I have a few questions about Mandarin; try to answer as many as you can… Thanks! Ok, whenever I speak to my friend in Mandarin, he pronounces the "zh" sound like a regular "z" and the "sh" found like an "s" sound. Is this correct? He is a native speaker so I assume it is right.
Also, whenever we talk in Mandarin, he has to speak slowly in order for me to understand him, how can I improve my listening skills when I listen to a native speaker speak at his normal rate?
One more…. Is there a website or book with audio that can help my pronunciation when speaking Mandarin?
My friend is from Beijing.
Thanks!