托的’s blog on language and the ensuing discussion make some interesting points. It reminds me of my personal experience of learning English.
When I first learned to speak English in the mid 1980s, I tried hard to imitate the American accent. Back then, the only resource (and a very good one) was the Voice of America. I started with Special English, a program targeting beginners using a small set of words and broadcast very slowly but clearly. To this day, I still think this is the best resource for English pronunciation. I was lucky to find it as early as I did. I loved to listen to programs such as Words and Their Stories, the American Mosaic. Words and Their Stories are made up of stories about American slangs. The American Mosaic depicts life and social phenomena in the US. Not only did I learn many English words through these programs, but I also, as a boy in a faraway nation who is strongly interested in the American culture, got a close and vivid look at what it was like to live in America. While there were other controversies on VOA offerings, as an English learner, I am greatly appreciative of the English programs it broadcast. I am glad to see now it all the programs available online. With the convenience of listening to it any time anywhere, today’s English learners probably cannot picture what it was like for me to wait on a certain time, search through the noises on a short-wave radio on countless nights, and the joy of discovering the most authentic pronunciation.
Thank you, VOA.
Posted by Shamu at October 9, 2004 10:50 PMI have a very good friend who is oringinally from Anhui. He, when young, also listened to the very same programs on VOA as you did, and his English is very good with excellent accent. I do not know any statistics about the programs, but now I am acquainted with two individuals whose ability in English has benefited significantly from the VOA broadcasts. I am envious, wishing that China had similiar programs for English speakers (perhaps they do, I am just unaware of them if they do exist).
Posted by: JFS at October 10, 2004 01:16 AMI can well imagine how you looked forward to those programs back then. :)
P.S. Check this out. I hope you get what I mean. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=74299&dict=CALD
Posted by: Yan at October 10, 2004 04:15 PMJFS: I'm sure if there does not exist one, with the number of people learning Chinese, there will be one program like the VOA. (Or maybe you should start a business doing this!)
P.S. My dad's hometown (我的籍贯）is also Anhui!
Posted by: shamu at October 10, 2004 08:08 PM