Finding people who want to converse in normal Mandarin Chinese can be a challenge in Taiwan. You’ve got the above which is absolutely rampant among engineers and management types, they you’ve got folks who just want to speak English with you, then you’ve got the folks who mix in Taiwanese into their Chinese, then you’ve got the
Folks who just speak Taiwanese well. Then you’ve got My in laws who don’t like speaking Chinese at home
Cos they are Hakka. bUt the biggest problem of all
Is all rhe people who just communicate with their devices instead of the people beside them!
Why do some Taiwanese look unimpressed when you speak Chinese? Only a minute beforehand they were using silent hand gestures to tell the dumb foreigner some basic stuff.
Some even look a little irritated and stressed that you have not lived up to the stereotype they were expecting.
Two reasons:
First, wanting to sound sophisticated actually grows the lexicon. It’s one reason why the English lexicon is so ginormous, given its history of borrowing terms to imitate French folks, who were seen as sophisticates. If there’s wide enough comprehension among Chinese speakers of the English terms in question, then they are loanwords, not mere symptoms wannabe posing from people who refuse to speak “real Chinese.”
Second, it actually saves time to convey an identical message with fewer syllables, so everyone is going to say “APP” and “PO文” before they turn to whatever translations they might have invented. Only the French government today actively wastes time inventing French-sounding translations of loanwords for use in official documentation (the Real Academia Española also does this, for instance, by adopting the words like ‘uve’, but to a much lesser extent).
Oh, and my biggest problem with learning Chinese is dealing with the micro-aggression that comes from people who just can’t fathom that a white guy could learn their language.
“哇！你會講中文嗎？你真的厲害哦！”
They might as well have said: “Wow! You don’t fit my stereotype of the average non-Asian minority here. Amazing!”
I have recently adopted an attitude of total ignorance of the English language to force them to speak Chinese and give me a chance to learn and practice, by pretending to be from all kinds of non-English speaking countries. What I was not expecting was total disbelief on their part.
Some continue in English regardless - despite a total lack of response from me. Some start laughing as if I am just teasing them. Some even look a little upset as if I am ridiculing them. I have not yet met a Taiwanese who has believed me and I am a pretty good actor and look serious.
[quote=“ryanx”]Why do some Taiwanese look unimpressed when you speak Chinese? Only a minute beforehand they were using silent hand gestures to tell the dumb foreigner some basic stuff.
Some even look a little irritated and stressed that you have not lived up to the stereotype they were expecting.[/quote]
[quote=“ehophi”]Oh, and my biggest problem with learning Chinese is dealing with the micro-aggression that comes from people who just can’t fathom that a white guy could learn their language.
“哇！你會講中文嗎？你真的厲害哦！”
They might as well have said: “Wow! You don’t fit my stereotype of the average non-Asian minority here. Amazing!”[/quote]
Those are two completely opposite experiences. I wonder if they are location-specific.
[quote=“hansioux”][quote=“ryanx”]Why do some Taiwanese look unimpressed when you speak Chinese? Only a minute beforehand they were using silent hand gestures to tell the dumb foreigner some basic stuff.
Some even look a little irritated and stressed that you have not lived up to the stereotype they were expecting.[/quote]
[quote=“ehophi”]Oh, and my biggest problem with learning Chinese is dealing with the micro-aggression that comes from people who just can’t fathom that a white guy could learn their language.
“哇！你會講中文嗎？你真的厲害哦！”
They might as well have said: “Wow! You don’t fit my stereotype of the average non-Asian minority here. Amazing!”[/quote]
Those are two completely opposite experiences. I wonder if they are location-specific.[/quote]
They are not location-specific but people-specific. In the first instance - usually older people - they realise you are not as dumb as they imagined you to be but can’t be bothered to cover up their ignorance by heaping false praise on you, simply because they don’t give a shit. In the second instance - usually younger people - they realise you are smarter than they thought and cover up their embarrassment by the fake compliments.
That’s parts of it, but at their root cause I put it down to l’language competition’. Taiwanese are taught to see using English and learning English as a competitive edge thing. If you speak Chinese it sometimes upsets their original plan (focused on their own wants) and it seems to create a competitive situation in their heads.
It’s painful to be honest, go to Japan and it’s like night and day. Most people don’t give a shit about speaking English.
China is starting to be like Taiwan now, especially shanghai. I speak a lot of Chinese in other areas
But in our office and many encounters in Shanghai I’m blasted with English just like Taiwan! Yes I am very white which doesn’t help.
[quote=“frailtyfaith”]Hi,
As a native Chinese speaker, a lot of my friends asked me to help them with Chinese learning. To better understand the problem and develop my method of teaching them, I want to know: what is your biggest problem when learning Chinese?
Cheer!
Jieqiong Xu[/quote]
Facing facts is not easy.
For a foreigner to learn Chinese is like trying to join a club that will never accept you as a member.
Not easy to hear, of course.
[quote=“ryanx”]Why do some Taiwanese look unimpressed when you speak Chinese? Only a minute beforehand they were using silent hand gestures to tell the dumb foreigner some basic stuff.
Some even look a little irritated and stressed that you have not lived up to the stereotype they were expecting.[/quote]
Really??
If foreigners can speak Chinese, we feel amazing!!!
If cannot, we dont have any feeling or look down on you.
Maybe you can practice your Chinese with me.
I am good at speaking Chinese because I am a Taiwanese girl.
[quote=“frailtyfaith”]Hi,
As a native Chinese speaker, a lot of my friends asked me to help them with Chinese learning. To better understand the problem and develop my method of teaching them, I want to know: what is your biggest problem when learning Chinese?
Cheer!
Jieqiong Xu[/quote] I’ve never had a problem with grammar or other aspects of the spoken language. Memorizing characters is the hard part.
Encouragement for all Chinese learners
1 Like
Has anybody already said “Chinese”?
My biggest issue is the issue this child doesn’t have. Having someone like a mother and father or friend to spend hours and days and weeks and months with me practicing and tutoring would be better than sitting in class a few hours a day and then having no one to practice with which is what I’m stuck with right now.
I read through this thread earlier today and I think you said “Chinese” back in 2015.
edit: yeah, you.
I always say that I don’t have good memory but I am coherent.
Practice doesn’t put language in your head. Input does. Though having people to talk to does let you get better input (focused on things you want to talk about, hopefully). Admittedly that can be a challenge in Taiwan. Check out Chinese-language Toastmasters, or hang around a university campus and get into discussion groups or audit classes.
If someone is a beginner, the issue is what class is failing to do in the first place. Class shouldn’t just be getting a list of things the student needs to “practice” outside of class. If that’s what’s going on, why bother? Just buy the book.
Got garlic sauce instead of pesto tonight. I only have myself to blame. The poor old waitress clocked the cock-up and apologized to me after the meal. I’d ordered it, though, so she had nothing to apologise for. Huge great chunks of garlic in spaghetti that will be repeating on me for a fair while.
Pesto must be some weird loan word that nobody will understand when you say it.