05.08.08
Posted in language, Chicago at 11:29 am by Benjamin Ross
Anytime one moves to a new location where the same language is spoken as in their previous location, a certain degree of modification to their lexicon occurs. Living in Chicago, and doing my best to keep up my Chinese, I have also noticed several inadvertent shifts in my own vocabulary as well.
One such example is the word for the Chinese language itself. Actually, there are several words in Chinese for “Chinese.” The most common is probably 汉语 (han4 yu3) which literally means “language of the Han people.” 汉语 is typically used to describe the language as it comes from a mouth. This, in contrast to 中文(zhong1 wen2), which means “Chinese words” and usually refers to the written language, such as when speaking of a “Chinese book” or “Chinese song.” There is no set rule on the different situations to use 汉语 and 中文 and thus a certain degree of overlap in the use of these terms exists.
In addition to 语 and 文 the character 话 is often placed after the name of a group of people to construct an informal name for their language or dialect, creating the term 中国话 (zhong1 guo2 hua4). This term is not common, but used on occasion to differentiate the speech of one group of people from another’s. So while the technical name for Polish, for example, is 波兰语 (bo1 lan2 yu3) it would not be uncommon for Chinese to refer to it as 波兰话 (bo1 lan2 hua4) in the context of comparing it to say, the speech of Germans. To refer to American English, in contrast to British English the term 美国话 (mei3 guo2 hua4) is used as well. Furthermore in China, 话is used to differentiate the various dialects of Chinese. So for example, the Fuzhou dialect is called 福州话 (fu2 zhou1 hua4). The name of the dialect of virtually any location in China can be constructed simply by adding a 话 to the end of it.*
Yet another term 普通话 ( pu2 tong1 hua4) or “common language” is used to differentiate China’s official language, what we call “Mandarin” in the West, from the many local dialects. Especially in areas such as Fujian, where dialects are still commonly spoken, it is not uncommon to hear to locals use this term, as it is necessary to differentiate the Chinese they speak in their hometowns with the lingua franca used across the country.
One more term exists, and this is one which I have only heard used by Tibetans. 汉话 (han4 hua4), literally means “the words of the Han people,” and is a rarely used by Han Chinese, but is probably the most commonly used term by Tibetan Mandarin speakers.
With the multitude of terms used in Chicago, it will probably come as little surprise that here in Chicago, there is a totally different dominant term for the Chinese language. Literally meaning “language of the country,” 国语 (guo2 yu3) is the most prominent word used for “Mandarin” in Taiwan and Hong Kong…and in Chicago as well. To me, this term has always had political undertones, as to somehow indicate, “that is what THEY speak in THEIR country”…as opposed to 中文, the combined language of the Chinese people, thus including Taiwan and Hong Kong. (I could be totally off base on this assertion, so it would be nice to get the input of some Chinese readers). Interestingly enough, in Chicago I have noticed that even mainlanders tend to use the word 国语 when referring to “Mandarin.” I would imagine that this usage is not connected with politics per se, but rather an adaptation to the collective Chicago Chinese dialect, as laid down by the first wave of immigrants, most of whom were from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Regardless of any connotations, I have also found my own Chinese idiolect has been subconsciously shifting to say 国语 as opposed to 汉语 or 中文. This would have sounded quite strange if I was still in Fuzhou, especially coming from a 6 foot white guy. But in 芝加哥中国话 (Chicago Chinese), 国语 is the name of the game.
*There are several names of dialects which are not constructed this way. For example Cantonese is often called 粤语 (yue2 yu3) or 白话 (bai2 hua4). However terms such as 广东话 (guang3 dong1 hua4) and 广州话 (guang3 zhou1 hua4) would be acceptable as well.
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05.05.08
Posted in curious English at 8:09 am by Benjamin Ross
I was filing through my China pictures the other day and discovered this shot, from the Fuzhou Forest Park, one of my all-time favorite examples of Curious English. The Chinese literally means “Enjoy the happiness of free people” but I imagine this didn’t sound as poignant to the sign makers as “Enjoy The Free Happiness.” Here is what I was able to deduce from this billboard. Please feel free to add if I have missed anything.
