After spending a few days in the Lifestyles Forum, all I can say is, I wish some people would just shut the ******** up about Asians not being able to speak English. Also the people who complain about Asians (or any other race) who can't speak English properly.
First off - it's a second language. Of COURSE there are times when people mess up. Who doesn't?
Second - whether it's Japanese or Chinese or whatever, the grammar, the word placements, the verbs, they're COMPLETELY different. Like, if you translate the Chinese sentence "My English isn't really good" directly into English, it could be just "My English not so good." It makes sense in Chinese, therefore, some people might think it's fine in English.
Third - we're not all millionaires. Some of my old classmates in Taiwan have never been on a plane before. They've never experienced the Western world; they don't know how to use it like people who uses English as their mother tongues do. When you learn a language, you know what's the easiest way to do so? Move to the country. Mong Zhi, a follower of Confucious, said it himself: there's no point in staying in China if you're going to learn English. Same as there's no point in learning Chinese if you're staying in France.
... actually, his examples were parts of China then, but whatever. Same concept.
Lastly - what's so funny about new language learners? Let's see some people try Mandarin Chinese. It's the hardest language so far to learn. Is it annoying, seeing someone struggle with it? Maybe. I don't know though, maybe it just shows you don't have the patience, and/or you're too immature.
Show some decorum, for God's sake. neutral
Take it from someone who's currently in a foreign country trying to improve a new third language - it's not easy. I have to ask the French to slow down for me to understand. I try my best to speak it. I want to master the language, and to do that, I want people to help me, not make fun of me.
Traditional Chinese is the hardest language to come across. Let's see you try learning that.
 Emesque · Wed Aug 06, 2008 @ 01:15pm · 14 Comments |
