(Note - much of this language log was written after the fact) Just got back from Japan. I finally have time to start studying Mandarin on the side. My friend is getting married in China in August of 2007, so no time to lose as they say on Monty Python. I'd like to be conversational by then if possible. Or at least be able to get around comfortably without a lot of translation help. Since my main goal is verbal communication, I won't even attempt hanzi right now. What's more, I've been warned not to learn Hanzi until I'm reading Japanese at an advanced fluency level, since that is my goal. Apparently it has caused a lot of confusion for others. So those are my 2 excuses not to mess with hanzi yet. My main thrust is still Japanese, split 4hrs J/1 hr M. I'll start out with some tone drills, and learn how to pronounce all the syllables in isolation. Sinosplice has an awesome explanation of how to produce the sounds, and mandarin chinese phonetics is apparently the only free syllable table with standard pronunciation. Pinyin Practice is great for testing and sharpening my listening skills. The mandarin chinese phonetics site is great for chorusing. I have my media player set on repeat, tag the tone I want, and chorus. Biofeedback enables my voice to match the recording exactly, after only a few repeats. This has to be a good thing, although it's hard on my throat. And the research done in sinosplice is essential. For example, knowing that my tongue needs to be close to touching my lower teeth when pronouncing xue takes much of the guesswork out of matching the recording. I don't want to make xue sound like shue. I plan to spend 30-60 min per day for 2 or 3 weeks on pronunciation. That should be a good enough base to prepare me for Pimsleur.