-Happiness is best expressed through bar-b-cuing.
-Happiness is available and abundant.
-The Happiness must be consciously enjoyed to be taken advantage of fully.
-Westerners like to drink beer out of red cups and grill lobsters.
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05.01.08
Posted in culture difference, Chicago at 11:30 am by Benjamin Ross
There’s a little market called The Mayflower in Chicago’s Chinatown where I frequent about once a week to pick up Chinese cooking supplies and snacks which I can’t find at the big Jewel-Osco mega-grocery store near my house. Chinatown has several of these markets and so far I have found that there are few food products (with the exception of seasonal fruits) which I could buy in Fuzhou, but cannot find here in Chinatown.
The Mayflower, like most shops in Chinatown, jams an exorbitant amount of product into a comparatively undersized storefront. This results in crowded aisles, long check-out lines, and a somewhat stressful shopping experience. I frequently find myself inadvertently bumped into by other customers, as I’m sure I do to others as well, and scooting side to side to let other shoppers squeeze by.
Yesterday I went to The Mayflower to pick up some fresh bamboo and a few cooking supplies, and to my surprise, the store was almost entirely empty. I carelessly strolled through the wide-open aisles without dodging other customers, found my items, and made it to the check-out counter in about half the time it would usually require. Something seemed odd…that is until I glanced down at my cell phone to check the time—it was 12:20 PM.
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| Sites like this, a Beijing delivery driver taking a nap in the bed of his bicycle, are not uncommon around noontime in the Middle Kingdom. |
The idea of an afternoon siesta, or 休息 (xiu1 xi1) is deeply entrenched into the Chinese lifestyle. While the exact times vary based on region and season, business in China typically shuts down around 11:00 or 11:30 and picks back up at about 1:30 or 2. The interim is used both as a lunch break and a nap time. During the mid-afternoon in China, it is not uncommon to see taxi drivers asleep in their cabs, shopkeepers dozing behind the counter, and construction workers playing cards or taking naps on bamboo mats. School children often return home to get fed and take a rest before returning to class, and office workers often do the same. As a general rule, it is also somewhat rude to call or visit someone at this time, as it is likely they are sleeping.
During my first year in China when I was living in Fuqing I found myself sinking into these same Chinese sleeping patterns. All of the teachers and students at my university would take a nap from 12:00 to 1:30, and there was nothing for me to do but take a nap as well. However, before long I found an even better use for my xiu xi time—going shopping and running errands!
Because much of China is asleep at this hour, it the ideal time slot to buy groceries, make a transaction at the bank, go shopping, or do anything other activity which would normally subject oneself to the ubiquitous masses of people which crowd the Middle Kingdom. Before long, I found myself consolidating all of my shopping to the time between 12 and 2 and found both the time and aggravation I was saving myself to be well worth it.
Here in Chicago’s Chinatown, Chinese and American cultures mix, and often result in a hybrid form of Sino-Americanization. While many American customs are adopted by the Chinese in the Windy City, there is also much which remains culturally Chinese, and the xiu xi is one of them. For me, at least I now know that early afternoon is the time to do my Chinese grocery shopping in Chicago too.
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04.27.08
Posted in announcements, Chicago at 12:16 am by Benjamin Ross
Chicago’s Chinatown is making national news, but unfortunately it is because of a deadly incident which occurred Friday during which a semi-truck crashed into a the Cermak-Chinatown “L” station. 2 people were killed and 22 were injured, when the semi plowed into the escalator leading up to the train platform. This is the station I use several times a week en route to Chinatown, and I had actually been on the platform just hours before the accident. I’ve always found the intersection to be a particularly dangerous one, especially due to the proximity of vehicles exiting the Dan Ryan Expressway, but never imagined an accident of such magnitude. Service at the station, part of the CTA Red Line, the main north-south artery for Chicago rapid transit, reopened Saturday morning.
