The WOW Effect

[cancer_moon]

Don't be angry, sm_sung. People's response to Chinese people's knowledge of English vs. Anlos' knowledge of Chinese should be complimentary to you. Personally, I find it insulting, being a Caucasion myself.

I started learning Spanish when I was almost 21 and was using the language in my workplace just a few years later. The interesting thing is this: Although my Spanish is fluent enough to handle most business and personal situations, people always assume my abilities are inferior to native Spanish speakers' ability to speak English.

Go to any American and ask who he or she would like to serve as an interpreter... a white American or a non-white foreigner? They will always pic the foreigner, as will people from foreign countries as well.

The reason no one is surprised that you speak fluent English <i>is</i> in fact because they have a higher expectation of you. People here (and everywhere I'd say) <i>do</i> feel that Asians are more intelligent than we are.

Part of that is our laziness in this country, seeing that the vast majority of us are monoglots. Asians in this country, however, are frequently doctors, chemists, other kinds of scientists, businessmen and women, engineers, and other types of professionals. And many speak at least two (if not more) languages.

Be angry if you like. I, however, am also angry. Who should be surprised that I speak Spanish or am learning Chinese? I'm not <i>that</i> intellectually inferior to others--really!

[perjp]

You must factor in fluency level when discussing WOW in China. If you have mediocre Mandarin then urban Chinese will just WOW and ask if you know how to use chopsticks as well. If urban Chinese find out you are really proficient then be prepared to recite Tang poetry and perform xiangsheng as they will be determined to see just how fluent you really are. The inevitable Da Shan comparison soon follows.

LOL

I'm constantly amazed by the fact that if you can say 你好, you'll usually get replies along the lines of 你中文说得很棒, but if you actually speak passable Chinese they bombard you with chengyu and insist on discussing obscure poetry or philosophy with you just to show their intellectual superiority...

I get a distinct feeling that many Chinese feel uncomfortable around foreigners who can actually speak Chinese... Is it just me?

[shibo77]

Maybe it has sometthing to do with saving face?

How do you feel when a Chinese speaks fluent English and wants to discuss obscure English poetry and philosophy with you?

-Shibo

[perjp]

Maybe it has sometthing to do with saving face?

How do you feel when a Chinese speaks fluent English and wants to discuss obscure English poetry and philosophy with you?

It definitely has to do with face... I must admit that I'm still confused by the Chinese concept of face though. Sure, most of the time it just boils down to not wanting to feel ashamed or ridiculed, I just don't understand why someone speaking your language would cause you to feel intellectually intimidated... I'm not the least bit intimidated by foreigners fluent in my native language (Norwegian), I mean, it just makes communication a lot easier...

As for the philosophy discussion, my point was that it's the Chinese who try to start such discussions, not me... I'm not very into obscure English poetry or philosophy, so I wouldn't be very inclined to discuss it with anyone. But if it were a subject I have interest in, I wouldn't feel the least bit intimidated if a foreigner wanted to discuss it with me in my native language.

In the end a language is just a tool of communication, and I'm not trying to flaunt my intellectual superiority by speaking (not very good) Chinese, I'm trying to communicate. If I wanted to flaunt my (non-existent) intellection superiority I'd start a discussion in a field I would know the other party would not have any knowledge of... but that would just be arrogant.

[benotnobody]

You know, I hope i dont sound like i have a superiority complex here, but with the WOW thing: Tim wouldn't be that impressed if you could speak English because Western culture is so pervasive, loads of people try to learn english.

[skylee]

but if you actually speak passable Chinese they bombard you with chengyu and insist on discussing obscure poetry or philosophy with you just to show their intellectual superiority...

I have discovered that when I chat/joke with my friends (all HK Chinese speaking Cantonese) we tend to use a lot of idioms, proverbs etc. (For exampl we use 貧賤不能移, 威武不能屈 when we talk about fat bellies and slimming.) The is the way we talk and this may be why.

[weixiaoma]

At least in my humble opinion, the different reaction is completely justified. I'm a white guy trying to learn Chinese in Taiwan. It's due to the general Taiwanese racist mindset that it's always best to speak to non asian-looking people in English. I never speak English to people when I go out. I always use Chinese. But everyday, people answer in English. They are strangers who don't even know if I can speak English. However, they do know I can speak Chinese (since I just did). They will insist, of course, that there's no racist element at all and it's all because I'm foreign.

But of course that's not true. My 美國華僑 friends are just as foreign as me. So are my Japanese classmates. Chinese people will talk to them in Chinese. The truth is, at least in Taiwan, racial minorities don't get the same Chinese langauge environment that 華人 do. Even at work, the situation is the same. I have a 華僑 coworker from the same college as me back home, and we both studied at the same Chinese school here, up to the same class. I got better grades than him. However, I have to fight with my coworkers just to get them to answer my Chinese with Chinese. At the same time, they will typically answer his English with Chinese. Why? Coz I'm foreign? No, that's bullshit. It's just racism plain and simple. After explaining to them how we had the same backgrounds, and our only big difference is race, about half finally relented with their English with me. Of course my buddy who isn't a "real foreigner" in the eyes of Chinese people, is improving his speach faster and with less effort than I am.

Am I bitter? Maybe a little, but only a little. It's not fair, but of course I recognize that if I were willing to exploit them, I could have many advantages based on my appearance too. I've seen some white guys hooking up with another 2-3 hot women per month. But my point is, it is harder for a white person to learn Chinese in China than for a Chinese to learn English in the US. An American waiter unwilling to speak to "foreign" customers in English would be branded as a racist and not keep his job long. In Taiwan, it's normal to not use 國語 with foreigners. At college I had several foreign friends who successfully made multiple American friends who were willing to speak to them in the local language (English) all the time. I don't know any "real foreigner" in Taiwan who has had similar success. At least to me it is much more impressive to meet a white or black person who aquires a near-native competency in Chinese than an asian looking person who does the same.