Karate Kid and a little side note on language loss
Just finished watching Karate Kid; I'd heard this was a very good movie, so I looked it up and of course, it had scored 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The kid in question is Jaden Smith. He and his mom move from Detroit to China because one of her networking contacts in China requires she relocate and her employment wasn't "working out" in Detroit. We find this out early in the movie, and the first language issue is brought up on the plane (as seen in the trailer).
Mom: Dre, you don't even know any Chinese. Now is the time to start. Ni hao ma. Ni jiao shenme mingzi?
Dre: *being completely unco-operative*
Mom: Come on, Dre. Don't be like this. Just ask him *points to the Chinese man across the aisle*
Dre: *sigh, tentatively looks over*
Mom: That's it. Go on. Ask him.
Dre: Er... "nee how muh... nee jow..." (insert incoherent mumbling here)
Man: ... [I'm] from Detroit.
Dre: Oh *awkward pause* S'up?
XD Nice save
Anyways, onto Jaden Smith!
What a good little actor. I didn't think much of him in the beginning, but at the first outburst where he goes "I HATE IT HERE!" I was cringing on the sofa and going "Wow, he's good!" I'm trying to recall back to my first experience of being in Asia where I barely spoke anything beyond a 3-character sentence and couldn't read to save my life (well, I still can't read to save my life, but I'm not a total pushover with pre-K Chinese books anymore).
This movie takes place in Beijing so I figured I might be in for a language treat, getting to hear bits and pieces of the language. Some scenes, like when Dre talks to a Chinese boy, are subtitled so that we can still get the gist of it. When another foreign kid in the movie translates between Dre and Chinese classmates, there are no subtitles provided. Then there are some scenes where fighting breaks out and a girl tries to calm the feud - we initially get subtitles when the girl intervenes but as Dre steps back along with the crowd and the arguing gets more heated, the subtitles disappear - perhaps to make us experience it a bit more like Dre without ruining the immersion and having us "lost in translation"?
This girl is dating an older guy who causes the initial feud and overall tension in the movie. What's interesting is that because he was angry, he'd talk super quickly. I couldn't catch everything - maybe every other sentence with key words?
Guy: *throws Dre aside in an angry rush of Chinese*
Girl: Ni gan shenme? (Lit. What are you doing? Subtitle: What's your problem?)
Guy: *a bunch of Chinese* (Lit. No idea. Subtitle: You need to be practicing, etc)
Girl: *bunch of Chinese* Ni bu shi wo baba! (No subtitles, lit. You are not my father.)
So then Mom was like "Do you know what they're saying?" and I'm like "Eh... she said he's not her father, don't tell me what to do, that sort of thing."
And then at one point Dre tries to be cute and impress the girl by saying "Ni hao ma? Ni jiao shenme mingzi?"
Mom: What'd he say to her?
Me: "What are you called?"
I guess to some people this would make me seem "fluent" but again, this is *not* the case. I can't handle a phone conversation in Mandarin at all due to the static and language gaps, but in person and in specific contexts (with enough body language) I can generally get by. I AM NOT FLUENT.
Ha, I remember when Roommate arranged for some guys to come to our apartment to fix the Internet but the only time she could book an appointment was when she was at classes, so I had to be there. She warned them I wouldn't be able to communicate, but it's not like they would remember. The guys knocked at the door and I answered, and they're like "blah blah" in Chinese so I figured I had to say something to "acknowledge" they came to the right apartment, so I searched my memory bank & finally said "Ni lai zheli... xiuli?"
(Lit. "You come here... fix?" Like I know how to say Internet or anything like that? -.-)
But it got the point across.
It was a delight to see how similar the alleyways and nightmarkets are in China, and to hear bits and pieces of the language on the side, half with subtitles and half not. Even with the subtitles, I couldn't catch much, and without the subtitles, it was fifty-fifty.
Naturally, it made me think of Taipei and how my mother was so worried I would get lost, and how it was so convenient to get snacks at late-night vending machines. I spent a good portion of energy trying to listen for any familiar bits in the language, and the other half of my energy focusing on the story.
