Chinese character speaking English

Snitchcat

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Highly recommend listening to the current Chief Exec of HK when she speaks English: Carrie Lam.
 

Liz_V

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Thanks for the suggestions, all!

I tried messing about with articles and such, but my character keeps sounding more Russian than Chinese. I need to work on this a bit more.

LJD, I will try to track down that book; that's just the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Harlequin, another good book suggestion. And that one my library has!

lonestarlibrarian, I like the idea of incorporating idioms; I'll see what I can do with that. Ditto Shoeless. (Also, I love that sort of thing in its own right, so the research should be fun!)

Is your character's native spoken language Putonghua or Cantonese? (Simplifying to these 2 more commonly known dialects.)

A quick googling suggests it's probably Putonghua. Definitely mainland China rather than Hong Kong.

And thanks for the movie suggestions! Nothing wrong with a good martial arts flick, though watching for the dialogue rather than the moves may prove a challenge. :)
 

Cindyt

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I know, it's like I'm posting from the Dark Ages, right?

And yeah, I'm not expecting to find dramatically-obvious foreign-sounding stuff or anything. I just know that what I've got now is Not Right, so down the research rabbit-hole I go....
Catch some Bruce Lee interviews on youtube.
 

Snitchcat

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A quick googling suggests it's probably Putonghua. Definitely mainland China rather than Hong Kong.

Mainland Government Official Speaking English:

  • Flat-ish tone, almost native speaker English tone.
  • Accurate, clear pronunciation of words — would likely have had elocution lessons while undergoing formal English language training.
  • Almost perfect inflection.
  • Almost perfect grammar.
  • Dropped articles mostly absent.
  • Conjugation issues mostly absent.
  • Correct, sophisticated vocabulary with subtle meanings.
  • Most telling, however, is the occasional but subtle use of incorrect or non-optimal prepositions, e.g., at the meantime. (All native Chinese speakers of English do this.)

Also:
  • Discreet and humble tone.
  • Occasional lilt to a sentence's cadence.
  • Chinese-specific cultural references almost absent or very subtle.
  • Body language is usually quietly confident, secure.

NB:
  • Chinese officials who must communicate in English will truly have near native-level English. They cannot lose face under any circumstances.

Suggestions:

  • Use carriage, posture, mannerisms, body language, and facial expressions to represent the Chinese official.
    Easiest way: watch the news for the current Chinese president and premier. (Not listening for oral language here.)
  • Use incorrect / non-optimal prepositions but keep them subtle.


Further Notes:

The near-native level of English that many native Chinese speakers have is quite common amongst high-ranking officials, corporate executives, lecturers, etc. This includes tone, inflection, and connected speech. Sometimes, the English level / knowledge surpasses native English speakers.

The reason is simple: Mainland Chinese students must learn English if they want to maximise their earning potential and also to travel. And the majority of Mainland students also speak their local dialect, which may or may not be comprehensible to non-dialect Chinese speakers.

As for Cantonese Chinese students, they must learn English and Putonghua, and any other Chinese dialect if they intend to do business in various provinces in China. Again, some Cantonese students will also speak their home / local dialect, which may be unintelligible to outsiders.

So, essentially, do we have a natural affinity for language? For most, yes. But it's obviously stronger in some of us than others. It's an anomaly not having English as a second language in Hong Kong these days; it's more common in China to not have English as a language skill due to geography, numbers, and speed of development (uneven across the country).

Finally...
If you need more pointers or examples please ask.
 
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Snitchcat

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Catch some Bruce Lee interviews on youtube.

He was a Cantonese speaker. So, inflections, body language, etc, would be different to Putonghua speakers, especially noticeable when comparing Hong Kong Government officials to Mainland Government officials.
 
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Liz_V

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Also, like I said, no YouTube.

Snitchcat, thanks for the very detailed suggestions. Some of that may be too subtle for me to work in (it is a very short scene), but I'll apply as much as I can.

I think part of what's wrong with what I've currently got is that it's too informal -- which is what my mental ear is hearing as "American". ;-) May have to find something "stuffy" to read/watch and see if I can channel that.
 

Snitchcat

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See if you can find a sound bite of Peng Liyuan speaking English. China's first lady.

Good luck!
 

cmhbob

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I happened upon this thread while checking to see if my question about a Chinese speaker had been asked before. Turns out it has. Perfect timing. Thanks all to those who have provided such good resources.