with learning English? I also have other issues with my pronunciation. I hope that I can find some partners to help me in the future. I would try to help you with Chinese to the best of my ability.

September 2, 2014

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