Learning Chinese to communicate with providers

[krideynyc]

I don't think he should get any grief for wanting people who come here to speak the language of the country. That deserves kudos, not scorn.

Learning a second language is a good thing. Calling people lazy for not learning one is valid. But telling them to give up because the language is too difficult, especially when you're older, that deserves scorn. As mentioned in the post above yours, learning Chinese is difficult. But learning English is just as difficult. So it's hypocritical to say it only applies one way.

 

[Koondog]

I think the main thrust of his post was: newcomers coming here to the US and learning to speak English---IMPORTANT.

US citizens dabbling in learning Mandarin to impress girls at amps---NOT SO IMPORTANT.

But as you said---if you have the time, the patience, the desire and want to learn another language---hey knock yourself out.

 

[krideynyc]

I think the main thrust of his post was: newcomers coming here to the US and learning to speak English---IMPORTANT.

Absolutely. But if someone can make a living with learning only the basics, more power to them. If language skills is a big issue for him, he can limit himself to providers that have that skill. Just as language skills may not be such an important factor on if we continue to use a certain provider.

 

[Spa1123]

You may not believe me or agree with me, but that is OK, you would be doing these women much more of a service helping them speak English than you will by learning Chinese.

Why do I have to choose one or the other? As a matter of fact, I'm almost always spending some time explaining some new-to-them English word, which they appreciate. And in no way do I think my learning some Mandarin is helping them. I do it for myself. But it does frequently make my sessions more fun.

 

[TGBeldin]

I don't think he should get any grief for wanting people who come here to speak the language of the country. That deserves kudos, not scorn.

It's not so much for saying they should learn English as it is for his hostility.

 

[TGBeldin]

Why do I have to choose one or the other? As a matter of fact, I'm almost always spending some time explaining some new-to-them English word, which they appreciate. And in no way do I think my learning some Mandarin is helping them. I do it for myself. But it does frequently make my sessions more fun.

Thank you for a little spot of rationality.

 

[DannyG]

Americans don’t speak English, Americans speak American.

 

[Koondog]

It's not so much for saying they should learn English as it is for his hostility.

I usually don't get all worked up when I see someone state his position with a little passion. I don't view it as 'hostility'.

 

[Srhsrh]

In my travels around the world for work, I’ve never encountered anyone worse about picking up local languages, than Americans. So many countries I’ve been, I see the same pattern over and over. American guys working abroad, have been there 2 years, 5 years, it doesn’t matter. Korea, China Thailand, they can’t speak anything beyond basic restaurant orders. Part of The ugly American so often discussed in other countries.

Forcing a language down someone throat is borderline racist, and un-American to me, but that’s my opinion. I know I’m in the minority here.

What I do, is to encourage the girls here to speak English to me, while I speak Chinese or Korean to them. It’s win/win.

 

[krideynyc]

Forcing a language down someone throat is borderline racist, and un-American to me, but that’s my opinion. I know I’m in the minority here.

Happy to join you in the minority.

 

[East Lake II]

In my travels around the world for work, I’ve never encountered anyone worse about picking up local languages, than Americans. So many countries I’ve been, I see the same pattern over and over. American guys working abroad, have been there 2 years, 5 years, it doesn’t matter. Korea, China Thailand, they can’t speak anything beyond basic restaurant orders. Part of The ugly American so often discussed in other countries.

Forcing a language down someone throat is borderline racist, and un-American to me, but that’s my opinion. I know I’m in the minority here.

What I do, is to encourage the girls here to speak English to me, while I speak Chinese or Korean to them. It’s win/win.

There are many many benefits to learning a second or third language aside from just the communication aspect. You also learn culture and develop respect.

The OP should be applauded for his interest and desire to learn a foreign language. Many offered helpful suggestions. I also learned from the suggestions. Thanks.

Srhsrh, you speak Chinese or Korean to them and they speak English to you. That’s great! I’m sure they learn faster and so do you.

 

[East Lake II]

Happy to join you in the minority.

Sign me up with the minority as well.

 

[TGBeldin]

I usually don't get all worked up when I see someone state his position with a little passion. I don't view it as 'hostility'.