And of course, when I watch stuff like this, it makes me miss the city and its nightmarkets, and it makes me wish I could have someone who had the patience to tutor me like I'm a little kid learning to talk all over again.
I guess that's why I miss Laoshi so much, even at times more so than my mother. She had so much patience and didn't treat me like I was "supposed" to know anything. I wish I had someone who could do that for me - teach and treat me with the consistent patience and linguistic nurturing that is afforded to a child. I know I bitch about language being difficult and that I wish I could understand so much more, but that's because people treat me in Mandarin like I'm stupid and I should be able to learn faster just cuz I look Chinese and I'm an adult anyway. I feel inadequate enough when it comes to the language and then just because I can translate "how are you" it suddenly makes everyone think I'm a translator, or alternately if I can't translate they wonder what is so wrong with me that I can't learn faster.
No, guys, that's what happens when you grow up with English-speaking white parents in a white neighbourhood with white peers. Your brain gets stuffed with English.
silent_bunny's mom was another exception to all the years of teachers I've had. She tried talking at a normal pace to me, then silent_bunny told her to slow down - which she did, tremendously. There was too much static on the phone to make out much of anything, but I'm sure if she'd been there in person, I might've had a decent chance at making conversation.
I'm not *stupid* at the language, I know I'm not. Six months of straight immersion in Mandarin was enough to prove that. I just wish people wouldn't move to either extremity of treating me like I'm hopeless or expecting me to catch on when they talk at 80mph.
Laoshi made me want to try. She made me want to do better. I spent two hours doing that card for her because I wanted to show her how much fun she had made class. It was only 3 months, but that 3 months made such a big difference in how I saw my language listening abilities improve. I actually cared about doing good in class and wanting to improve my speaking.
OK, back to movie before I get myself all sad again, because it's deceptively easy for me to do that to myself thinking about this crap. It was a really good movie and I especially liked the ending. Again, the actor was adorable and I sent a text to silent_bunny recommmending she see it, because I think she would like it.
Also I would have LJ-cut most of this but the LJ-cut function is acting up. Sorry guys.
The kid in question is Jaden Smith. He and his mom move from Detroit to China because one of her networking contacts in China requires she relocate and her employment wasn't "working out" in Detroit. We find this out early in the movie, and the first language issue is brought up on the plane (as seen in the trailer).
Mom: Dre, you don't even know any Chinese. Now is the time to start. Ni hao ma. Ni jiao shenme mingzi?
Dre: *being completely unco-operative*
Mom: Come on, Dre. Don't be like this. Just ask him *points to the Chinese man across the aisle*
Dre: *sigh, tentatively looks over*
Mom: That's it. Go on. Ask him.
Dre: Er... "nee how muh... nee jow..." (insert incoherent mumbling here)
Man: ... [I'm] from Detroit.
Dre: Oh *awkward pause* S'up?
XD Nice save
Anyways, onto Jaden Smith!
What a good little actor. I didn't think much of him in the beginning, but at the first outburst where he goes "I HATE IT HERE!" I was cringing on the sofa and going "Wow, he's good!" I'm trying to recall back to my first experience of being in Asia where I barely spoke anything beyond a 3-character sentence and couldn't read to save my life (well, I still can't read to save my life, but I'm not a total pushover with pre-K Chinese books anymore).
This movie takes place in Beijing so I figured I might be in for a language treat, getting to hear bits and pieces of the language. Some scenes, like when Dre talks to a Chinese boy, are subtitled so that we can still get the gist of it. When another foreign kid in the movie translates between Dre and Chinese classmates, there are no subtitles provided. Then there are some scenes where fighting breaks out and a girl tries to calm the feud - we initially get subtitles when the girl intervenes but as Dre steps back along with the crowd and the arguing gets more heated, the subtitles disappear - perhaps to make us experience it a bit more like Dre without ruining the immersion and having us "lost in translation"?
This girl is dating an older guy who causes the initial feud and overall tension in the movie. What's interesting is that because he was angry, he'd talk super quickly. I couldn't catch everything - maybe every other sentence with key words?
