How To Mandarin With Brian Yu

Language Learning Chinese
1

Hey Forumosa!

My name is Brian and I recently started a new YouTube series called How To Mandarin With Brian Yu- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3BmupXH3GvNtuGuLIBkNhg. I know how discouraging it is to start learning a new language as complicated as Mandarin since there are millions of resources out there, but with the way I present my lessons, you’ll be up and running with Mandarin words and phrases in no time. I’m an American Born Chinese so I give an American perspective on learning the language, which I think makes it easier to understand. Think of my lessons as spending 5-8 minutes with me and leaving them knowing a bit more than you did before. Would love to hear any feedback on here or jump over to Youtube and like, comment, or subscribe to show support. Or let me know what you’d like to learn and I’ll create a lesson just for you :smiley:

2

Have I finally developed an ear for this, or am I not properly detecting that his accent when speaking Chinese is very… American?

I normally catch this when Hollywood movies have actors from Sinophone countries and Chinese-speaking American actors in the same cast.

3

Hard to tell. What I heard was 95% English anyway. Just single words of Mandarin here and there.

4

[quote=“ehophi”]Have I finally developed an ear for this, or am I not properly detecting that his accent when speaking Chinese is very… American?

I normally catch this when Hollywood movies have actors from Sinophone countries and Chinese-speaking American actors in the same cast.[/quote]

Slight accent, especially with “q-”, “sh-”, “x-” initials, and the “i”, “[ɨ]” medials.

It’s more prominent when he’s attaching Mandarin words in-between or after a long English sentence. Less so when he’s repeating the word a couple of times.

Still, way better than most Mandarins people hear on American TVs.

5

Yeah, then it’s pretty dreadful, unless Black Dynamite does it:

6

Wow, what is up with you guys?

The OP posted a video and asked for people’s support and possible suggestions. But all you guys want to do is pick and criticize his “American” mandarin accent. Have you guys got nothing better to say? How about you post a video of of yourself trying to speak mandarin so we can all critique how your mandarin sounds like?

I think the video was great, OP, keep it up.

7

Useless for learning Mandarin, but this guy is FANTASTIC personality. He may be 3rd or 4th generation Chinese because very few Chinese are this charming or interesting until they’re several generations removed from stifling chinese culture. I give this guy4 stars for fun, 0 stars for mandarin.

8

He’s got two major criticisms on his hands:
[ul]
[li]There’s hardly any Mandarin being taught in these videos.[/li]
[li]His accent isn’t exactly standard for any major regions of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Singapore.[/li][/ul]

Those are pretty damning for a video series titled “How to Mandarin,” which are then promoted in a Taiwanese forum, where most of us actually live on the Formosa with heavy immersion and high motivations to learn.

You wouldn’t accept an English lesson from an instructor who sounded like this, would you?

This kind of comment always sticks in my craw, because it is a red herring of a challenge. Is someone only entitled to criticize something after he’s done that same themselves? Good luck getting any restaurant or movie reviews with that attitude.

All any of us would have to say is, “No, thanks. I don’t feel like embarrassing myself on YouTube, like the OP has done by pretending to offer Mandarin instruction when it’s mostly just a vlog of him driving.” Most of us can subject local Taiwanese to our horrid Mandarin accents one on one and at our leisure.

Let’s hope the OP isn’t this thin-skinned.

9

ehophi:

First off, that coke video was hilarious :roflmao: but with all due respect, I’d like to think the Mandarin I’m teaching isn’t that bad and misleading…
I mean, that’s like, baaaad. Haha.
Since I was born here, my Mandarin isn’t the best, I definitely concede to that. And yes, I do have an American accent.
I’ve seen people with more glaring accents (like my sister cough) and I definitely would not want to learn Mandarin from her, but I think the content I’m teaching can give a non-native speaker enough to latch onto and start being conversational in the language at least. I can start putting a disclaimer of sorts saying if they really want to nail down certain accents perfectly, my videos are probably not the best place to do that.

