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What software is available which can record my voice and warn me about problems with my pronunciation and tones?

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I'm interested in any software of the kind, for studying whatever language. As far as I know, this is a very difficult task I've never heard of even a prototype. – fefe Dec 26 '11 at 10:55

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Rossetta Stone has that feature standard. I've not used it, but I have friends who have with great success. Unless you get the tone correct, the software doesn't let you advance to the next word. It's pretty impressive.

Don't know of any free options, though.

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I have Rossetta Stone and it does a pretty good job of getting the tones right. I think it's worth the investment even if you're taking a class... preferably before you take a class. Unfortunately for me, I sometimes miss the tone while listening to people talk. – Dan Andrews Dec 28 '11 at 21:53
Does it test tone combinations? If not, I would say its use is rather limited. – Olle Linge Aug 17 '12 at 6:18
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NTU has a very good one, and you can (I think) download it here: http://chinese.ntu.edu.tw/. It used to be free, but I don't know if they started changing. Also if you have Chinese friends you can ask them to correct your pronunciation.

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That looks great! At the bottom of the download page it says there's a three-month free trial. – Don Kirkby♦ Feb 10 '12 at 5:14
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Your options for doing this:

  1. Pay someone to tutor you and listen to your pronunciation and correct you. This is highly effective, but costs money.

  2. Use Google transate, Wiktionary or some other tool that take Chinese as an input and provides an audio option for you to listen where you can listen and attempt for your self. Semi-effective and free.

  3. Post on a learning forum and hope someone replies. Low effectiveness and free.

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You can try this drill.

It's repetitive and boring but it covers all tone combinations. It builds muscle memory and helps train your ear.

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Qooco Chinese does something like this. See http://www.qoocochinese.com/web/OurTechnology.html

Also with Praat this is possible but not easy as with Qooco Chinese. See http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/

John on Sinosplice explains how to use Praat for Chinese: http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2008/01/21/seeing-the-tones-of-mandarin-chinese-with-praat

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