Accent Reduction Chinese - 大家Hao: The Chinese H sound.
The Chinese “H” Sound
The first sound we are going to focus on in this series about aspiration is a sound, not marked with an Apostrophe in Wade-Giles, but is probably the most obvious of all the aspirated sounds to western ears, the one marked in Pinyin and all other romanization systems as,
- "H"
In the case of the "H" sound, those that do hear that is sounds different from the English "H" often get caught into the trap of pronouncing it like the Hebrew "Ch" (as in Chanukah), this is wrong. There is no such sound in Chinese.
A good place to start practicing this sound is to start with the Chinese "He" as in "Hē Shuǐ" 喝水.
Once you listen to the pronunciation a few times in the Chinesepod Pinyin introduction, (make sure to listen to all four tones), you will soon see that the sound is dependent on two factors:
- Aspiration
- Constricting the back of the throat
Keep in mind, that without partially closing the back of the throat, the sound will have no friction, and therefore not sound correct.
Now, once you've practiced 喝 Hē, a few times, let's move on to "Hěn Hǎo" 很好.
With regards to the "H" sound, remember to always constrict the back of the throat and really give the sound a good, guttural puff of air coming directly from the back of the throat. You should feel the back of the throat slightly rattle.
Put your hand in front of your mouth when you make this sound...did you feel the air on your hand as you made the sound?
Now, contrast it with the American English "H" sound. Say the English words "Hen" and "How" (the common words that English speakers use in place of the Chinese "Hěn Hǎo").
Did you feel the difference? As you say the English "Hen How" You should not feel any air on your hand, as you do with the correct Chinese pronunciation of, Hěn Hǎo.
Remember, there needs to be vibration in the back of the throat for the sound to be correct.
Now, apply this to all the other "H" sounds in Chinese:
- Ha
- Hai
- Hao
- Han
- Hang
- Hong
- Hou
- He
- Hei
- Hen
- Heng
- Hu
- Hua
- Huo
- Hui
- Huai
- Huan
- Hun
- Huang
Once you have mastered the Chinese "H" sound, you are ready to move on.
Tags: Unvoiced Sounds, Voiced Sounds, Aspirate, Aspiration, Aspirated Sounds, Correcting Chinese Proununciation, Correct Pronunciation of Chinese Sounds, Natural Chinese Accent Guide, How To Reduce American Accent, American Accent Reduction, Accent Reduction,
Posted by xiaohu October 4, 2008 in the Group Accent Reduction Chinese.
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This is one of the first sounds I noticed that native Chinese speak differently from how one would just by learning through Pinyin. I try to do it by almost making a K sound but not quite. Whereas k in pinyin is done with a totally closed throat, h is done with a partially closed one.
Xiaohu, what needs to be addressed soon (in a separate post) is the r sound in pinyin. It seems extremely difficult to get just right.
pinkjeans
Don't worry, we will be covering the Chinese "R" sound in the future once we have wrapped up the series about aspiration.
Be patient, it's coming.
:)
Hey xiaohu, what's the scoop on this group? Almost 2 months without a "sound." I'm dying to learn about the "R" sound also!
Hi Calkins,
Sorry, I've been busy with alot of personal issues lately. I'm still planning to return to finish off what I started with this group.
Hang in there!
Yea this was a good idea. I hope you find the time.
我想，中文还是很难学的
我也觉得。 我昨天听到人说这句 ‘哈巴狗，过于礼貌’， 意思，我还是不懂。哈巴狗，它懂什么是礼貌呢？
难是难点，但是和拉丁语比起来学汉语好像还有救！你别误会，我一点儿也不懂拉丁语。