Mandarin Tone Trainer
Learning and science
language learning
SHOW HN2019
How HN took it
5 positive, 8 neutral or asking, 6 mixed, 20 critical, out of 39 comments about the project. Thread score -0.36.
Performance: 1 for, 9 againstExecution: 0 for, 8 againstDesign: 2 for, 2 againstIdea: 2 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Visualisations of pitch contour are useful
From 2 comments
It's great to have a tool like this be available without any software installation. I remember when I first started having Chinese lessons, my teacher used some Windows-based…
rahimnathwani on HNThis is GREAT. I have always had an issue with tone 2 and 3 but it turns out I have this tiny dip before the rise in my tone 2. It took a while looking at the tone patterns…
drenvuk on HN
Useful tool with no installation needed
From 1 comment
It's great to have a tool like this be available without any software installation. I remember when I first started having Chinese lessons, my teacher used some Windows-based…
rahimnathwani on HN
Objections
Tone classifier often misidentifies tones, especially third tone
From 5 comments
It's not really working for me or my girlfriend (native speaker). We can't get past 喝(hē) (tone 1). It keeps thinking it's a third tone.
yellow_lead on HNThis is a nice idea, but I think it needs work. It classified almost every tone that I spoke as 3rd tone. Granted, I'm not native, but I speak well enough that my 4th tone…
DiogenesKynikos on HNThis is a really cool idea, but it doesn't seem to work. I enunciated each of the tones, and the only one it recognized correctly was third tone.
andrezsanchez on HNDoesn't work... it doesn't work It only seems to check the frequency. The shape doesn't seem to matter, and i the shape would be correct, it classifies as incorrect
jbverschoor on HNIt's a good idea but (a) it doesn't actually work (tones get miscategorized as attested by the number of native speakers in comments who are having trouble) and (b) practicing…
ridaj on HN
Blocks page until microphone access is granted
From 2 comments
Please do not block "using the website" until someone gives you access to the microphone. Simply make the parts of the page that rely on the microphone not work, and make it…
TheRealPomax on HNI instinctively blocked access before reading the page because there was no way for me to read what the page was about before granting access -- and there still isn't, because it…
solidsnack9000 on HN
Does not work in Safari or Firefox
From 3 comments
Doesn't work on Safari or Vivaldi on Mac OS. After working on tones, I proudly showed them off to a Chinese friend. "Are you saying it or singing it?" he asked. It was then I…
pseingatl on HNWish I could use this but doesn't work with Firefox or Safari :c
f00_ on HNI can't play the teacher's vocal pitch. It errors out in both Chrome and Safari. Love the idea, though.
devin on HN
Requests
Sentence-level feedback rather than single words
From 2 comments
It's a good idea but (a) it doesn't actually work (tones get miscategorized as attested by the number of native speakers in comments who are having trouble) and (b) practicing…
ridaj on HNThis tool is exactly what I wanted whenever I was first learning pronunciation. I've found myself using siri to check my general pronunciation in longer sentences. This tool with…
pascoej on HN
Real-time pitch feedback
From 1 comment
This is fantastic, but would really love if I got realtime feedback on my main pitch as I am making it, instead of the full spectrogram 1-5 seconds later. Like a little line chart.
rckoepke on HN
Support for other languages
From 1 comment
I haven't managed to get this working yet on my phone but: would it be possible for the same code to be used for the tones of other languages?
baot on HN
Questions
Is it connected to speakgoodchinese?
From 1 comment
does it have some connections (in term of inspiration/algorithm etc.) with speakgoodchinese ? (an opensource project to help practice tone) http://www.speakgoodchinese.org/…
allan_s on HN
What is microphone access needed for?
From 1 comment
Didn't get past the microphone permission request. What is it needed for? It could be a good idea to first warn the user that it will be requested and how it will be used. Also,…
d33 on HN
Alternatives named
Glossika
From 1 comment
If someone wants to learn how to speak chinese, the best way IMO is to repeat and mimic the sound of a native speaker over and over again. I used Glossika (glossika.com) 3 or 4…
claylimo on HN
Pimsleur
From 1 comment
The Pimsleur Method inverts those phases and focuses on speaking and listening first. I've found it to be quite effective.
faitswulff on HN
Duolingo
From 1 comment
Very interesting. Just because of the visualization I learned that my voice tends to have too much "tremolo" in the first tone and that I may be starting the third tone too low.…
bayesian_horse on HN
speakgoodchinese
From 1 comment
does it have some connections (in term of inspiration/algorithm etc.) with speakgoodchinese ? (an opensource project to help practice tone) http://www.speakgoodchinese.org/…
allan_s on HN