Dave Huxtable
Dave Huxtable
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What fascinates me about the Chinese language
Check out this link for Rosetta Stone partners.rosettastone.com/davehuxtable-1
I've spent quite a large chunk of my life either studying Chinese or living in China (or both!). Here I explore some lesser known features of this fascinating language along with an essential tip for learners.
I love to add a bit of humour, so in this one there's a sketch based on the fact that tangerine and saw sound the same but for the tones - and there's a fun twist at the end.
I bust some common myths and explain how people may speak very differently but share a common written language.
Discover the fun features of the Chinese language, from dialects to writing systems. Learn about Chinese characters and phonetics in this video!
00:00 Introduction
00:45 Speech sounds
01:00 Tongue twister
01:19 Tones
01:47 Sketch
02:54 Rosetta Stone
04:43 Chinese vs Mandarin
05:56 Writing system
08:49 Written vs spoken languages
10:44 Hong Kong newspapers
11:02 Comparison of dialects
11:37 Yes and no
12:06 Measure words
13:46 Pitfall
Переглядів: 9 482

Відео

How To Sound German when speaking English
Переглядів 5 тис.2 місяці тому
A humourous but scientific look at what German pronunciation sounds like in English. If you want to sound more German when speaking German, or less German when speaking English, this video is for you. It's also for you if your an actor portraying a German speaker. 00:00 Introduction 00:19 Hard attack - glottal stops at the beginning of words 00:53 Ja, Nein und Und 01:22 W and V 01:59 R sounds a...
Fascinating Languages of Sri Lanka
Переглядів 32 тис.2 місяці тому
Filmed on my recent trip to Sri Lanka, I look at the languages of Sri Lanka - Sinhala, Tamil, Sri Lankan Malay, Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole and Sri Lankan English. There's a deep dive into the writing systems, loan words and grammar of all the languages. 00:00 Main and official languages 01:03 Names of Sri Lanka 02:52 Sinhala case system 05:54 Diglossia 06:13 Sinhala writing system 07:22 Retro...
Myths about American and British English
Переглядів 55 тис.3 місяці тому
Polyglot and phonetician Dave Huxtable busts myths about American and British English. Did 16th century English live on in the USA. Do Americans speak like Shakespeare? Was the British accent invented in the 1800s? Find the answers to these and other questions, with a unique blend of facts and humor/humour. 00:00 Scope of myths 00:56 Senseless Americanisms 02:22 American inventiveness and flexi...
Sound Like a Native Spanish Speaker in English!
Переглядів 4,9 тис.5 місяців тому
Want to know how to speak English with a Spanish accent? In this video, I'll show you how to sound like a native Spanish speaker when speaking English. I'm a phonetician and language coach and have taught English to speakers of Spanish in Ecuador, Mexico and Spain. If you are a native Spanish speaker these tips can help you know where to focus your efforts if you want to improve your pronunciat...
What accents did The Beatles sing in?
Переглядів 8 тис.5 місяців тому
A look at the accents the Beatles sang in with a bit of humour and some groovy graphics from polyglot and phonetician Dave Huxtable. Which songs are in Scouse, which in Northern RP and which in the Rock 'n' Roll accent? We look in detail at the phonetics of each of these accents, with examples from the Fab Four's songs. By the end of this video, you'll know exactly how The Beatles sang in each ...
The future of language learning: AI's game-changing impact
Переглядів 2,4 тис.6 місяців тому
I love technology and language learning! In this video, i look at today's AI and imagine the impact it will have on language learning in the future. I tried out HeyGen to see what I would look and sound like speaking Tamil (and American English). It's a tool that can have a huge impact on confidence and accuracy in pronunciation. Now that it's possible to speak to ChatGPT, I had a chat in Frenc...
Polyglot wishes Happy New Year in 60 languages
Переглядів 1,6 тис.6 місяців тому
I found out how to say Happy New Year in the languages of all my Facebook friends and people I've spoken to recently. Then I researched how to pronounce them! I speak 12 of these languages, so that gave me a head start, but it was fun to research and practise saying them one after the other as I enjoy skipping from accent to accent. (I edited out the gaps in between, but I didn't cheat!) I wish...
How to sound Italian.
Переглядів 19 тис.7 місяців тому
Do you want to sound like an Italian person speaking English? This fun and entertaining video looks at the phonetics of Italian and English to teach you how to pronounce English the authentic Italian way. 00:00 Introduction 00:19 Gemination (double letters) 01:14 H 01:51 Syllable Structure 03:58 Consonant Clusters 04:20 Consonant Cluster Assimilation 05:24 Vowels 06:05 Intonation 06:32 Rocket L...
