The Practice

Now that the new semester is in full swing, it's difficult for me to get out for Mandarin Monday events in the city--working 9-6 with only a 15 minute break is a bit tiring (good thing I only do that once a week). Fortunately, I have found another way to practice my Mandarin.

While working at the campus writing center I found three Chinese students who plan to attend regular tutoring sessions. I'm  now getting in the habit of greeting these students in Mandarin and having brief conversations with them before they begin their sessions.

Yesterday, I found that I hadn't properly introduced myself to two of the students. After asking one about what she did for Spring Festival, she inquired where I was from and how I came to learn Chinese. I hadn't had to answer those questions in over two years.

Having these students around regularly should help motivate me to study more.

Brain Damage

All this time I've been studying Chinese on my own and making little progress. Who knew all I needed was a good migraine. Supposedly, a British woman speaks with a Chinese accent after suffering a severe migraine. And it might not be a load of BS. There are documented cases of what researchers call foreign accent syndrome. The only encounter I've had with FAS is with people who have recently spent time in Ireland--I think the Guinness gets in their heads and turns them Irish.

Strange Questions

Today, Jia and I took a short trip into Manhattan to visit the USS New York (more on that in another post). She's never seen a naval vessel up close and wanted to share some of the experience with her friends on her blog. She showed me one of the photos she took, which had the officers on board the ship, and asked me how to say it in Chinese.

I see a few things wrong with her question. The first being that she knows my abilities in Chinese. The second being that she is the native speaker who should know what she took a picture of and how to explain what it is in her own language.

Fun in Chinese

I'll admit that I've been slacking off a bit when it comes to studying Chinese. I desperately need a class to motivate me (I've needed a class for the last three years).

Studying Chinese is much more difficult now that I'm in the US. At least while living in China I could've just walked out the door and started up a conversation with the locals. It was even possible to try to talk with my mother-in-law. But that's all gone now. It's even difficult to talk with my wife in Chinese because she's become more motivated in studying English and trying to neutralize her accent (which I didn't really think was a problem).

Yesterday I had my chance. Jia told me to go to the Asian market off Route 10 to pick up some food for dinner(and it's a really nice Asian market--but they don't have a great selection of rice). I walked up to the prepared food section, and the man behind the counter greeted me in English. I responded with, "请给我一直烤鸭"(Please give me a roast duck). Without even a comment as to my non-Chinese appearance, the guy asked in Chinese if I wanted him to cut the duck. Back in Shenzhen my requests were usually responded to with, "You speak Chinese very well" (a common compliment for speaking even the most simplistic of Chinese phrases).

Having this friendly Asian market and the amazing Sichuan restaurant has at least provided me with some motivation to kick myself in the ass and start studying more seriously. I have plenty of Chinesepod lessons on my hard drive that I should listen to more often.

Also, the roast duck was really good. Jia just had to make some dipping sauce. All it was missing was the little pancakes to wrap the duck in.

Valentine Lights

I learned some new Chinese last night (it's amazing that I can actually learn something from my wife). I mentioned seeing a lot of third wheels on Valentine's Day. Jia didn't understand that phrase and I had to explain it. She told me in Chinese it's 电灯泡 (dian(4) deng(1) pao(4)), or light bulb. I thought about for a minute to wonder why they'd use this, and I realized it was a very amusing way to describe the situation. No matter where the lovers go, the light is always on because of the 电灯泡.

Friday's Alphabet

A new candy store opened a few weeks ago near Haiya Baihuo here in Nanshan. It seems they took it upon themselves to change the alphabet. When I first saw this sign, I thought it said "SWTET," but a friend pointed out that it looks like the letter is a cross between a T and an E (and possibly an F).
Recently, I've come across a few articles that discuss the changes of English language due to the rise of foreign learners. Most of the mangling of English (as if it were truly possible to mangle a bastardized language) comes from China, Singapore, Japan, and Korea. It seems some believe that English will continue to evolve into some language that we native speakers won't recognize or, possibly, comprehend.

As I've read such articles about language, and witnessed the Chinglish translations, I've started thinking about a former teacher's book. Back in grad school, I had class with Bobbie Louise Hawkins, author of "My Own Alphabet." While not a mangling of language, it is an amusing read that makes a lot more sense than "You and I altogether do afforest the bodyguard."

Mixed Bag

The past few days have been pretty good. There's been a wide variety of positive actions going on around me.