As far as the content goes, I’m beginning to see your point, there’s not enough Mandarin in these “How to Mandarin” videos. Others have brought it up to me as well. When I first started, I dedicated entire lessons to just one or two words, but with anything, that was just me testing the waters and figuring out how to do this. More recently, I’ve started to throw more phrases into the mix. The Youtube description beneath each video I post lists out the things I cover and lately, the lists have grown. Some earlier videos might not have had much content, but I certainly don’t think I’m “pretending” by any means. I’ll definitely keep that in mind, though, and think of even more to teach per episode. :blush:

There are videos out there that teach Mandarin, sometimes putting 20 or so different vocab words or phrases one after the other, but the way the person lists them off has always seemed sort of robotic to me. If the viewer doesn’t mind that, then those videos are the best to learn from. What I wanted to do from the beginning was just to connect to the viewer a bit more and give it more of a casual feeling. I’ve done some searching and haven’t found many videos like that. So while sometimes, it does come off as a “vlog” of sorts, that’s just me trying to give it a more relaxed atmosphere. And I like to throw some jokes and asides in there, which I guess could come off as embarrassing, but what is life if you can’t be a little embarrassing sometimes? :discodance:

But all that is to say thanks ehophi. Up to this point, this has been the most honest and thorough critique of what I’m doing and I actually really appreciate it. Also, I’ve gone through 4 years of art school, I’m no stranger to critique haha. There have been a handful of people who have shown support so I think I’ll keep doing it for them, but in the meantime, I definitely welcome any other comments you have. I’ll keep trying to improve! :bow:

10

[quote=“vlln”]ehophi:

First off, that coke video was hilarious :roflmao: but with all due respect, I’d like to think the Mandarin I’m teaching isn’t that bad and misleading…
I mean, that’s like, baaaad. Haha.
Since I was born here, my Mandarin isn’t the best, I definitely concede to that. And yes, I do have an American accent.
I’ve seen people with more glaring accents (like my sister cough) and I definitely would not want to learn Mandarin from her, but I think the content I’m teaching can give a non-native speaker enough to latch onto and start being conversational in the language at least. I can start putting a disclaimer of sorts saying if they really want to nail down certain accents perfectly, my videos are probably not the best place to do that.

As far as the content goes, I’m beginning to see your point, there’s not enough Mandarin in these “How to Mandarin” videos. Others have brought it up to me as well. When I first started, I dedicated entire lessons to just one or two words, but with anything, that was just me testing the waters and figuring out how to do this. More recently, I’ve started to throw more phrases into the mix. The Youtube description beneath each video I post lists out the things I cover and lately, the lists have grown. Some earlier videos might not have had much content, but I certainly don’t think I’m “pretending” by any means. I’ll definitely keep that in mind, though, and think of even more to teach per episode. :blush:

There are videos out there that teach Mandarin, sometimes putting 20 or so different vocab words or phrases one after the other, but the way the person lists them off has always seemed sort of robotic to me. If the viewer doesn’t mind that, then those videos are the best to learn from. What I wanted to do from the beginning was just to connect to the viewer a bit more and give it more of a casual feeling. I’ve done some searching and haven’t found many videos like that. So while sometimes, it does come off as a “vlog” of sorts, that’s just me trying to give it a more relaxed atmosphere. And I like to throw some jokes and asides in there, which I guess could come off as embarrassing, but what is life if you can’t be a little embarrassing sometimes? :discodance:

But all that is to say thanks ehophi. Up to this point, this has been the most honest and thorough critique of what I’m doing and I actually really appreciate it. Also, I’ve gone through 4 years of art school, I’m no stranger to critique haha. There have been a handful of people who have shown support so I think I’ll keep doing it for them, but in the meantime, I definitely welcome any other comments you have. I’ll keep trying to improve! :bow:[/quote]

I think your videos so far are shite, but I like your attitude; and if you can survive the crucible of criticism in the mortar and pestle of Forumosa you will do well. Follow your dream. Where criticism is constructive: employ it. Where criticism is destructive: ignore it.

