Microsoft turns spoken English into spoken Mandarin

Re:Microsoft turns spoken English into spoken Mandarin – in ... by mpdaugherty on Thursday November 08, 2012 @05:06PM (#4760140)

I agree that it doesn't really sound like him, but the voice is far better than most Chinese computer voices that I've heard and is totally understandable.

Seems like my years of learning Chinese and living in China are about to become useless...

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Re:Microsoft turns spoken English into spoken Mandarin – in ... by boyter on Thursday November 08, 2012 @08:22PM (#4760799)

That was my opinion as well.

Actually I stopped learning Chinese and living in China because I discovered the following. They were learning English faster then I could learn Chinese, and I only needed to know enough to let them know I wasn't culturally insensitive.

Not sure where the quote was but it went along the lines of "Don't try to talk in their language, because you will make a hash of it and they will have the advantage."

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Re:Microsoft turns spoken English into spoken Mandarin – in ... by Groxx on Thursday November 08, 2012 @06:48PM (#4760533)

Thanks! The quality of the speaking is definitely not something I can judge, not knowing Chinese.

Are Chinese computer voices just flat-out worse than English ones, or is there something specific?

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