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04.22.08
Posted in culture difference at 11:49 pm by Benjamin Ross
This past weekend I went back to Kansas City to catch up with friends and family, and celebrate my first Passover in the US since 2003. On my first day back in town I went out for sushi (which is now as American as a ham sandwich) with my dad, one of my brothers, and three of my dad’s friends. All of the guests were people whom I haven’t seen to much of for the past four or five years, and I was eager to catch up, even if only for the duration of the lunch.
However, throughout the meal, I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing…the table. What was so strange about the table you might ask? Well, from an American standpoint, nothing. It was a typical rectangular table with three chairs on either side. Three of us sat on the side facing the sushi bar, and three sat on the other. As we were eating, I noticed that for the majority of the time, there were three separate conversations going on, with each person chatting with the person they were sitting across from. I was sitting on the end of the side which was not facing the sushi counter. While at times I did find myself in conversation with the my dad and my brother, who were both occupying the middle spots, I found I could only talk to my dad’s friend at the other end on the other side by shouting over the table. As for my dad’s other friend who was sitting on the same side as me, but on the other end, it was virtually impossible to communicate until we got up from the table.
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Diners at a Chinese meal typically sit around a circular table, so as to facilitate a conversation which can include everybody.
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This would never have struck me as odd, had I not ever lived in China, where the vast majority of all tables are circular.* With a circular table, all guests can see each other as they eat, making it considerably more conducive to everyone being involved in the conversation. With a rectangular table, conversation tends to be fragmented down to groups of two or three.
While I was teaching in China, I heard several strange stereotypes from my students in regards to Westerners eating habits. One of which was that Westerners don’t talk during their meals. Not only is this inaccurate, but I would argue that the most basic function of a casual meal between old friends within Western society is very much analogous to that of Chinese society. Guests enjoy tasty food and a nice atmosphere, and possibly have something to drink. However, most importantly, it is a social event, and thus communication is the centerpiece. Why then are rectangular tables so popular in the West?
*We have circular tables in the US too, but rectangular ones are far more common.
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04.14.08
Posted in economics, Sino-US at 1:55 pm by Benjamin Ross
Today is April 14, the day before April 15, the infamous date when the IRS requests all American citizens to submit their tax returns. This will be my first Tax Day in the US since 2003, and it got me thinking about paying my taxes in China. This is actually a question I get quite often from American friends. How did I pay my taxes in China? The funny thing is that I really have no idea how or if I paid my taxes in China at all (excluding projects for which I was paid for in USD).
I spent my first two years in China teaching at Chinese universities, and my salary was always in Chinese currency…and when I say “in” Chinese currency, I literally mean in Chinese currency. On the first day of every month, one of the teachers from my school would knock on my door, and hand me a folded wad of 45 one hundred RMB notes (approximately $540 at that time). There was no pay stub, no deductions, not even a little red envelope for my bills.
Typically, getting paid in cash would not be a bad thing, but I wasn’t exactly stoked about having to ride my bike to the bank once a month with that kind of cash on my person. Furthermore, I always wondered if there were any taxes I would ever be expected to pay. I asked the school administration about this several times and was never given a clear answer.
After going through this same overly simplistic process in my second university job, I came to the conclusion that my taxes were probably taken out before my income was figured. Thus, a job which had a salary of 4500 RMB per month in China, actually paid 4500 RMB, whereas in the US, a salary quote is always before taxes. Furthermore, at the end of the year there was no filing I was required to turn into the Chinese tax bureau.
This tax situation, or lack of tax situation I should say, is not just limited to foreign experts or English teachers. When I worked at the barbershop, the practice was the identical. Every month, the employees would receive their earnings, in cash, without any forms listing withholdings, and without filing tax returns at the end of the year. (It would be interesting to hear how, or if this situation is different for those whose positions are higher up on the economic totem pole than those of an English teacher or a hair washer.)
