Sitting in a pocket-sized office, meaning roughly 30 square feet between the low white-washed walls, I noted some English tips from an older Chinese man. He schooled me on how to intonate. From his point of view, I just don’t speak my own language with enough voice variation. Among other things, he proclaimed that I don’t make a z sound at the end of the word “bites”. Try saying “buses” out-loud and notice the z sound at the end. Is the z sound there for “bites”? This stubborn man and I argued over that small point for five minutes. And for two hours, I was schooled – Chinese-style.
The man’s name is Mr. Sun. He actually has a US passport, but speaking with him for a few minutes reveals that English is not his mother tongue. His business in Hong Kong is tutoring high-profile Chinese business men who don’t want their bosses knowing that they need such classes. Mr. Sun explains that it’s a loss of face to announce that you need extra help, especially in the English department.
This was not my first meeting with Mr. Sun. We were introduced about a year ago concerning a video that he proposed to film on how to speak English. He’s finally ready with script, film studio, director, and yours truly as lead western actress.
I have over 300 lines in the video, which do not have to be memorized. Mr. Sun’s video format is line-by-line instruction with Chinese commentary in between. With so many lines and so much invested in this video, Mr. Sun wants to ensure that I enunciate, intonate and pronounce my z’s. I just refuse to sound a z at the end of “bites.”
Later this week, I’ll be treated to a dinner with the director and other minor actors at an upscale Chinese restaurant. No doubt, there will be lots of expensive meats and wine. Although Aaron has 20 lines in this film too, he has bigger fish to fry and won’t be attending the dinner.
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