"Tippi" wrote in message
ps.com...
On Oct 21, 2:54 am, "Ray" wrote:
Is there anyone out there who can provide me with the correct
pronunciation
of Fermented Black Bean Paste as spoken in Cantonese and also in
Mandarin ?

Phonetic English, if possible or as close as you can get. TIA

First of all, you cannot just use phonetic English for the exact
pronunciation of Chinese, because the latter has tones - 4 in Mandarin
and 9 in Cantonese, which if you get wrong would mean something
different, could be positively hilarious or entirely rude.

True, but if you're in a food store, I've found that most merchants
will make the effort to understand you, even in China. Make an eating
motion while speaking the phonetic part and laugh if you're misunderstood.

Here's the phonetics for the most common kind:

dòu sha

I don't know my Chinese that well, but was taught the accent
on the "o" indicates a falling pitch and the one over the "a" indicates a
steady pitch that is double-long. Absolute pitch
isn't necessary. Local Chinese dialects vary a great deal, even
within Mandarin or Cantonese, if you say it several times,
you'll be understood - they'll correct you.

Don't worry if you say something ridiculous, all foreign language
learners sound silly from time to time.

Regards,

Linda Grail


What do you want to do? go to the store and buy them? I can find
pictures to help you, like
http://www.8g123.com/UserDocument/07...917_115453.jpg

However, "fermented black bean paste" is ambiguous. Do you mean
fermented black beans - these are separate beans, black in colour
fermented black bean sauce - the above beans, chopped up and made into
a sauce
femented bean paste - dark yellow in colour with visible beans
fermented mashed bean paste - brown in colour and uniform in texture
(this is what the picture shows)




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