The “West” and Chinese

Imagine seeing a westerner speaking fluent Chinese. How would that look to you?

Me? I would be utterly jealous, obviously, as it’s what I’m trying to study (and not doing too well on that). But, is that how most people feel?

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Spending some time in Taiwan studying Chinese I’ve met quite a lot of foreigners who were already staying there for years without even considering studying Chinese. Those who did study Chinese usually had very specific reasons wanting for studying Chinese which usually involved something regarding the uprising Chinese economy. When that was the reason, studying Chinese was usually more about “understanding Chinese” than actually “using Chinese”. You know - to give a few gestures of basic Chinese phrases and costumes to keep the Chinese business partners impressed. After all, English is the international language of everything, right? America and the west are the center of the world, eh? When channel 2 came to our Israeli Chinese class and interviewed students why they were studying Chinese they said something about China being the place where everything is happening now. China’s the future, you have to prepare for the future.

About a month after arriving back in Israel, while everybody around me were throwing things my way that were China/Chinese related, I came across an article in the Haaretz Israeli newspaper that was called “The China Syndrome“. “Here! you see? you’re not the only one studying Chinese, take a look what those crazy Americans are doing”, they tossed the article on my desk.

“In my view, China is going to dominate the present century, it’s taking off like a rocket,” says Ba-Ba in his southern drawl. “And even if I’m wrong, there are still a billion and a half people who speak this language. It’s not like we’re teaching her Danish or something. It’s still very useful. If worse comes to worse, she’ll be able to work in a Chinese restaurant,” he jokes.

Some Americans are now hiring Chinese caretakers for their kids so that the kids will grow up to know Mandarin. Weird, but interesting.

So, no problem, right? if Americans are now teaching their young ones Chinese, then an American speaking Chinese should look natural, eh? not quite. Reading through the wonderful Mark’s Taiwanese blog “Doubting to shuo” and his “Youth hostel” experiences in Beijing I was reminded of my own experiences in Asia regarding the other side of  westerners knowing Asian languages

I went up to the desk, asked how much it was for a room, and checked in. The process was pretty quick, and there weren’t any communication difficulties with the girl at the counter, despite the gulf between her Beijing accent and my Taiwanese one. […]

Then it happened. A solidly built man lumbered up next to me and asked in a British voice, “Ah! Gone native then, have we?”

“W-what do you mean? I just got to Beijing,” I stammered.

He gave me a side-long glance and said, “You’ve been speaking Chinese with the girl over there. It is impressive, but what are you trying to prove?”

Know how to speak French? you’re considered cultural and romantic. Spanish - woooo, exotic. Italian - sexy! Chinese? eeh… arrr… hmm… maybe they’re doing because of the economy. Vietnamese - heavens above! why would anybody want to know how to speak that?! A person speaking fluent Chinese or Vietnamese in Asia is “going native” or “blending in with the locals” and it’s not completely clear what he’s “trying to prove”.

Have we embraced Chinese culture or is the west still looking down at “poor Asia”, maybe only caring about making money off it and taking advantage of it? Is the interest in Chinese culture and China genuine or is it just some economical driven fashion we chew on and spit when we've had our fun?