12/15   What is the best way for a Cantonese speaker to learn to speak
        Mandarin?
        \_ The best way is still the stupiest way.  Go to Beijing
           and stay there for 3-4 month.  You will be suprised how
           fast you pick up the language.  For Northerners like us,
           it is the Cantonese which is more complicated (8 tones vs. 4)
        \_ buy a good pen to write on your hand with.  as far as i can
           tell this is the most widley used method.
        \_ Go to a massage parlor.
        \_ start speaking mandarin, and don't look back.
        \_ Don't try putting a mandarin accent on Cantonese words.  It sounds
           terrible.
                \_ Dude it all sounds the same.  I think it's all a plot to
                   confuse the white people.  And get rid of that idiotic
                   scribble while you're at it, will you?  Thanks.  -John
           \_ "I am not afraid of Heaven.  I am not afraid of Hell.  But I
               tremble in fear when a Cantonese tries to speak Mandarin."
               tremble with fear when a Cantonese tries to speak Mandarin."
        \_ I learned when I had to watch the Mandarin TV shows with subtitiles
           on Ch66 with a Taiwanese dormmate in my first year of college
           because I had no TV.  After a year I could speak slowly with a
           strong Cantonese accent.  After 12 more years I can now speak
           fluently with a little accent.  --- yuen