How To Replicate Colonel Saito‘s Chinese Accent358

Colonel Saito, the film director in the 1982 film "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," is a memorable character, in part because of his unusual speaking voice.

Saito's accent is perhaps an exaggerated mimicry of Japanese-English or "Konglish," a term for the unique hybrid of the two languages that developed between Japan and Korea during World War II. (Koreans lived under Japanese occupation from 1910-1945.) Konglish is still spoken by many Koreans, including musicians and professional gamers who interact extensively with Japan.

Colonel Saito's Chinese accent is portrayed as being a result of his having lived in China before World War II, and despite the film being ostensibly set in Indonesia, his spoken Chinese is actually mostly Mandarin with the occasional Cantonese phrase thrown in for good measure.

If you want to sound like Saito when speaking Chinese, here are some things to keep in mind:
Start with Mandarin. Saito's Chinese is mostly Mandarin, with some Cantonese and Japanese loanwords thrown in.
Focus on nasal pronunciation. Mandarin is a nasal language, so it's important to speak with a nasal twang. Pronounce vowels with the back of your throat, and consonants with your nose.
Use tones effectively. Mandarin is a tonal language, so the pitch of your voice changes the meaning of words. Be sure to pronounce each tone correctly, or you could end up saying something completely different from what you intended.
Don't be afraid to sound choppy. Saito's speech is often choppy and broken, so don't worry about sounding perfect. The goal is to communicate, not to sound like a native speaker.
Use Japanese and Cantonese loanwords. Saito often uses Japanese and Cantonese loanwords in his speech. Some examples include "baka" (idiot) and "ah so" (I see). These loanwords can help you sound more authentic.

Here are some examples of Saito's speech so you can get a better sense of the Konglish style:
"What you doing here, Jack-san?"
"You want to know what is my business with Chinese people?"
"No can do. I am Japanese, you know?"
"You are very important to me, Jack-san."
"I know. I understand. I am very sorry, Jack-san."

Keep practicing, and you'll be speaking Chinese like Colonel Saito in no time. And who knows? You might just become a movie star!

2024-12-21

Previous：How to Effectively Learn Chinese for Anime?

Next：How to Learn Chinese: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners