Locals refuse to speak the same language as you

Yeah but that’s not what the OP is on about, he’s not talking about learning Chinese, he’s talking about just going about his day speaking the local lingua franca and not making a big deal of it. It’s seriously one of the most annoying things about Taiwan.

It can be. When I went to Sabah I spoke Mandarin to a bunch of people, it seemed all the local Chinese could speak it. Never did I even get a flicker of surprise, very refreshing. On the way back, passing the duty free in the airport, I spoke Chinese to my wife. One of the ladies working there literally screamed “ta hui shuo zhongwen” a look of primeval, yet amused shock on her face. I could only laugh :slight_smile:

Annoying at times, but I just go with the flow most days. My Chinese is getting a bit rusty but is good enough to obviate these things most often.

[quote=“Tempo Gain”]It can be. When I went to Sabah I spoke Mandarin to a bunch of people, it seemed all the local Chinese could speak it. Never did I even get a flicker of surprise, very refreshing. On the way back, passing the duty free in the airport, I spoke Chinese to my wife. One of the ladies working there literally screamed “ta hui shuo zhongwen” a look of primeval, yet amused shock on her face. I could only laugh :slight_smile:

Annoying at times, but I just go with the flow most days. My Chinese is getting a bit rusty but is good enough to obviate these things most often.[/quote]

I had the same experience in Sabah. At times I wanted to scream in surprise : " You are not surprised that I speak Chinese !!!".

I understand and, like I said, it used to bug me, too. Now I figure, if a shopkeeper or person on the street is shocked that I can speak Chinese, I’m only going to deal with that person this one time, so who cares? My Chinese-speaking friends, coworkers, and whomever I interact with on a regular basis don’t treat me like a sideshow freak, and I appreciate that.

I guess my point is, try to let their shock roll off you like water off a duck’s back. I know this isn’t always easy because I still get crazy about the driving habits here…I’m working on that :aiyo:

Gosh, what a non-issue this thread is. I’ve always laughed at expats hanging out in places like Carnegies and then whining they never get a chance to practice their Chinese. I speak the language fluently, and I don’t care if some random clerk knows that I do or not. If you really care about those situations, then I submit to you that your level of fluency isn’t all that high. You can have friends here who will converse with you all in Mando all day long, on any topic under sun, if that is what you really desire. Who cares if some random person you’ll never meet again denies you the chance to demonstrate your oh-so-fluent use of the phrase, “duoshao qian?”

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