this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023
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For example, English speakers commonly mix up your/you're or there/their/they're. I'm curious about similar mistakes in other languages.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I don't speak Bân-lâm-gú unfortunately. I just looked up those words, and they do sound slightly different!

  • 在: tsāi
  • 再: tsài
  • 應該: ing-kai
  • 因: in

(For Chinese learners reading this, please note that the tone markers in the romanization of Bân-lâm-gú (Southern Min, a group of languages including Hokkien, Taiwanese, etc.) is different from those used in Pinyin for Mandarin.)

I also looked up how these words are pronounced in Cantonese. They sure are really different! Mandarin really does have a lot more pairs of homophones and near-homophones compared to other dialects.

On a semi-related note, I think it's really sad that the majority of Chinese dialects are slowly being replaced by Mandarin.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

On a semi-related note, I think it’s really sad that the majority of Chinese dialects are slowly being replaced by Mandarin.

It really is. If not too disruptive, I always make a speaker clarify “which Chinese language” as I guess the propaganda + ignorance has worked leading many to believe there is just one language of China. …And it’s not just English treating it this way either.