Do you feel bad when people mimic your Chinese accent?

[isela]

I was watching 天天向上 (by 湖南卫视) the other day. The special episode invited the top few contestants from 汉语桥 to hang-out and have fun. It was generally a good time I’d say, but I was quite bothered when the hosts joked with the contestants' accents during the show.

It happened more than just a handful times. Most common examples are the contestants say/answer something with some flaws in their pronunciation, and then the hosts, deeply amused, talk/explain back while mimicing the way the contestants speak. Some of the contestants gave a bitter look, but the host didn't seem to have a sense for it. And the audiences seemed quite entertained, too.

I was really embarrassed about it. I simply don't get why this was funny, and I can’t help feeling bad about the fact that till now tons of people in the country still don't have the sense to respect others, or sometimes even the sense for “oneself”. Some seem to completely see the different-looking foreigners as Aliens from the Mars, and they feel completely comfortable with "Oh! Check out his nose! His eyes are really blue! So funny!" IN FRONT OF these people, like people do to things in a museum or even a zoo.

I was wondering how people here think about this? Have you encountered any situations similar to this in China, and do you feel bad about it? I might be overwhelmed with anger on this issue. So are there any insights from the cultural perspective? Could this attitude have originated from our group-interest-oriented culture? Let’s talk about this!

[gato]

Are you talking about this episode? Maybe 13-16 minutes in with the Hungarian girl?

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTA5NzAwMjEy.html

视频: 天天向上20090731期(汉语桥选手)

[ABCinChina]

I've noticed this too and do feel it's sort of rude especially from a Western perspective. I think people in China have not had much exposure to foreigners so every interaction with foreigners is highly amusing to say the least.

One a side note, has anyone noticed how SLOW Youku is outside of China? Watching a minute takes 4 minutes to download. On the other hand, trying to watch Youtube is equally slow when trying to watch in China.

[phyrex]

On the other hand, trying to watch Youtube is equally slow when trying to watch in China.

Why, no, not at all, this is totally dependent on the time-out settings of your browser. Okay, or the speed of your VPN

[wushijiao]

I think it can be frustrating if people make fun of your accent/ your Chinese skills. The people in the show gato linked to seemed to be pretty bad. But then again...if you look at, say, American humor, comedians have been mining ethnic humor for centuries because..... it's funny!

I suppose people speaking in funny accents will almost always be funny to people everywhere.

On the other hand, when speaking a foreign language, I think it can be helpful to think of yourself as a character in a play or movie. You try to adopt the speaking manner, body language, and accent of the locals, while also being somewhat of a token laowai, that by its nature, has no personality of any real value. If you exist in conversations with people as the real “you”, and if they say something offensive (usually accidentally), it’s not all that personal if you’ve mentally adopted a character, of sorts, for an interaction. Of course, if you meet people, say on the train or in a taxi (or someone you interact with daily, or know), you often have the time to talk long enough to break down the Chinese/foreigner barrier, but until then, I think it can be helpful to disassociate yourself from the real “you”, while staying mindful of what you’re doing.

[balthier]

when in Rome, do as the Romans do. this is really not a big deal in Chinese culture, do not get them wrong or feel offended. chinese is my first language, but still i make mistakes sometime, my friends make fun of it too, but they have no bad intension, no need to mention my sucking english. we call this 贻笑大方. and it helps you to improve your chinese isnt it, plus facing your mistakes should not be a problem.

i am in canada now, the culture is pretty different here. since i am in a foreign country and learning another language, it is me who need to adapt and adjust. no other options. i think for you it is the same, if you find anything different in chinese culture, dont be judgmental. just try to understand it, after all, you can not make 1.3 billion ppl to change into your way. or.... can you?

[yonglin]

I think the foreigners in this show were quite objectified throughout, and the whole thing reminded me of how Chinese media/propaganda outlets tend to put its minorities on display (i.e., in traditional costumes, with traditional dancing/singing, etc.). However, if you agree to participate in this type of show, I think you should put up with a bit of teasing by the hosts - this is obviously the entire point.

My favourite was the interview with the North Korean guy!

But only blonde girls studying Chinese...?

[gato]

balthier：楼主是中国人，可能在国外住太久了吧。呵呵。

[SOOHK]

I just had a quick peak for the scene at 13 minutes into the show.

