Speaking the native tongue in foreign countries (#97; Topic L)

Last night, World Bank retirees of Chinese ancestry were invited to an annual embassy dinner. In extending fellow retirees' thanks, TT related an experience during his recent vacation in Japan. He asked a local senior citizen a question in fluent Japanese; instead of answering it in Japanese, he spoke in broken English. According to TT, Japanese somehow take a dim view of foreigners' speaking Japanese. This is so different in USA and in China. In USA, foreigners are expected to speak English -- and well. When they mishandle the language, the natives are not hesitant to offer corrections -- a great help most of the time, since a foreigner can improve his/her command of English in a hurry; on occasion, it is a nuisance. In China, English-speaking visitors are encouraged to learn Chinese; whenever one speaks a word or two in Chinese, he/she is invariably praised ("Well done") and prompted to do more ("let's hear a few more"). If that Japanese senior citizen's behavior is representative, it suggests isolationism. Americans view English as the universal language; it suggests universalism. People in China, while realizing that Chinese is an up-and-coming language, encourage foreigners to learn slowly and incrementally; it suggests gradualism. In time, the sheer number of people who can handle Chinese -- those in China, in Asia, and around the world -- will make Chinese a universal language as well.
Posted at 9:54 pm, Tuesday, February 28, 2006