Australian English accents
Переглядів 171 тис.8 місяців тому
A fun but detailed look at Australian English accents focussing on General Australian. I look at the history of English in Australia compare Australian accents to pronunciation in other parts of the English-speaking world. For a more detailed look at the GOAT vowel, check out this excellent video by @DrGeoffLindsey ua-cam.com/video/z7DuvWVazpk/v-deo.htmlsi=pv_AjjMGxVMLCwxp
Who's to blame for English Spelling
Переглядів 7 тис.8 місяців тому
A humourous look at how Norman scribes and classical language nerds made English spelling even worse. I play nine different characters (including myself) in a variety of accents. English pronunciation changed radically just as English spelling was standardised. To make things worse, the Normans had brought French spelling conventions to the language which remained. Then, during the renaissance,...
The Wonders of English Spelling - minding the gap between writing and speaking
Переглядів 8 тис.9 місяців тому
English spelling can seem weird, but it makes a lot more sense if you understand how English pronunciation has changed since the writing system was created. This is a fun look at how the way English speakers speak has changed over the last 550 years. I also debunk myths about how 'most other languages have systematic spelling. Thanks to @waltertross3581 for proofreading the captions, though any...
Language vs Dialect: What You Need to Know
Переглядів 11 тис.10 місяців тому
What's the real difference between a language and a dialect? Where does one language end and another begin? There are aa lot of misconceptions out their, resulting in people thinking the way some people speak is 'just' a dialect. Let's look at how to put things right - seeing all language varieties as equally magnificent! 00:00 Introduction 00:41 Language varieties 01:18 Social and Political de...
The Surprising Reason Why British People Sing in American Accents
Переглядів 661 тис.11 місяців тому
Many hugely successful singers speak with strong accents from around the English-speaking world, but they all sound American when they sing. I look at the phonetics of what it even means to sing like an American, and then examine why people do it. Some of the reasons may well surprise you. Here's a link to the spoof 'lose your accent' video ua-cam.com/video/YlWrE_-8mp0/v-deo.html Harry Styles R...
How to sound French when speaking English
Переглядів 38 тис.11 місяців тому
Funny, entertaining and informative look at how to adopt an authentic French accent when speaking English. I'm a phonetician, polyglot and accomplished mimic and here I take you through the key aspects of French pronunciation. Many find the French accent in English very attractive, so let's see what it can do for you. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Resting position of the mouth 00:40 Inner lip roundi...
The Untold Story of East-Midlands English Accents
Переглядів 52 тис.11 місяців тому
The Untold Story of East-Midlands English Accents
9 ways to sound Dutch - the Dutch accent in English
Переглядів 164 тис.Рік тому
9 ways to sound Dutch - the Dutch accent in English
Turkey is now Türkiye! What's behind the name change?
Переглядів 9 тис.Рік тому
Turkey is now Türkiye! What's behind the name change?
Crack the code: Pronouncing X, J, Q, SH, ZH, CH in Mandarin made simple
Переглядів 4,1 тис.Рік тому
Crack the code: Pronouncing X, J, Q, SH, ZH, CH in Mandarin made simple
English expressions people get wrong - eggcorns and malapropisms
Переглядів 5 тис.Рік тому
English expressions people get wrong - eggcorns and malapropisms
Why was Beijing once called Peking?
Переглядів 9 тис.Рік тому
Why was Beijing once called Peking?
City names in different languages - a fun look at exonyms
Переглядів 8 тис.Рік тому
City names in different languages - a fun look at exonyms
How to pronounce Kyiv (and it's not Keev)
Переглядів 30 тис.2 роки тому
How to pronounce Kyiv (and it's not Keev)
Polyglot on a talk show
Переглядів 6 тис.2 роки тому
Polyglot on a talk show
Multilingual news sketches - polyglot comedy
Переглядів 1,7 тис.2 роки тому
Multilingual news sketches - polyglot comedy
Billionaire polyglot's succession of favorite speech sounds
Переглядів 3,9 тис.2 роки тому
Billionaire polyglot's succession of favorite speech sounds
Navajo and Irish language similarities
Переглядів 15 тис.2 роки тому
Navajo and Irish language similarities
Invermectin - the Scottish village that is home to a medical miracle.
Переглядів 2,5 тис.2 роки тому
Invermectin - the Scottish village that is home to a medical miracle.
Surprising Things about American English
Переглядів 31 тис.2 роки тому
Surprising Things about American English
Wolof - an intriguing language of West Africa
Переглядів 17 тис.3 роки тому
Wolof - an intriguing language of West Africa