The Chinese hosts are unfair. I think her Chinese is really nice and does not deserve to be made fun of. I'd like to hear them speak English first and see how they perform. Not to make fun of them.

[Lu]

I can understand the humour in mocking other people's accents, but it's still rude (not unlike mocking people's skin colour or cultural traits). You can't really stop people from mocking or from laughing about it, I'd just try to avoid people who do that.

[adrianlondon]

Just laugh a lot and say "what? shenme?" each time they speak English.

[sukitc]

I think it takes time for any society to adapt itself to the new global community, even a society with such glorious history as China's.

When Shaquille O'Neal made a mockery of Yao Ming's Chinese accent, he was widely and rightly criticized because O'Neal, being an American, should know that this was not an acceptable behavior in the US society and the new global community. However, in Yao Ming's China, the news was a non-event because they mock foreigners all the time.

[leeyah]

Do you feel bad when people mimic your Chinese accent?

No. Because I guess I'm very lucky that I DON'T have an accent (which doesn't exclude the possibility that I might not catch a bit of Canto sound to my Putonghua eventually during my stay in GZ, which could bring on the mimicking later on !! )

About the show: I've seen several shows like this before and I didn't get the impression that the hosts are being rude to their guests, on the contrary, the way I see it, the teasing/laughing communication is a common feature of interactive entertainment & is supposed to break the host/show participant barrier, to introduce a bit of intimacy, so, no, I see no harm in it. Actually I tend to see it as an expression of typically Chinese cordiality, only perhaps too direct for Westerners who are used to the kind of etiquette which sometimes borders on hypocrisy & even coldness.

(No, I don't wish to (always) sound like I'm defending the Chinese, but) I'd just like everybody to try and look at things from an objective point of view: most Chinese may still not feel too comfortable in the presence of foreigners, they don't have many opportunities to learn about the world outside China other than what the media gives them, so their image of the West may be a bit simplified & even somewhat distorted.

But if you try putting yourselves in their place I'm sure you'll realize that the young hosts (including the audience) were as tense as their foreign guests. All their laughter and mimicking to me seems more like some kind of invisible defensive stance, a tactic against what they imagine the alien-looking blue-eyed ( &OMG!) Chinese speaking foreigners might be up to, not to forget the innate & obsessive Chinese fear of losing face. So... they choose to lead the conversation in let's have fun by making fun of laowai direction, all the while expecting reciprocity from their guests, except that, unfortunately, those young, enthusiastic but inexperienced laowai were far too nervous & not up to the situation & so ended up embarrassed when they should have been proud of themselves!(But then again, I've seen foreigners walk the streets of China embarrassed & almost guilty for being there and looking different, , so I guess most of them develop some kind of complex... ) Anyway, this may be an explanation why their embarrassment was so strong, and why they seem to have completely forgotten what they came to the show for - to have fun - and were so dumbfounded none of them ever came to the idea to accept the challenge, turn the table around and say: 'Hey, why don't you (the hosts, or someone from the audience, even) try saying something in my language, 大家热闹热闹吧!' I'm sure the show would have taken a different and much more amicable turn then, because I've seen it happen in other shows: foreign/Chinese guests, singing, playing, dancing, what not, asking the hosts to join them which they never refuse to do, even if they end up either 1.looking charming or 2.making complete idiots of themselves (it's up to you how you interpret this). But it's fun, it's 热闹, dajia is friendly to each other & it looks very, very cute.

To sum up: things like these are in fact why I like China and the Chinese: they are straightforward to the point where we would interpret it as rudeness, but I guess it's just their way of communication, a bit 'raw' on the outside, but if we want to feel good in China we should learn to interpret it in a more positive way, especially the laughter. And dear Isela, I'm afraid this goes for you too, because if you as a native 'mainlander' failed to see this & actually felt embarrassed about it, then I'm afraid Gato's comment is somewhat true....

[carlo]

I've seen people mocking foreign accents (or dialects) in every single country I have lived in, not just China. Kids all over the world master this technique at about age 10, and some never mature beyond this stage. So I don't think this has much to do with the teachings of Confucius or the way foreigners look, frankly.