Now that I am back in the US, I am back to going through the same procedures we all do in April to ensure that Uncle Sam is getting his fair dime me. I have returned to the land of pay stubs, deductions, and 1099’s, and I can’t help but feel distant from the world where you get paid in a wad of bills, taxes are an afterthought, and there are no year-end returns to file. Sometimes it’s just the little things you miss about a living in the Middle Kingdom, like not paying your taxes.
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04.11.08
Posted in Fuzhou, immigration at 11:40 am by Benjamin Ross
The Slate is currently running a 3-part piece on Fuzhou for which I did some pro bono consulting. The articles, written by Patrick Radden Keefe, explore life in rural villages on the outskirts of Fuzhou, which are the source of most of the United States’ Chinese restaurant labor pool. Keefe also details the human smuggling operations which have led to these small villages’ unprecedented economic booms. You can click on the link below for the articles. They’re all worth the read.
http://www.slate.com/id/2188450/entry/2188451/
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04.03.08
Posted in Sino-US, politics, editorials at 1:07 pm by Benjamin Ross
With the events of the past two weeks, the Chinese Internet waves have seen an explosion of material written on the topic of “Western media bias.” In China Daily, Chinese forums, and in QQ chatrooms across the cybersphere, Chinese have been bashing the Western media for allegedly conspiring to break apart their country.
Personally, I do not believe that the US media nor the US government has any vested interest in disassembling the current Chinese empire. However, I do believe there is an inherent bias towards China in most American media, and for years it has mislead Americans about the Middle Kingdom. The root of America’s slanted media is not for the sake of advancing political objectives of the US government. Rather, it has a much more noble objective…the entertainment of the masses.
One of the pitfalls (amongst many advantages) of a free press is that the competition between media can lead news outlets to devolve into conduits of entertainment rather than information. Thesedays most mainstream American news outlets function more like television shows than they do informational broadcasts, churning out sexy news stories which are designed to increase ratings, rather than to provide relevant information. Within this structure China has become just another character in a cast of worldwide nations and leaders from which our infotainment broadcasts are construed. Like any television show, character development is a key element of effective infotainment. Once a popular character has been developed, viewers come to expect that character to act in the manner which is consistent with their preconceptions. When Homer Simpson falls asleep on the job with a doughnut in his mouth and causes a nuclear meltdown, we all laugh. If he were to lose weight, go back to school for an associates degree, and begin a respectable career as an insurance salesman, we would not be nearly as entertained. The same holds true for the characters on our nightly news reports. In China’s case, it is one of a handful of current villains in the stage of the American media’s international news broadcasts. Accordingly, viewers expect China to behave within the confines of its role. If not, they might change the channel.
Now I am not suggesting that everything done by the Chinese government is whole-hearted and altruistic, nor am I suggesting that the American media deliberately fabricate stories either. But rather, that the American media systematically over-emphasize those stories which reaffirm China’s image—that of an evil entity and a danger to the world and its own people. At the same time they ignore the majority of the news which could indicate the positive developments brought forth by the Communist government.
Since the Deng Xiaoping initiated reforms beginning in the late 70’s, China has experienced unprecedented improvements in the standards of living of millions of people. Yet the American media continue to conjure up an image of a draconian government where citizens are oppressed, and rights are violated with no rhyme or reason. When a nation is constantly characterized by the media as China has been, it is difficult for onlookers to view a particular situation with any objectivity at all.*
Like most matters reported by the US news media, I do not believe that the recent reports on China are “complete lies,” as suggested by the Chinese media. However, as the standard bearer of free press around the world, I would like to see the US media give a more balanced backdrop for their coverage of the Middle Kingdom. Unfortunately, if current trends continue, this won’t happen any time soon, and certainly not before the Beijing Olympics.
*This last statement would be equally applicable to the Chinese media as well.