Yesterday, I had a PhD student from last term stop by my office. He wanted to thank me for helping him with his writing last term. He asked me to edit his article because it had been rejected by some publication, but his writing wasn't good enough to find and correct the mistakes. It turns out, he just got published. I congratulated him and asked him to bring by a copy of the journal for me to read. He also gave me some really nice iron Buddha tea--apparently it's from a well-known brand around here.

On my way home, I got on the bus with one of the Pakistani students. I had met him briefly in December, but didn't remember much about him. We spent the next half hour on the bus having some very pleasant conversation. At least now I can remember his name for the next time I run into him.

And today, on the school bus home, I shocked a couple people by asking the driver if he could stop further up the street (a more complicated sentence than you'd think) because I didn't want to walk through the construction site. After agreeing, the driver said a few kind words about my Chinese. I also had a short conversation with one of the Chinese professors before stepping off the bus. I really should find more excuses to talk with these people--they're not comfortable speaking English, and they're always excited when I speak a little Chinese.

My Kingdom for a Paper Clip

I never realized how complicated a paper clip could be. A while back, I asked a coworker how to say paper clip in Chinese. Rather than tell me, she said she'd go to the copy room to get some for me. They didn't have any, but they'd get them soon, I was told. I forgot about it until today.

I spoke to my coworker on the phone and asked how to say it again. It took a while to get an answer. Wen zhen jia, I was told after the wait. With this knowledge on a scrap of paper, I headed over to the copy room. I memorized the word and asked for it--the woman in the copy room appeared to understand. Then she held up plastic folders to give to me. I said, "No, wen zhen jia." She explained that it was. I was lost.

Fortunately, another professor was in the room. She spoke English and tried to help. I explained what I wanted, but she too looked confused. Finally, I found a binder clip and showed her. I now had my small box of binder clips to help organize my students' assignments.

The professor explained that wen zhen jia is a formal word in Chinese and has many meanings. It can be used for binder clips, binders, folders, staples, and paper clips (there might also be some other things in there). Apparently, you have to use this word AND explain what kind you'd like. This was later confirmed by my coworkers who listened to my story of confusion.

Unfortunately, after all that, I still have no clue how to properly ask for a paper clip.

Language Proficiency (or how inept am I?)

Yesterday, I picked up a copy of last year's Chinese proficiency exam from the office. I was told that this test is more practical than the HSK, which is more focused on grammar. I looked through the exam last night and realized that I probably know about 75% of the characters (the most difficult part is reading the instructions). I don't know what the listening section involves, but Jia said she'd try to make up something to fit it. I think I could probably pass the exam now if I tried, but I'd rather study until May or June and try for a higher score.

One of the more difficult parts that I found was in some of the characters that I already know. One of the answers to a question was 师生 (shi sheng). I know these two characters, but I've never seen them together. I asked Jia about it. Apparently, this means teacher and student. To me, I would think of teacher and student as 老师和学生 (laoshi he xuesheng). However, it seems the Chinese enjoy shortening phrases such as this to confuse the foreigners.

This photo has absolutely nothing to do with the post. I just figured I'd continue with the whole Photo Friday thing and give you something to look at. This is a view of Songpan from a mountainside temple. We stopped for the night after a 12 hour bus ride from Chengdu on the way to Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou. It's a beautiful little town in northern Sichuan province that's known for horse trekking.

Why Study?

I've been asked a rather unusual question lately--three times in the last week.

I inquired about taking the HSK exam later this year (this is the government-approved proficiency test for foreigners speaking/writing/reading Chinese). I was told that the next exam would be held in about a week--much too soon for me to prepare. I was then told that the school offered another Chinese proficiency exam, similar to HSK, every month. This means that I will attempt to pass the first level by the end of the school year.

Just after hearing the news, my boss asked, "Why do you want to learn Chinese?" I thought this was unusual coming from my Chinese boss. I explained my reasons and let the discussion pass to other topics. Then yesterday, I was asked the same question by one of the office staff at the end of our weekly meeting. I was again asked by a Korean professor later in the day.

The most confusing part of this question is that they all know I've been living in China for more than two years and that my wife is Chinese. Naturally, I'd think that those two reasons would be enough for anyone to want to learn the language.

In the Office

Monday, I went into the supply room at the office to get some red pens to correct my students' essays. I discovered that one of the women who works there is trying to learn English. So, whenever I go in to ask for supplies she asks, "Zenme shuo yingyu?" (How do you say in English?) I find this useful since I need to learn the words for things like binder, photocopies, and anything else I may need for class.