КОМЕНТАРІ

  • @justinbuddy56
    @justinbuddy56 День тому

    1:28 Thank goodness you said this! As a spy who wants to infiltrate the military secrets that are being developed in Yeovil, I am so happy to learn that I now won’t be caught pronouncing my R’s wrong.

  • @michaelruijtenbeek8672
    @michaelruijtenbeek8672 День тому

    Don't forget 'Kantelberg' for Canterbury,

  • @juanromagosa2582
    @juanromagosa2582 День тому

    I love you

  • @skybabe1959
    @skybabe1959 2 дні тому

    Ed Sheeran doesn't and I love it!!! I love when people sing in there native accent. Ed is the best!!!!

  • @Dave5400
    @Dave5400 2 дні тому

    I like how Dutch for "sound" is "klank" which is basically clank.

  • @SpencerYonce
    @SpencerYonce 2 дні тому

    Swim is a noun. “Let’s go for a swim”

  • @denizsincar29
    @denizsincar29 2 дні тому

    Can i have a bo'le of wa'er? Sorry what??? A bo''le of wa'er. I din't quite get what ya say. A bo''le... Of wa'er. Ladies and jen'leman, who un'erstands cocknies?

  • @denizsincar29
    @denizsincar29 2 дні тому

    the word «brazil» in portuguese sounds like braziu.

  • @artugert
    @artugert 2 дні тому

    22:21 Can you elaborate on the transatlantic accent being "fake to an extent"?

  • @paulfrels3590
    @paulfrels3590 3 дні тому

    Shena Easton ……. Her normal voice is almost unintelligible to me. An old yank here

  • @rocknepoovey4381
    @rocknepoovey4381 3 дні тому

    Paused @ 0:00 -- the reason they sound like that is mimicry- they don't hear godawful singing from America... they won't sound godawful like how they normally do...

  • @neilsshed2755
    @neilsshed2755 3 дні тому

    awesome accents man, espescially the roadman

  • @chucku00
    @chucku00 3 дні тому

    We could say borrowed French words pronounciation between the US and UK is... _coupé-décalé._ So, let's dance! En tant que français, cette scène de répartition m'a fracassé les méninges et transformé ma matière grise en fricassée !

  • @agustingimenez4899
    @agustingimenez4899 3 дні тому

    Awesome video. I studied Chinese for many years, but not having lived in China, except for a couple of months, has hindered my learning process. Let me pick on a couple minor points, as an obsessive language learner that I am. The gender for the french word 'beurre' is masculine. And you can definitely say 'una leche' in Spanish, in a familiar context. At a bar, you can order 'a beer' after all, right? Anyway, it was still a brilliant introduction to the concept of measure words. Thanks for the video.

  • @stumpydog87
    @stumpydog87 4 дні тому

    A touch of Basil Fawlty.

