Comments on: The Difficulty of the Chinese Language http://www.jdharper.com/wordpress/2006/08/28/the-difficulty-of-the-chinese-language/ Stuff worth writing about Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:33:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: J.D. http://www.jdharper.com/wordpress/2006/08/28/the-difficulty-of-the-chinese-language/#comment-49 J.D. Mon, 11 Sep 2006 04:02:16 +0000 http://www.jdharper.com/wordpress/2006/08/28/the-difficulty-of-the-chinese-language/#comment-49 Interesting. I didn't know that about the Chinese people. You're right, I had just assumed the Chinese were reserved based on the stereotype. I can imagine that any immigrant to a country that speaks a foreign language would generally be a lot quieter than he would be in his home country. I've always thought tonal languages were interesting things to think about, but I've always been glad to speak a non-tonal language. It would take a <em>lot</em> of getting used to. Interesting. I didn’t know that about the Chinese people. You’re right, I had just assumed the Chinese were reserved based on the stereotype. I can imagine that any immigrant to a country that speaks a foreign language would generally be a lot quieter than he would be in his home country.

I’ve always thought tonal languages were interesting things to think about, but I’ve always been glad to speak a non-tonal language. It would take a lot of getting used to.

]]> By: Allison http://www.jdharper.com/wordpress/2006/08/28/the-difficulty-of-the-chinese-language/#comment-44 Allison Fri, 08 Sep 2006 23:18:56 +0000 http://www.jdharper.com/wordpress/2006/08/28/the-difficulty-of-the-chinese-language/#comment-44 In my experience (which is, admittedly, somewhat limited, but I've visited Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong), Chinese people <i>aren't</i> all that reserved; they certainly don't conform to the quiet, unassuming, even cold stereotype that they've acquired in the U.S. Anyone who's stood on a street in China and been mobbed by people trying to sell them things or watched two people have what looks like a huge argument, then part laughing and slapping each others' backs, is unlikely to call Chinese people "quiet" at all. If anything, it seemed to me that the tonal nature of the Chinese language makes Chinese people seem louder than they actually are- and in comparison to other Asian cultures, particularly the Japanese (I just got back from two years there), I found the Chinese to be extremely friendly, open and gregarious- not reserved at all. I think the stereotype, which is often applied to Chinese-Americans, might derive from the fact that Asians in the U.S. are known for being hard workers, good students and having pretty sizeable expectations placed upon them by their families, which results in studious behavior. They also have the tendency to congregate with one another, which probably contributes to this idea, as well- Chinese people may be reserved with outsiders (though, while the Japanese certainly can be, I saw very, very little of this in China), but they're hardly that with one another. There is a great deal of emphasis put on personal self control in Asian cultures, though, and losing one's temper is considered a pretty big loss of face both in Japan and Korea- China may be the same, but going by the yelling matches I saw in the street when I was there, I'm not entirely sure of that. Chinese is incredibly hard to pronounce correctly, though, and one of the toughest things about visiting mainland China was making myself understood. You more or less have to have someone in your hotel write things out for you to show cab drivers and/or carry around a phrasebook with Chinese characters wherever you go. Good times, though- I'd recommend going to anyone. In my experience (which is, admittedly, somewhat limited, but I’ve visited Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong), Chinese people aren’t all that reserved; they certainly don’t conform to the quiet, unassuming, even cold stereotype that they’ve acquired in the U.S. Anyone who’s stood on a street in China and been mobbed by people trying to sell them things or watched two people have what looks like a huge argument, then part laughing and slapping each others’ backs, is unlikely to call Chinese people “quiet” at all. If anything, it seemed to me that the tonal nature of the Chinese language makes Chinese people seem louder than they actually are- and in comparison to other Asian cultures, particularly the Japanese (I just got back from two years there), I found the Chinese to be extremely friendly, open and gregarious- not reserved at all.

I think the stereotype, which is often applied to Chinese-Americans, might derive from the fact that Asians in the U.S. are known for being hard workers, good students and having pretty sizeable expectations placed upon them by their families, which results in studious behavior. They also have the tendency to congregate with one another, which probably contributes to this idea, as well- Chinese people may be reserved with outsiders (though, while the Japanese certainly can be, I saw very, very little of this in China), but they’re hardly that with one another. There is a great deal of emphasis put on personal self control in Asian cultures, though, and losing one’s temper is considered a pretty big loss of face both in Japan and Korea- China may be the same, but going by the yelling matches I saw in the street when I was there, I’m not entirely sure of that.

Chinese is incredibly hard to pronounce correctly, though, and one of the toughest things about visiting mainland China was making myself understood. You more or less have to have someone in your hotel write things out for you to show cab drivers and/or carry around a phrasebook with Chinese characters wherever you go. Good times, though- I’d recommend going to anyone.

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