11

Your videos are OK, and your attitude towards criticism is fantastic. That means you can improve.

I agree that upping the Mandarin content would be your best move. Use more phrases and full sentences with substitutions, and feel free to talk to yourself in the car. You can be “A” and “B” and have little fights with yourself.

A: Daddy, I want some Coke.
B: You filthy little slut! No daughter of MINE talks like that!

Maybe use your hands like puppets, and talk out of different sides of your mouth. :neutral:

Don’t get in an accident.

12

Brian, you could do an episode on how to swear in Mandarin.

like this Korean English teacher for example:

13

I would do minute long lessons with lots of repetition of the target vocabulary, 80-90 percent mandarin and only a little English. Then you might get more viewers.

It’s 2015, you need to get right to the point and deliver value for time.

If you did that I think I would enjoy the videos.

14

[quote=“Charlie Phillips”]

I think your videos so far are shite, but I like your attitude; and if you can survive the crucible of criticism in the mortar and pestle of Forumosa you will do well. Follow your dream. Where criticism is constructive: employ it. Where criticism is destructive: ignore it.[/quote]

Well, “shite” is a strong word there Charlie. But yes, thank you for the tip :slight_smile:

15

[quote=“zender”]Your videos are OK, and your attitude towards criticism is fantastic. That means you can improve.

I agree that upping the Mandarin content would be your best move. Use more phrases and full sentences with substitutions, and feel free to talk to yourself in the car. You can be “A” and “B” and have little fights with yourself.

A: Daddy, I want some Coke.
B: You filthy little slut! No daughter of MINE talks like that!

Maybe use your hands like puppets, and talk out of different sides of your mouth. :neutral:

Don’t get in an accident.[/quote]

XD Fantastic idea, zender. I think I’ll start doing that in the next lesson, just have mock conversations and rattle off a number of new vocab words in the process. (And what can I say, she just really wants that Coke.)

16

[quote=“hansioux”]Brian, you could do an episode on how to swear in Mandarin.
[/quote]

Hmmm, now there’s an idea. Too bad I don’t really know that many :confused: I’ll ask around and get back to you haha.

17

Hilarious of you to think his Mandarin “accent” sounded as bad as that teacher’s English.
Amuse me for a second: Let’s hear you break down the linguistic mandarin accent differences of Singaporeans, speakers from “major” parts of Mainland China, and Taiwanese and hear you make a case how those are just so much superior to an ABC’s accent who grew up with immigrant Chinese parents. You probably look down on all those native Mainlanders who come from a “minor” part of China, with their non-standard accents. It’s funny how foreigners are more likely to be critical of a non-standard accent than native mandarin speakers who understand that some come from all regions of the globe with their own idiosyncrasies.

18

[quote=“Acer4273”]
Hilarious of you to think his Mandarin “accent” sounded as bad as that teacher’s English.[/quote]

What makes you think that the Korean teacher’s English is bad? The only word that she messes up is the word coke, and it’s just unfortunate that the way she says it sounds like a euphemism and most English speakers find that hilarious.

Take out the abstract meaning of that coincidence, all that Korean teacher did was pronouncing the O in “-o-e” as /ɔː/ instead of /əʊ/. How is that so much worse than pronouncing /tɕʰ/ as /tɕ/, for example?

[quote=“Acer4273”]
Amuse me for a second: Let’s hear you break down the linguistic Mandarin accent differences of Singaporeans, speakers from “major” parts of Mainland China, and Taiwanese and hear you make a case how those are just so much superior to an ABC’s accent who grew up with immigrant Chinese parents. You probably look down on all those native Mainlanders who come from a “minor” part of China, with their non-standard accents. It’s funny how foreigners are more likely to be critical of a non-standard accent than native Mandarin speakers who understand that some come from all regions of the globe with their own idiosyncrasies.[/quote]

In my first post I said Brian only has a slight accent. That being said, the ABC accent probably isn’t the first accent people decide to pick up when they set out to learn Mandarin. The videos could offer a disclaimer about that.