  • @serignetine8856
    @serignetine8856 4 дні тому

    ❤❤

  • @radiojet1429
    @radiojet1429 4 дні тому

    Great explanations - thanks! Paul McCartney has acquired a BBC accent. over the years. His Liverpuddlian accent has disappeared.

  • @Dreador.
    @Dreador. 4 дні тому

    Only one that sounded wrong was ice I’d say it normal not like a:s more i:s

  • @JCMcGee
    @JCMcGee 4 дні тому

    How are you defining "vowel"?

  • @z0h33y
    @z0h33y 5 днів тому

    Anyone else here after listening to the voice actor for the character Erenville in Final Fantasy XIV?

  • @Shanghai_Knife_Dude
    @Shanghai_Knife_Dude 5 днів тому

    A bachelor could also be measured by 条。 一条光棍。

  • @Shanghai_Knife_Dude
    @Shanghai_Knife_Dude 5 днів тому

    老胡, 你好牛逼, 居然还知道54和vernacular。

  • @funefulla1
    @funefulla1 5 днів тому

    I'm planning a trip to the Scotland Highlands and then on to the Hebridean Island chain with a friend coming up soon. This video is great information about how to break the language down overall in a quick session, maybe not to speak it, but at least understand what I'm hearing. I love the relation to German as I took 4 years in high school and college and had no idea the strong connection. It makes it more interesting because I can already understand the German, so I can apply what I already know. I love the video at the end with the view of listening to speakers flowing into another accent and talking about how it is speaking and keeping languages.

  • @vishalgautamm
    @vishalgautamm 6 днів тому

    what nonsense... context always wins. tones dont matter!

    • @DaveHuxtableLanguages
      @DaveHuxtableLanguages 6 днів тому

      If that were true tones would no longer exist. Context helps when buying fruit, but accurate tones are essential when giving a business presentation or a formal talk.

  • @kennethau7289
    @kennethau7289 7 днів тому

    Your chinese language is so good! Even better than local Hong Konger who mother tongue are Cantonese

  • @diegonochebuena2416
    @diegonochebuena2416 7 днів тому

    Wow, New video ! Big fan here. Greetings from Mexico !

  • @Rationalific
    @Rationalific 7 днів тому

    There are a number of reasons to call Mandarin "Mandarin" rather than "Chinese". 1) English is not Chinese, so how they refer to things in Chinese doesn't need to affect English speakers. (And I recognize that English speakers can also call Mandarin "Chinese".) 2) American and British Englishes are dialect groups, not languages. Mandarin is a separate language, no matter its designation in Chinese. Cantonese, Yue, Hakka, and others are different related languages, like Romanian when compared to French. But the various of dialects of Mandarin across China do form a more or less mutually-intelligible language, like various English dialects around the world do. 3) Yes, an authoritarian regime does not want any sense of sub-national sentiment, that's clear. That doesn't mean we have to follow along. 4) Aren't you the same guy who called Scots a language, when I could understand everything you were saying in that video, yet a Mandarin speaker would have no idea what a Hokkien speaker is saying?

    • @skyworm8006
      @skyworm8006 2 дні тому

      Language is not a linguistically-determined concept, for living languages it's largely a political matter, or drawing along the lines of groups independent of speech. And this happens across the board so attempting to assert some linguistic meaning when there is none is stupid as it is readily contradicted. Look at Scandinavia for example. Or what about Malay and Bahasa Indonesia. Essentially what counts here is is states and the territory they control. Their standard 'tongue' and standard schooling, and their orthography / literary language. Those tongues in China so distinct that there is no mutual intelligibility are soon to die off like those tongues in Europe and elsewhere did and are still. It is obvious how and why that happens.

