Hi,

Clearly some of his pronounciation was off, or else he got the words incorrect. However, at least he had the guts after studying for a short time to try out what he has learned. He seems dedicated, so give this guy some more time and he'll probably be really good.

I think all beginners, including myself in that category, should learn phrases that allow you to hear more Chinese, such as 'Could you say that again?', 'Please speak slower', 'What?', 'What is that called?', and so on.


Justin

Justin, DC area,

I would say that his Chinese is not that bad, as least I can understand.
The first male waiter did not understand his English instead or he was nervous upon camrea that he told the guest "thank you " in Chinese instead of "please" . The waiter speaks Mandrine actually.

Yin yang, Beijing, China

Hey, LSF, if you've been to London's Chinatown recently, you'll find a lot of staff at the restaurants and supermarkets speak Mandarin. I'm going to Taiwan soon so am brushing up my Mandarin. My Cantonese is ok and I have to confess that I tend to cheat and put a different accent to what I know in Cantonese to make it sound Mandarin!!!

Eileen, London,

Anyone else think it odd he visited a Cantonese restaurant to attempt to speak Mandarin?

LSF, London,

Ok, that was hilarious!

As a Brit living in China, I found that so funny. I have only been here for six months, and I know my Chinese leaves a hell of a lot to be desired, but even I can do better than that!

I don't think he understood the rules of Pinyin, and tried to pronounce things as if they were English.

Next time, do more than five minutes of research before trying out a language.

Natalie, Pingxiang, Jiangxi

If the Times aim to promote Chinese learning with this video then I can tell them it's gone completely wrong. If anything, this video only discourages and scares people away from the language. It gives or enhances the impression that Chinese is indeed difficult for westerners, which is not true.

Of course learning any language from scratch is difficult and for a language as different for an English as Chinese, there are many more obstacles than say another European language but I believe as some of the commentators above would tell you, it's not nearly as difficult as people make it out to be. All you need is enthusiasm, a bit of hard work and a good teacher.

To those who are thinking about picking up Chinese, keep your interest up for it is the key in learning everything. Good luck and if you need any help, come to Sussex Uni. and ask for Gale the Chinese. ; )

Gale the Chinese, Brighton, England

Just a wild, freakish idea, but perhaps The Times could consult a bilingual Chinese person for this sort of video? I mean a teacher, not a waiter. Any beginning student of Chinese will at least know that Ben Macintyre doesn't know what he's talking about. The Times simply filmed an ignorant person going to a restaurant with a phrasebook, and filed it as "News".

Dave GC, Quanzhou, China

Good try mate, but ... sigh ... I'm not quite sure what to say. Just don't be discouraged from learning Chinese after this if you are actually serious about it.

Kevin S., Beijing, China

Yep, that was pretty embarrassing, I couldn't watch, He clearly demonstrates the pointlessness of reading Chinese from a book without knowing the correct pronounciation. I don't understand why he has not listened to the MP3s provided, surely this negates the entire point of the exercise.

Philip Sen, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Ben McIntyre needs a few more lessons in correct intonation. I hope we are not expected to learn from his visit to the restaurant!

s albert, london, mddx

I can’t find anywhere to comment on the Grand Cuisine article. However, it ignores my two favourite provinces – Yunnan and Xinjiang, and appears to be based on the Chinese food that has made it abroad.

Possibly some Shanghai restaurants have light and delicate food, but generally my experience in the city of those restaurants claiming to be local is of oil and chilli leading to indigestion – not as bad as Hunan indigestion though.

Mike Clark, Shenzhen, Guangdong

Boy, this is dangerous. It's all very well learning the literal meaning of words but if you don't also know the colloquial usage…. In many parts of China the terms for chicken and bus (pronounced correctly) are virtually synonymous with a certain type of waitress, and if you ask for both then that is what you will get – or the cold shoulder. Of course if you’d asked for duck then you would have got the waiter.

Regarding the Fun-etics bit. Yes, if you are in Beijing “like” is pronounced as given, but in much of the country it is pronounced as xifan, and train “huoche” is pronounced fuoche, etc. There are many other such traps. If you get the tone right then it will be understood, but I think that showing pinyin without indicating the tones is pointless.

Mike Clark, Shenzhen, Guangdong

Enjoying this - but it's hard!!

Pat Spurgeon, Stowmarket, UK