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03.28.08
Posted in personal anecdotes, Sino-US, announcements, Chicago at 12:13 am by Benjamin Ross
Generally when blogging, I try to keep myself out of the spotlight, but it’s been a while since I’ve written a personal update, so I wanted to scribble down a few words to let readers know what I’ve been up to of late.
As most of you probably know, I moved back to the US in late August, and then moved to Chicago in late October. It is hard to believe that I have already been here 5 months. Overall, I have been extremely pleased with my decision to move to Chicago. I came here for two reasons primarily. Firstly, I wanted to live in a large cosmopolitan city, but also wanted to remain in the Midwest. Secondly, after being abroad for 3 years plus, I wanted to be close to friends whom I had rarely seen over the past few years. Coincidentally, most of the people I care about (excluding immediate family) all live in Chicago. Thus, the Windy City was the logical choice.
Chicago is an excellent city from both a cultural and a practical standpoint. With its history of immigration, Chicago, like New York City or San Francisco is a salad bowl of cultures from around the globe. On any given day, I could eat dim sum, have a conversation in Mandarin, buy chilies at a Mexican grocery store, drink Zywiec in a Polish night club, get a ride from an African cab driver who speaks 6 languages, go out for Korean BBQ, overhear a conversation in Fuzhou hua, buy tamales from a street vendor, and the list goes on. It has been reinforcing my image of what it means to live in America.
I have also been enjoying the convenience, financial freedom, and sense of ecological and social responsibility which comes along with not owning a car (something which is not possible in many American cities). Chicago’s rapid transit, while old and dilapidated, is also one of the most extensive systems in the country. I live a 7 minute walk from a subway line which in another 10 minutes takes me downtown, from which point I can get virtually anywhere in the city via the 8 different lines. Rarely is there a location within the city which I can’t reach on the train.
As for my employment, I am currently working 2 jobs. I spend my days as a medical interpreter for a company based out of Cincinnati. Several days a week they send me to different hospitals in the Chicago area where I am an interpreter between doctors and Chinese patients who can’t speak enough English to get through their appointments. In the evenings, I work 4 nights a week as an English teacher at a local training school, not so different from the ubiquitous 培训学校 in China. My students are all adults and come from a variety of backgrounds. The largest percentage of them are Polish, but I also have students from Ukraine, Bulgaria, Austria, Mongolia, Thailand, Korea, Turkey, and Benin. It has been an interesting and completely different experience from teaching Chinese students, and I plan to elaborate on this more in a future entry. Needless to say, I have learned more about Eastern Europe in the past few months than I had in my entire life.
Even though I am back in the US now, I am doing my best to keep in touch with my life in China. People often ask me if I miss China, and I my answer is “no.” This is the same answer I would give people in China when they ask if I missed my life in the US. To me, my life in China has always seemed separate from my life in the US, like an alternative universe. When I am in the US, I think about the US and when I was in China, I thought about China.
That being said, in the past few weeks I have not been able to help myself from thinking about the events which have been transpiring in China. And the more I think, the more frustrated I become, not so much with the events themselves, but with the way they are covered by the media, both Western and Chinese. While the Chinese media does its typical song and dance of selective reporting and damage control, the Western media continue to feed us the same over sensationalized, one-sided, Hollywood dribble we’ve come to expect in post 9/11 America. Neither side is lying, yet nobody is reporting the whole truth. With one side seeking to numb the masses and the other in dire need of sales and ratings, the true losers are the readers. The resulting ignorance on both sides only provides more fuel for the fire, and I fear this trend will continue throughout the impending Olympics.
With all this in mind, I am going to do my best to take a trip back to China for the festivities this summer. While plans are still up in the air, and by no means definite, it is my desire to keep current on the country I spent nearly 1/8 of my life living in, and besides, if the proverbial shit hits the fan, I plan to be there to pick up the droppings. In the interim, I’ll be in Chicago, which for now, and the foreseeable future, is home.
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