24 Form Tai Chi - Lesson 11 - Grasp Bird's Tail - part 3

[uptonsavoie]

Your voice dips identically on all of the Chinese words you use. Are you certain that this is correct? I cannot speak Chinese; but Vietnamese has six tones, and it is rare to find several related words with the identical tone. Furthermore, in common speech, the tones are smoothed out, making it tricky for westerners to catch, but second nature to the Vietnamese.

[taijiman7777]

@uptonsavoie

I'm never sure that I'm correct about anything. I struggle with anything Chinese, including Mandarin, which I get confused with other Chinese dialects that I have spent time listening to. I know I often pronounce "peng" with a dipping tone instead of a rising tone (blame onomatopoeia) . "Lu" and "Ji" are both dipping (third) tones. "An" is a falling tone. Vietnamese, like Cantonese, is beyond me. Apparently, whenever I try to speak them, I sound Mandarin.