Dig Mandarin - another Pinyin Chart

 

On 30.7.24 I wrote to Digmandarin.com and they replied as follows:

From: caojing.digmandarin@gmail.com

To: luqmanmichel52@yahoo.com

Fri, 2 Aug at 16:35

Hi Luqman Michel,

Thank you for bringing these concerns to our attention.

We would like to clarify that all the text instructions provided in our guide are general descriptions of the corresponding initials. We understand that sometimes these descriptions might be hard to grasp, which is why we have created corresponding tutorial Pinyin videos to aid learners. You can find these videos on our website at Chinese Pronunciation Courses (https://www.digmandarin.com/chinese-language-courses/chinese-pronunciation-courses?pinyin).

To make the instructions clearer and more acceptable to learners, we often add a vowel afterward when pronouncing the initials to strengthen the pronunciation in our traditional Pinyin teaching method. For example, "b" is pronounced as "b+o" and "p" as "p+o." This method does not affect the spelling of Pinyin syllables but helps learners better understand the pronunciation.

We appreciate your feedback and hope this explanation helps clarify our approach.

Best regards,

Cao Jing

My note now: Keep in mind the b+o, p+o and all other consonants. This is what is detrimental to kids who are predisposed to shutting down. This is how Bopomofo was taught. 

Why would anyone ‘add a vowel afterward when pronouncing to strengthen the pronunciation’? When did Pinyin become the traditional teaching method? These extraneous sounds (extra vowel sounds added to consonants) cause kids to shut down from learning to read.

I then replied as follows:

发件人: Luqman Michel <luqmanmichel52@yahoo.com>

日期: 星期四, 2024年8月1日 上午5:04

收件人: Dig Mandarin <digmandarin@gmail.com>

主题: Re: 答复: Your pinyin chart

Dear Cao Jing,

Thank you very much for your prompt response.

Your pinyin chart is acceptable but I have questions on your ‘How to pronounce guide’.

It is detrimental to students who are predisposed to shutting down/disengaging from learning to read when confused.

These kids are the intelligent kids who are then wrongly classified as dyslexic.

For illustration purposes, let us take a few of your letters that contain extraneous sounds.

Letters B and P on your page at LINK for example will confuse many kids. The sounds of these two letters are exactly as taught under the Bopomofo system and are not the sounds applicable to pinyin.

If the letter B carries the sound as stated please let me know how a child will read the words in the B line – ba, bo, bai, bei, etc. - on your Pinyin chart at https://www.digmandarin.com/chinese-pinyin-chart.

The same question applies to the line across the letter P.

Please also look at your ‘How to pronounce N/L in Chinese Pinyin’ at LINK

For an example of how exactly these sounds should be pronounced please listen carefully to the sounds of consonants pronounced the way they should be. LINK

Feel free to check out the videos specifically prepared for kids who have disengaged from learning to read. LINK

I would be grateful for a response from you.

Kind regards,

Luqman Michel

I did not receive a reply to my response.

Further notes: This is the problem with the Chinese Culture of losing face. 'Losing face' is equal to losing the respect of others, and avoiding this situation ('saving face') is very important in Chinese culture. Therefore, they sweep the dirt under the carpet and pretend everything is hunky-dory.