It’s not about which accent is superior, it’s about giving viewers enough information to decide for themselves. If some Chinese teaching videos are offered in standard Taiwanese Mandarin accent, then they should mention that, same goes with videos offered in standard Mandarin, Beijing Mandarin, or Taigi accented Mandarin.

19

Oh, god forbid if a foreigner gets lessons from a person who has a slight X,Y,Z accent! Since when has slight regional mandarin accents prevented people in China or elsewhere from communicating with one another? Yes, good luck to that American guy because few natives are going to be paying attention to what he is saying because they will be bloody fixated on his non-standard mandarin.

And you still don’t get it. I’ve met plenty of people like you and ehophi. A lot of the older generation of mandarin speakers out in the world grew up when education was not mandatory or standardized. Furthermore, their primary dialect often bleeds into their mandarin. Not everyone is as fortunate as you Westerners who come in with a scholarship and learn the correct standard mandarin at a university.

I have met people like you. You start talking to a complete stranger with a non-standard form of mandarin. You nod along, but in your head you are also analyzing everything she is saying wrong. You smile a bit because you realized you have advanced far enough in your Chinese language skills to develop the ear for detecting the stranger’s imperfect mandarin. You part ways with the stranger. You begin to point out all the things that made her mandarin non-standard, “hmmm, she doesn’t really enunciate her retroflex consonants. Yeah, and also…ect” Congratulations, give yourself a tap on the back.

You say you don’t think one accent is superior to another. You and ephophi’s very first post to the OP implies otherwise. You all certainly have a smug, elitist attitude towards those who don’t speak standard mandarin:

I have yet to meet natives who talk behind a person’s back pointing out all the mistakes in that person’s non-standard accented mandarin. Read the OP’s post again. He asked for advice on his video series. The first thing you did was talk about the ABC’s accent. But when I called you and ephophi out on your nonsense, you guys stopped and decided to take the higher road. Unless his mandarin was complete crap (which it wasn’t) then you have the right to complain. But instead of posting legitimate advice like “stop talking in English so much, add more mandarin” like HenHaoChi, all you and ephophi start doing is go off on his accent. What the hell is OP supposed to do with that? What kind of advice or suggestion is that to the OP, you just stated it and just left him there. Hardly constructive criticism for something he really can’t fix. Unbelievable. All the natives know how big China is. They all know and acknowledge people speak mandarin with varying accents. Sure, some northerners may view their mandarin as superior and look down on those who don’t speak it correctly, but this is the exception not the norm.

That’s literally the FIRST thing you guys jump to, nothing else about the video gets your attention like his accent. That’s the first thing you hear. That’s the first “constructive criticism” you decide to tell the OP. If you can’t acknowledge that this is a flaw that you and many Chinese language foreigners seem to have, then you are seriously trapped in a bubble.

20

[quote=“Acer4273”]
I have met people like you. [/quote]

I’m certain you have, but I’m not the kind of person you’ve just characterized :no-no:

[quote=“Acer4273”]
You start talking to a complete stranger with a non-standard form of Mandarin. You nod along, but in your head you are also analyzing everything she is saying wrong. You smile a bit because you realized you have advanced far enough in your Chinese language skills to develop the ear for detecting the stranger’s imperfect Mandarin. You part ways with the stranger. You begin to point out all the things that made her Mandarin non-standard, “hmmm, she doesn’t really enunciate her retroflex consonants. Yeah, and also…ect” Congratulations, give yourself a tap on the back.

You say you don’t think one accent is superior to another. You and ephophi’s very first post to the OP implies otherwise. You all certainly have a smug, elitist attitude towards those who don’t speak standard Mandarin: [/quote]

Analytical does not equal to being critical. Sorry you feel otherwise.

[quote=“Acer4273”]
I have yet to meet natives who talk behind a person’s back pointing out all the mistakes in that person’s non-standard accented Mandarin.[/quote]

Congrats, now you have. Although I may not be the typical native.

By the way, you have yet to tell me why you feel the Korean English teacher is so much worse in her videos.