Some 2 years back when I started learning Japanese in a language school, one of my classmates told me a bit about Chinese. He told me about the 4 tones, how the same syllables said in different tone would mean something completely different. I think he mentioned a little singsong for kids that goes 'Li li li li li ...' and is actually a story about some old fisherman. Then he said something that discouraged me from making any attempts at starting to learn the language at the time.
He said that when learning to pronounce Chinese, it is necessary to have someone who will guide you, and correct your mistakes. A native speaker, or at least someone who's really good at it. Otherwise you don't stand a chance of learning it right.
I didn't have the time to start taking Chinese classes at that time, so I decided to postpone any efforts for a few years.
I still don't have time to start taking classes, but when I heard that folks at jpod101 are launching a Chinese site, I simply couldn't resist.
And so I came here and hit the wall with the pronunciation. I'm slowly starting to distinguish the words in a spoken dialog, provided it's simple and I've heard it enough times - I'm talking basic bootcamp and beginner lessons here.
But how do I learn to pronounce? Is there a way to learn it on my own? And how can I be sure I've got it right?
Furthermore, it's obviously crucial to learn and understand pinyin as soon as possible.
I guess there is lot of information on pinyin on the net, but some simple and comprehensive explanation is something I'd expect to find in this site's reference materials. Will I be able to find it there any time soon?