    • @Rationalific
      @Rationalific День тому

      ​@@skyworm8006 So your argument appears to be "language is not linguistically-determined" (although "linguistically" is the adverbial form related to "language"). Instead, languages are "political". In essence, you are saying that everyone has to agree with a nationalist at best and non-pluralistic-imperialist at worst definition of "language". If so, you can use that definition, but I don't agree with it. Indonesian also has an issue, as it is a dialect group of Malay, and most natives in Indonesia don't have that as their native language. It's another structure to impose a rigid ruling orthodoxy over a pluralistic nation. But "Malay" is also the language of "Malaysia", and so I can understand the reticence to adopt that as the name of the language of a far larger and more populous country. Then again, Americans didn't name American English "the American language", but rather kept "English", so there are examples to the contrary as well, and the Indonesian lingua franca could very well have remained being called Malay. I personally use the term Indonesian when I talk about it (which is rarely), because if I were to use the term "Malay" to mean "Indonesian", I would not be understood well, as that is abnormal usage. However, everyone (with basic knowledge) understands what Mandarin is, and that (along with "Chinese") is a common name in English for the official language of China, so I have no problem referring to it as Mandarin.

  • @randomletter-5i4
    @randomletter-5i4 7 днів тому

    I also don't think you have to think to sing in a different accent... singing must access different connections. My mother had a stroke and could not speak but she could sing ...and I notice my driving skills improve tenfold when I am singing...all stress disappears.

  • @972aida
    @972aida 7 днів тому

    one of my new fav edutainment vids on Chinese) .......................................................... p.s. would you care to learn Tatar?

  • @smith-qk5xz
    @smith-qk5xz 8 днів тому

    Beurre is actually masculine. "Le beurre", not "la beurre". Great video tho

  • @user-ti8ii1or1c
    @user-ti8ii1or1c 8 днів тому

    哇 你是第一个区分了官话和普通话的人诶 我周围的人可能也就默认官话是国语 但四川话 西北话可能也是官话 但不是普通话 你很棒🎉

  • @Giotto-ev9hc
    @Giotto-ev9hc 9 днів тому

    11:14 It seems not Guangxi dialect. It's Mandarin in a broad Guangxi accent.

    • @DaveHuxtableLanguages
      @DaveHuxtableLanguages 8 днів тому

      Precisely. The point is that speakers of different dialects use their own pronunciation of the characters when reading 白话文 aloud.

  • @LongTailCat3
    @LongTailCat3 9 днів тому

    01:30 Note: In Québec, we actually do this instead.

  • @vatnidd
    @vatnidd 9 днів тому

    I'm a Hong Konger and I personally prefer saying "Chinese" to mean a family languages instead of "the Chinese language". Just because Chinese people do it, it doesn't mean it's a good argument to do the same thing in English. I definitely prefer saying "Mandarin" because I want to go against Mandarin-centrism and draw attention to the vast linguistic diversity.

    • @brauljo
      @brauljo 7 днів тому

      aɪ səspɛktɪd hɪz ɑɹɡjəmɪnt wəz wik. ɪt's ðə seɪm θiŋ wɪθ kʰæstɪliɪn biiŋ kʰɑld spænɪʃ hwɛn ðɛɹ ɑɹ əðɚ spænɪʃ leɪŋɡwɪʤɪz. ¿du ju kʰɑl mændɚɪn 普通话 oɹ du ju kʰɑl ɪt 1 əv ði əðɚ neɪmz?

    • @vatnidd
      @vatnidd 7 днів тому

      @@brauljo I say 普通話 or 官話 if referring to the standard variety, and 官話 if I'm specifying other nonstandard varieties of Mandarin.

    • @hayabusa1329
      @hayabusa1329 6 днів тому

      Exactly. Chinese is just a group of languages and dialects not a single language.

    • @prodtheontar
      @prodtheontar 5 днів тому

      ​@@brauljowhy did you transcribe your comment in broad ipa

    • @Vaskak12
      @Vaskak12 4 дні тому

      hong konger? so British

  • @Alasterius41
    @Alasterius41 10 днів тому

    No, we don’t call it 国语 in Singapore. We call it “中文” or “Chinese” in Singapore. We rarely call it Mandarin either and we almost NEVER say it “普通话” in Singapore

    • @DaveHuxtableLanguages
      @DaveHuxtableLanguages 10 днів тому

      Someone told me it was called 华语 in Singapore.

