“ I’m pretty firmly in the camp that says one should explicitly focus on tones early on in Mandarin learning. I don’t think they will just come naturally later. But there’s no denying that people (especially those you spend lots of time with) can often understand a mistaken tone in context. That’s what happened here, so chalk one up for the don’t-worry-about-it side. That said, the head prof at Yuèmǔ University sometimes claims she’s probably the only person in the world who can understand my Mandarin. ”
Beijing Sounds — 北京的声儿 » Blog Archive » Zhonglish: ulterior motives