Of all the languages in the world that is most talked about on the internet and least liked is Mandarin.

It is so damn hard! It is greek to me! It is just impossible to remember how people can even remember a character let alone a stroke in the character! The ones who have been converted, perhaps I am one of them, may just brush it off as part of a journey to satisfy an intellectual passion.

I am pro-Mandarin for it’s language. Insofar as Chinese culture is concerned, there is nowhere I could escape to; the Chinese population has mushroomed out of China.

Assimilation

I was brought up in a multi cultural commmunity which taught me that knowledge in language is needed for survival of the community to develop its civilisation. How on earth can people co-exist if it is not for accepting other people’s language, system of beliefs and lifestyle? I do not subscribe to any of the auspicious teachings that Chinese parents may practise becuase I am not Chinese.

There are many cultural practises of Indians, Boyanese, Indonesians, Thais and also western people that I just can’t assimilate. However, it does not drive me to hate and isolate my own children from the knowledge that the good life can offer. The world does not revolve around a particular race.

When my father died, he did not have a penny to his name. It was our upbringing in a multi-cultural society, ability to speak Mandarin and the experience of living with the Chinese people that saved us from the rut of poverty.

The national language has always been Malay and English, as a rule, is the state language to administer the nation. I read in amazement the Mr Lee Kuan Yew had spent 50 years to understand Mandarin, one that he regarded as his mother tongue. I recall browsing through a second hand bookshop in downtown Brash Basah complex and the book was on sale for just $10/-. My heart yearns to find out more and the Chinese bookseller was lightly amused that I wished to purchase it. She said in broken English, “You want this one ah? Aiya, I thought nobodys want it..”

Keeping My Mandarin Alive: Lee Kuan Yew’s Language Learning Experience

I bought many books to teach and learn Mandarin, because it is the only language that I did learn at school. It was not my choice, I was thrown into it. It was at that time, the only way out for my father, who laboured and toiled with my mother to keep us alive.

I am impaled

When I read or learn about how Chinese themselves are no longer interested to learn Mandarin, I am impaled. I could just see the sadness in my father’s eyes.

When my hubby found out that my friend recently named her baby without a Chinese name, he said it would be difficult in Chinese class, presuming that the baby would finally be receiving her education in Singapore. (Chinese is a compulsory 2nd language). That would be so sad for her. Today I realized how Chinese education lead to so many auspicious believes: how they played with number 8, certain characters, numbers, births, dates etc. Because I remember how my poor aunty was rejected at birth because she’s believed to bring terrible disaster to her family.

Culture Surprise: I am not promoting this site, you have to copy the link and paste it on your browser to read. http://culturesurprises.blogspot.com/2007/02/mandarin-han-yu-pin-yin.html

Mandarin is indeed a very difficult language for many who are so used to learning languages which offer cognitive connection with the writing, reading and verbal forms. The only solution to help people understand how to read Mandarin characters is to offer Romanisation of the spoken words. Then another problem sets in. Mandarin has prescribed intonation and therefore you can’t just modulate the pronunciation of words as you would with other languages of the world. So you always end up sitting as the student in the classroom, always having to ponder and make sense of it all.

Although I am very fortunate to have studied Mandarin from pre-school, it has left me distant from my mother tongue. I can no longer pass on the richness of the Malay culture to my daughter, but the spirit hasn’t died. I still eat with my fingers. When I really need to love and cuddle my daughter, I do whisper kind gentle words in my mother tongue, “Alamak sayang dia anak Mummy.” I still take Jamu for my health, bitter as they may be, it has been my mother’s recipe for health. My native tongue, my mother tongue is not separate but a part of who I am.

You can never hate your native tongue. That is because language does not evolve through culture, they are mutually exclusive yet interdependent for development of our civilisation. We have earned our place in society due to the sacrifice of our parents and forefathers; it is the seeds we sow which will determine what our future generation will reap. To survive in harmony with one’s soul, you need to continue to learn to live, love and use langauge.

Google search results for these phrases:

“love mandarin”

“hate mandarin”

Not An English Native?

Singapore is not recognised as English speaking nation as far as the Indonesia or China education system is concerned. There are just a number of countries that will be offered a working visa which would say “English Teacher”. Singapore is not one of them. Sorry. Any holder of a Singapore passport is however considered eligible for getting a teaching visa that says, “Mandarin Teacher”. Period. South-east Asian natives are not considered native English speakers. I have experienced it in Indonesia; apparently it is true in China. If you hold a passport from UK,USA,Canada, New Zealand or Australia, that will not be a problem, even if you are coloured.

Fortunately, I can teach Mandarin, so I had no problem getting a visa that said, “Mandarin Teacher”. (I won’t go into how people actually got around teaching English; it’s been possible to get around the system.) It goes to prove that if we have been bestowed a gift, it might just the one that will keep us employed for the rest of our live.