Guy: *throws Dre aside in an angry rush of Chinese*
Girl: Ni gan shenme? (Lit. What are you doing? Subtitle: What's your problem?)
Guy: *a bunch of Chinese* (Lit. No idea. Subtitle: You need to be practicing, etc)
Girl: *bunch of Chinese* Ni bu shi wo baba! (No subtitles, lit. You are not my father.)
So then Mom was like "Do you know what they're saying?" and I'm like "Eh... she said he's not her father, don't tell me what to do, that sort of thing."
And then at one point Dre tries to be cute and impress the girl by saying "Ni hao ma? Ni jiao shenme mingzi?"
Mom: What'd he say to her?
Me: "What are you called?"
I guess to some people this would make me seem "fluent" but again, this is *not* the case. I can't handle a phone conversation in Mandarin at all due to the static and language gaps, but in person and in specific contexts (with enough body language) I can generally get by. I AM NOT FLUENT.
Ha, I remember when Roommate arranged for some guys to come to our apartment to fix the Internet but the only time she could book an appointment was when she was at classes, so I had to be there. She warned them I wouldn't be able to communicate, but it's not like they would remember. The guys knocked at the door and I answered, and they're like "blah blah" in Chinese so I figured I had to say something to "acknowledge" they came to the right apartment, so I searched my memory bank & finally said "Ni lai zheli... xiuli?"
(Lit. "You come here... fix?" Like I know how to say Internet or anything like that? -.-)
But it got the point across.
It was a delight to see how similar the alleyways and nightmarkets are in China, and to hear bits and pieces of the language on the side, half with subtitles and half not. Even with the subtitles, I couldn't catch much, and without the subtitles, it was fifty-fifty.
Naturally, it made me think of Taipei and how my mother was so worried I would get lost, and how it was so convenient to get snacks at late-night vending machines. I spent a good portion of energy trying to listen for any familiar bits in the language, and the other half of my energy focusing on the story.
And of course, when I watch stuff like this, it makes me miss the city and its nightmarkets, and it makes me wish I could have someone who had the patience to tutor me like I'm a little kid learning to talk all over again.
I guess that's why I miss Laoshi so much, even at times more so than my mother. She had so much patience and didn't treat me like I was "supposed" to know anything. I wish I had someone who could do that for me - teach and treat me with the consistent patience and linguistic nurturing that is afforded to a child. I know I bitch about language being difficult and that I wish I could understand so much more, but that's because people treat me in Mandarin like I'm stupid and I should be able to learn faster just cuz I look Chinese and I'm an adult anyway. I feel inadequate enough when it comes to the language and then just because I can translate "how are you" it suddenly makes everyone think I'm a translator, or alternately if I can't translate they wonder what is so wrong with me that I can't learn faster.
No, guys, that's what happens when you grow up with English-speaking white parents in a white neighbourhood with white peers. Your brain gets stuffed with English.
silent_bunny's mom was another exception to all the years of teachers I've had. She tried talking at a normal pace to me, then silent_bunny told her to slow down - which she did, tremendously. There was too much static on the phone to make out much of anything, but I'm sure if she'd been there in person, I might've had a decent chance at making conversation.
I'm not *stupid* at the language, I know I'm not. Six months of straight immersion in Mandarin was enough to prove that. I just wish people wouldn't move to either extremity of treating me like I'm hopeless or expecting me to catch on when they talk at 80mph.
Laoshi made me want to try. She made me want to do better. I spent two hours doing that card for her because I wanted to show her how much fun she had made class. It was only 3 months, but that 3 months made such a big difference in how I saw my language listening abilities improve. I actually cared about doing good in class and wanting to improve my speaking.
OK, back to movie before I get myself all sad again, because it's deceptively easy for me to do that to myself thinking about this crap. It was a really good movie and I especially liked the ending. Again, the actor was adorable and I sent a text to silent_bunny recommmending she see it, because I think she would like it.
Also I would have LJ-cut most of this but the LJ-cut function is acting up. Sorry guys.