    • @GaleAeras
      @GaleAeras 9 днів тому

      @@DaveHuxtableLanguages It's both. I'm from Malaysia, just north of Singapore, and we also call it 中文 or 华语.

  • @Top1__Ukraine
    @Top1__Ukraine 10 днів тому

    I`m from Ukraine and we sometimes say keejiv and sometiomes keev

  • @michaelluscombe1907
    @michaelluscombe1907 10 днів тому

    When were the Turks not running their own country? I don't understand that part, to be honest.

  • @kaleoscreations8069
    @kaleoscreations8069 11 днів тому

    2:40 it's actually 目标 mùbiaō

    • @DaveHuxtableLanguages
      @DaveHuxtableLanguages 10 днів тому

      Yes, someone else pointed that out. Can’t believe I’ve been getting that doubly wrong.

  • @kori228
    @kori228 11 днів тому

    the IPA (pronunciation slide) for Wu and especially Cantonese need to be fixed 人人生而自由在尊嚴和權利上一律平等 ȵiŋȵiŋ səŋ ə z̩jɤ tsɛ tsənȵi wu dʑiøli zaŋ ɪlɪ biŋtəŋ jɐnjɐn sɐŋ ji tsijɐʊ tsoi tsynjim wo kynlei sœŋ jɐt lɵt pʰɪŋtɐŋ

    • @DaveHuxtableLanguages
      @DaveHuxtableLanguages 10 днів тому

      Hi. Many thanks for pointing that out. Sadly, there’s no way to change a video once it’s live.

  • @saion5553
    @saion5553 11 днів тому

    Your Chinese pronunciation is great!

  • @LuqmanMichel
    @LuqmanMichel 11 днів тому

    We don't pronounce the word as 'pronounciation' but as 'pronunciation'. That may be Irish accent taught by Rosetta.

  • @gregianyan5174
    @gregianyan5174 11 днів тому

    I wonder why 100 years after the collapse of the Ottomans. Turks realized they were not turkeys. they should have changed the name to the original name Byzantine.

  • @kzng2403
    @kzng2403 11 днів тому

    I am a Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese user, when we read the standard written texts, we can automatically read and translate them in Cantonese, changing just a few words and verbs with those more often used in Cantonese. Because there’s no common standard for Cantonese texts, reading them is really challenging, especially those published in Hong Kong, they prefer to casually combine characters with similar pronunciations and radicals to write Cantonese characters. However, these characters mostly have original characters still used in standard written language, which are more commonly understood by most people. Additionally texts written in standard language are often written in shortest way possible, with more information, I’d rather write in standard language.

  • @jr_8292
    @jr_8292 11 днів тому

    Really interesting to think about this, especially on how Gen AI can help with endangered languages. My personal take is that linguists (and language learners) will need to remain resourceful and critical while Gen AI still spews out these incorrect things like "chatte" being the feminine word for "cat"! 🤣

  • @aftalavera
    @aftalavera 11 днів тому

    So?

  • @cheikhdiagne101
    @cheikhdiagne101 11 днів тому

    🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳👍🏿👍🏿

  • @hectorquinones5579
    @hectorquinones5579 11 днів тому

    How come I hadn't heard about you earlier?

  • @paulleesg77
    @paulleesg77 11 днів тому

    In Singapore, we call it 华语 (not 国语)

    • @DaveHuxtableLanguages
      @DaveHuxtableLanguages 11 днів тому

      Thanks for pointing that out. I discovered that when it was too late to make the edit.

  • @wanderingorganist
    @wanderingorganist 12 днів тому

    Thank you, very interesting and informative. Solely on a technical point, i found the zooming in and out a little disconcerting. The L/R displacement less so. I'm probably a minority of one, though.

    • @DaveHuxtableLanguages
      @DaveHuxtableLanguages 12 днів тому

      Glad to hear you liked it. And thanks for the feedback about the camera movements. Always good to know.