Job Discussion Forums

[marblez]

Well, I wasn't even born until 1984 so I cannot speak for 1975, but the Chinese population has exploded in the past few years.

[Roger]

Deconstructor,
I do advise you to learn to restrain your bad temper. Surely you cannot allow your guts to control you in a classroom where students potentially are at odds with you politically and in various other ways?

I refute categorically your second-hand "knowledge" on Germans and French speakers. Just about everything you said comes across as adversarial and judgemental from a Saints' stance.

Your reasoning as to why anglo-Canadians don't learn French is a sad rerflection of a crude, materialistic and purely utilitarian outlook that stands any student of foreign languages in bad stead.
This may be the reason why so many of our students are on the border of schizophrenia:
"learning" the hated lingo of those white Americans/Brits/Canucks, yet hating it and its native speakers from the bottom of their hearts.

Methinks a good teacher should have a somewhat more refined philosophy!

[tom selleck]

Just to clarify Deconstructor's point, It's not really Vancouver that is half Mandarin. When you land at Vancouver International Airport, turn left to get to Vancouver. Turn right and you land in the closest thing you'll ever get to China, while still in North America. It's the city of Richmond. Lots of store signs in Hanzi script. The first wave of Chinese immigration chose the place for 2 reasons.

1) It's flat as a pancake. Some fengshui thing, don't ask me.

2) The name "Rich"mond.

East Van has lots of Mandarin speakers, but that area has lots of everything else, too, a veritable U.N!

When I lived in Vancouver prior to leaving for China, I had no idea if the army of invaders were Mandarin or Cantonese speaking Chinese.
Last summer I sold my furniture, and all my worldly possessions at my Aunt's house in East Van.

The "League of Nations" came and bought. And I found out, yes, they practically all were Mandarin speakers. A nice old gent from Shanghai overpaid for a worthless ditu (map) because, I reckon, he thought it a hoot to speak Chinese to a White guy in Vancouver! This terrific lady was instantly recognized by myself as a mainlander as soon as she said "urually".

The recent immigrants were totally different than the nongmin over here.
If you engaged them in their language, they didn't give you that old "ting bu dong" crap. If you spoke correctly, they just basically understood, unlike the locals who wouldn't understand "Ni shi yige bendan ma?, if you held them upside down and shook them.

Sometimes, I think staying in Vancouver would be better to learn Chinese, than going to China!

[Gregor]

[marblez]

LOL!!! Yes, Richmond! You could live there for years and not know a single word of English. I don't mind it though, I believe it gave me a distinct advantage when writing the police language exam. I scored 19th out of about 500 candidates. I wonder if I scored higher than the girl with the pink "F*CK" baseball cap?

[tom selleck]

Both times I flew from Vancouver to Beijing, I spent my final day in Canada in Richmond. Sort of weird. Little like seeing the evolution of Chinese culture, encompassing generations. Going from modern back to stone age, agrarian, medieval in the time span of a 13 hour flight.

Sort of cushioned the culture shock to follow.

Coming back, now that's a different story...............................................

[herman]

[Rice Paddy Daddy]

as much as you can get - it all helps, baby!

[moonraven]

How much of the local language you need depends on whether you want to be accepted by the local people or if you are just there in search of cheap beer.

[Guy Courchesne]

Even then, the search for cheap beer is greatly helped by knowing the local language, so as not to pay the 'gringo tax'

[moonraven]

Probably. I don't drink beer....