Beijing (Er Hua) Rap

I found this song/rap through a post made by 宝茹, and I just couldn’t help but like it. Maybe it’s because it’s been a super long time since I last heard any er hua? Maybe it’s because this is the first I’ve heard a Beijing (er hua) rap song? Or maybe it’s because all I hear in the song is “r..er.. er…er….er..” hAHa

It definitely brings back great memories of my friends and I discussing when you should and should not add an “er (儿)”. We decided in the end that if you want to be a true Beijinger, you should add an “er (儿)” to every possible word.

For example, 我是赖晓音 = wor shir lair xiar yin (just think pirates… arrr!)

And I know I shouldn’t compare, but the rap is almost on the same level as Jay Chou don’t you think?

I mean, it’s as if Beijing rap attempts to mash as many “er (儿)”s into one sentence, and the Taiwanese do a complete 180° by trying to put as few “er (儿)”s into one sentence!

Could it be that maybe their hate for each other has caused their accents to be almost opposite one another?

Either way, I personally find both “er hua” and “slur hua” really annoying if used excessively. Of course, I’ve got a much higher tolerance for the “slur hua” since that’s all I was raised on… But I did notice that after 6 months in Beijing, I found myself wincing quite a lot. I even told my parents off for teaching me the wrong tones etc!

The mild forms of both “er hua” and “slur hua” are quite nice to listen to though.
Sort of like the icing on a cake – fine without it, but oh so much sweeter with it.