Today, I had to sign for the supplies that I received. I noticed the Chinese above the column for my signature, but didn't know two of them. I asked the other woman in the supply room what it said and discovered that I guessed one of the two correctly. She asked me if I could read Chinese I said, "Yi dian dian." (A little bit.) I then told her that I know about 300 characters, to which she responded, "Not enough." Usually when I say I know 300 characters people are impressed. This is the first time I got an honest response about my level of Chinese.

If you don't believe the rarity of hearing an honest response to the language ability, I have examples. I have had plenty of experiences with people telling me I speak Chinese very well after hearing me say, "Ni hao," and "Xie xie." Knowing only a few words and phrases does not mean I know much of a language.

Also while in the supply room, I received a call from someone I didn't know and who didn't speak English (that's a sign that I don't want to answer the call). After refusing to answer the first two times, I finally picked up the phone. I answered with, "I don't speak Chinese." The women in the office thought this was really funny considering I was talking to them in Chinese.

Which way to Hanoi?

It's been a busy week here. It was rather tiring, but it went well. I met some really interesting people who are new to Shenzhen (some staying here, some just passing through) at dinner and lunch for Rosh Hashanah. I also got confused in a variety of languages ranging from Hebrew, French, Spanish, and others (I can't remember where a few of the people are from). Of course, I made my pathetic attempts to speak Spanish with H. from Colombia. It really makes me wish I hadn't half-assed Spanish class in high school and college.

To go along with the mixture of language, I present a slightly delayed Friday photo from my wife's hometown in Xinjiang province. Please note that the two characters 河内 can mean "inside the river" as well as a city of Vietnam. Seeing as we were in the northwest of China, I think they chose the wrong translation.

Language Barriers

Last night I was in Shekou for the second seder. It started much later than I expected. I had the opportunity to attempt to speak with H. as we waited for others to arrive. The rabbi and another Israeli had stepped outside to talk in Hebrew (another language I don't understand). The problem I had was H. is from Colombia and I haven't had a Spanish class in almost 8 years. I did prepare for this though--I've been watching The Simpsons with Spanish subtitles. Anyway, I came to the conclusion that I can remember a fair amount of Spanish vocabulary--it's the verb conjugations I tend to forget; especially the past tense. The other problem I kept encountering was that I would use Chinese pronouns most of the time. The entire conversation we had was a mixture of three languages.

Fortunately, H.'s English skills are about as good as my Spanish skills; unfortunately, neither of us is very good in Chinese. I think I came away with saying, "我 necesito trabajo more." I think I'm just inept in three languages.

It seems I'm having more difficulty studying Chinese these days. I was doing great during last term and through the summer. But it's not so good anymore.
I used to go down to my favorite restaurant, Lao Chongqing, for a couple beers and read my Chinese notes. This was quite effective. First, Liu is quite helpful, especially considering he wants to improve his English. Fortunately, he's not leaving the restaurant, but is quite busy most nights and cannot help me too much.
There was the Kingway beer girl. She was very nice and helpful. She obviously likes the foreign teachers because we consume a lot of beer and she gets paid based on how much of her beer is sold. She would always come over to me and help me study by asking questions that she thought I could answer. She understood my level of Chinese was equivalent to a retarded parrot. She tried to correct my mistakes and understood my nonsensical gibberish. Unfortunately, she has moved to the Red restaurant down the way and we really don't like that place because their service just plain sucks. (Case in point: Friday lunch, we were given three dishes we know we didn't order and they wouldn't take them back.)
Just before I left for my long vacation with the parents, there was a very kind young waitress who helped me almost as much as the Kingway girl. Two days before I left, she asked if I would teach her some English. I agreed, thinking that she would also help with my Chinese. As with all good things around here, it ended. When I returned from vacation she was no longer working at Lao Chongqing. There goes a nice student who could've helped me.
It also seems that some of the new staff have taken a great liking to the restaurant. The problem is, they go around the time I enjoyed most for studying. This interrupts my studies slightly with a distraction.
I suppose I could convince my girlfriend to return to our Chinese/English lessons again. She's always happy to teach me more. And maybe this coming week I'll get to take Chinese class with the Korean students. But I know that class will be difficult. I hope I don't slack off.

War on Words

This is a little sickening... probably because I'm an editor. Most people I'm sure don't care much about this, but I do. I keep hearing about the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. It's terrible. It's a tragedy. But why must people call it "a terrible tragedy"? A tragedy is terrible in its own right. It is simply redundant to say terrible tragedy. Please cease this redundancy.