Hostility is in the eye of the beholder to some point, but when I see someone express their "passion" the way he did, I am guessing a lot of people will behold some hostility.

 

[Srhsrh]

There are many many benefits to learning a second or third language aside from just the communication aspect. You also learn culture and develop respect.

The OP should be applauded for his interest and desire to learn a foreign language. Many offered helpful suggestions. I also learned from the suggestions. Thanks.

Srhsrh, you speak Chinese or Korean to them and they speak English to you. That’s great! I’m sure they learn faster and so do you.

Korean was easy. My problem with Chinese is all the local dialects. Korean basically has 3 dialects. North, Seoul, and Busan ( country). North Korean is like olde English. Busan like speaking with a southern drawl. Seoul has tons of American slang.
Chinese has hundreds of local dialects, mixed words with regional languages, etc. Its been very very hard to advance, but I'm still trying. Most Chinese who learn English in China use a distinct British accent, for whatever reason. Again there's lots of problems with slang.

British English is much cleaner of idioms, and if you're practicing with a Chinese girl you need to be wary of it. For instance I was talking to a girl yesterday and I said she was being pretty evasive.

She heard and understood pretty. Nothing else. So she said thank you. I should have just said "you not answer".

She's fujianese, and I can't understand that at all. Hence English and revert to pidgeon english

 

[krideynyc]

Most Chinese who learn English in China use a distinct British accent, for whatever reason.

They imported the English language programs from Hong Kong. Today, due to the influx of US entertainment, the Americanized English is starting to take over.

 

[Koondog]

"Forcing a language down someone throat is borderline racist, and un-American to me, but that’s my opinion."

Very peculiar opinion. Most people look at it as when you come to a new country to live, you adopt the language and customs of the country. Try doing what you advocate in any other nation and see how far you get. You can't have a united country without a common tongue.

Nothing 'racist' about it. It's why they call it a melting pot. You can't have a balkanized nation with everyone speaking different languages with no cohesion and common thread among the citizenry. That's just chaos and a recipe for disaster.

 

[krideynyc]

Nothing 'racist' about it. It's why they call it a melting pot. You can't have a balkanized nation with everyone speaking different languages with no cohesion and common thread among the citizenry. That's just chaos and a recipe for disaster.

This is an old debate (starting around the mid-1800's when non-English speaking immigrants started arriving). A proper melting pot allows for those who don't wish to master the language. As long as those immigrants can learn enough English to get by, that should be enough. At no time is fluency ever a requirement.

 

[BrettKavanaugh]

I call bullshit on the guy(s) who says he just wants the girls to learn English for their sake. He's self-rationalizing his own inability to learn a 2nd language. If you really want to help someone learn your language, the best way to teach them is to learn a bit of theirs. Imagine trying to learn a new language picking up a book in say, German, with no English explanations, and being told oh you're too lazy to learn German. I venture to say those of us who can minimally converse in the girls' language are literally 100x more able to teach them proper English than the rest of you nativists, and doing way more to assimilate them. Not to mention that many of these girls basically have no free time. Also, think it through a little more: the more English they learn, the wider their market, and the higher their price, so you wont be able to afford them anymore. So now you're either paying more, or you're back to FOBs, and it's a moot point.

In the same vein, just stop with this "respect the culture of your new country" bullshit. You want them to respect our culture, then pay them the same fee an American would demand for the same job.

 

[superman06]

when i go to China i learn mandarin. when they come to America they learn English!! nuff said!!

 

[Srhsrh]

There’s encouragement, and there’s belligerence. Did you read about the case of the 2 Hispanic women in Montana who were detained for hours because they were talking in Spanish to each other and a policeman overheard them and decided they were illegals based on that they spoke a foreign language? How about school districts defunding programs for bilingual education of children, designed to help them adapt more easily, because its unamerican not to speak English?

I’ve got a Greek family 2 houses away from me where the parents have lived in USA for 40 years, but still don’t really speak English. Their kids do, they just never needed to. They’re just as American as you and me. It’s their choice. They came to the USA for opportunity and freedom, not to get English jammed down their throats. Who has time to learn English when you’re working 2-3 menial jobs to build a better life?