Truth be told, French is the language I really want to learn. Phonetically, I think French is the most beautiful language in the world and I vow that I would learn some French in this lifetime. However, in the meantime, one has to wake up and smell the coffee. Except in the most niche of engagements is French ever spoken – usually involving a French national.
Growing up in Malaysia is unlike other countries. The political reality is that cultural assimilation does not take place like in Thailand or Indonesia. It doesn’t have a homogenous population like Taiwan or Korea either. Malaysian social model is more like that of metropolitan cities e.g. New York and London, anything goes and you can find Chinatowns, Little Indias or Little Nepals everywhere.
I was brought up in an English speaking family and I was sent to national public school for my secondary education. I am proud of my personal heritage; English is my first language as was my Peranakan forefathers who sought to better their livelihoods in the British colonial era. Proud and comfortable with the language, I sought to better my English in the absence of a formal education to this day.
For me, Malay was obligatory, and is only appropriate that the medium of instruction at my school be the National language. I did quite well too, bagged an A2 in my SPM. But for me, unlike English Malay would never take that exclusive spot – the tip of my tongue. And neither will any Chinese dialect.
So English and Malay are the two languages that I can command. I can’t claim any more languages because I know too little to converse with native speakers. I admire those who can so easily pick up languages by just socializing. This is where my introverted nature works against me. One exception is if I were abducted and dumped in some remote foreign village where no one speaks English or Malay. Otherwise, the classroom is the only solution for me.
I am all too aware of Chinese-educated Chinese who can’t stand the likes of the Mandarin illiterate like me. But I shrug it off; I should be able to survive with my two horse stable of languages. That is turning out to be less and less true. More and more English educated Chinese parents are sending their children to Chinese schools purportedly for a better education. My kind is endangered.
So, I have compiled several reasons for my third language must be Mandarin:
My friend who works in HuaWei (a Chinese telecoms company which has a regional office in Kuala Lumpur) said the managers once commented that Malaysians (probably referring to Malaysian Chinese) do not face any language barriers wherever they go. With our Bahasa Malaysia (Malay language) we can communicate with Indonesians, most of the time. So it pays to be bilingual, trilingual or even quadrilingual.
Languages are hard to learn especially Chinese. I figure I have to give my dogged determination to reach that critical juncture in Mandarin proficiency, whatever that may be. What I could really use is a partner in crime, a co-implementer of a buddy system. Anyone?
Growing up in Malaysia is unlike other countries. The political reality is that cultural assimilation does not take place like in Thailand or Indonesia. It doesn’t have a homogenous population like Taiwan or Korea either. Malaysian social model is more like that of metropolitan cities e.g. New York and London, anything goes and you can find Chinatowns, Little Indias or Little Nepals everywhere.
I was brought up in an English speaking family and I was sent to national public school for my secondary education. I am proud of my personal heritage; English is my first language as was my Peranakan forefathers who sought to better their livelihoods in the British colonial era. Proud and comfortable with the language, I sought to better my English in the absence of a formal education to this day.
For me, Malay was obligatory, and is only appropriate that the medium of instruction at my school be the National language. I did quite well too, bagged an A2 in my SPM. But for me, unlike English Malay would never take that exclusive spot – the tip of my tongue. And neither will any Chinese dialect.
So English and Malay are the two languages that I can command. I can’t claim any more languages because I know too little to converse with native speakers. I admire those who can so easily pick up languages by just socializing. This is where my introverted nature works against me. One exception is if I were abducted and dumped in some remote foreign village where no one speaks English or Malay. Otherwise, the classroom is the only solution for me.
I am all too aware of Chinese-educated Chinese who can’t stand the likes of the Mandarin illiterate like me. But I shrug it off; I should be able to survive with my two horse stable of languages. That is turning out to be less and less true. More and more English educated Chinese parents are sending their children to Chinese schools purportedly for a better education. My kind is endangered.
So, I have compiled several reasons for my third language must be Mandarin:
- The Anglophone world is losing out in global prominence. The 20th century belonged to the British Empire and the USA, but in the 21st century will emerging China lead? Nevertheless, English was dominant in the 20th century, the century that witnessed the greatest advancements of science and technology. English will stick around for a long time.
- The great exodus, we know Malaysian Chinese are the largest number of Malaysians to have immigrated. English educated Chinese are more global in perspective and also more globally demanded. Regrettably, out of all the English educated Chinese friends I’ve ever known, I would say half of them are working overseas. More my Chinese speaking friends stick around so it’s time to speak their language.
- In IT, there are some companies that just prefer to do business in Mandarin instead of English as I have painfully found out.
- The best bootleg sites are in Chinese
- Any credible Chinese politician must speak the language of the Chinese masses: Mandarin. Not that I want to be a politician, just saying.
My friend who works in HuaWei (a Chinese telecoms company which has a regional office in Kuala Lumpur) said the managers once commented that Malaysians (probably referring to Malaysian Chinese) do not face any language barriers wherever they go. With our Bahasa Malaysia (Malay language) we can communicate with Indonesians, most of the time. So it pays to be bilingual, trilingual or even quadrilingual.
Languages are hard to learn especially Chinese. I figure I have to give my dogged determination to reach that critical juncture in Mandarin proficiency, whatever that may be. What I could really use is a partner in crime, a co-implementer of a buddy system. Anyone?
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