The fact that you may or may not have an accent, IMHO, makes zero difference. Occasionally when I get on a taxi in Beijing the driver will go 尼豪！去拿利？imitating the way foreigners are supposed to speak, and I haven't said anything yet. Mocking you after you have spoken is at least a sign that people are listening to what you are saying, which I take as a compliment.

If people say something you don't like, or you don't feel comfortable about, you have a sacred right to say so - gently, but firmly, every time. Even, and I should say especially, if you are a minority. No need to pretend nothing's happened or that you find it very funny. Easier said than done, I know, but it's much better than exploding with pent-up frustration after ten years and blowing up the whole bar district.

[Meng Lelan]

I've seen people mocking foreign accents (or dialects) in every single country I have lived in, not just China. Kids all over the world master this technique at about age 10, and some never mature beyond this stage.

carlo is right. Even in the US, the natives mock the accents of natives even if those natives can't do anything about their accents.

Up to age ten my deaf classmates and I were in some class with hearing kids. The hearing kids were mocking our deaf accents. As a result my deaf classmates all left to go to the state school for the deaf and I can't blame them. It's universal. Kids mastering this technique, carlo has got this concept explained very well.

By the way now that American Sign Language is popular in the US, me and my deaf friends are now mocking the way hearing people sign or try to sign. We can tell their signing isn't "deaf".

As for China Bridge or whatever that show is, I've seen some of it on the Internet, my view is China Bridge is a lot like the HSK in that it doesn't do anything for anyone. If you think the contestants are being poorly treated you should see how contestants are really poorly treated on those fad talent shows on tv these days.

[muyongshi]

(note: what I am about is solely to prove a point and is not intended to have anyone take offense at it)

But you don't type like you're deaf!!!!!!!

[tooironic]

Wow small world, I know that white guy in the video with brown hair and white suit shirt, he's a bit of a celebrity in Melbourne and China in general because of his Chinese.

Anyway, a lot of other laowai that I've met over the years have complained about this supposed general tendancy of Chinese to make fun of them, either for their language skills (whatever they may be), racial features, etc. But to be honest I've never really come across this myself. It's true I haven't been back to China for many years, but all the Chinese people I've met in Melbourne (and there's been a lot of them, from many different regions) have been very complementary, almost to the point of obsequiousness. So I still don't really understand this generalisation - but then again maybe I'm just too oblivious to notice it hehe. Either that, or my Chinese accent is "perfect" - but, somehow, I doubt that's the case.

[aljensen]

It depends too on the situation - a comedy show is going to be about comedy. What about Apu's accent on the Simpsons? Re-watching Western television after living in Asia for awhile gives me pause, and I do not consider myself to be "politcally correct" or anything.

I don't agree with the idea that Chinese people don't care if other people mock their accents - I know a couple of 南方人 who get genuinely upset if people make fun of their accents (although again, it does have to do with the spirit in which it is given).

Generally speaking, though, there is a bit of a double standard when it comes to laowai doing "as the Romans do" -> For instance, it is quite common in Dongbei in the summer for men to take their shirts off in restaurants, spit on the floor, and shout at the waiters. This is acceptable behavior for Chinese people, for foreigners it is not quite as acceptable. Likewise, binge drinking is quite common with men here - in summer you can go by any table on the sidewalk and see dozens of beer bottles, men vomiting on the streets, etc. And yet I've had Chinese people tell me that "Foreigners drink too much!"

Similarly, I have had shop keepers in the markets yell at me or berate me for daring to bargain too hard with them - when I personally know very rich Chinese who dress in the worst clothes when they go to the market and bargain down to the last kuai.

Or in another instance, in Wuxi there was a large protest against the main foreigner bar because it stayed open after the Sichuan earthquake. There were large numbers of Chinese people chanting slogans and demanding that the bar be closed down - which it did, after which the foreigners went down the street to the very much open (and Chinese-run) KTV.

I guess the idea here is "when in Rome do as the Romans believe they do"

[xianhua]

That clip seemed to be unavailable when I tried to view it.

"Similarly, I have had shop keepers in the markets yell at me or berate me for daring to bargain too hard with them"

My wife gets a hard time when bargaining if I'm by her side, as they say she shouldn't need to bargain since she married a foreginer. Two assumptions there then:

Foreigner = rich

If you are rich you no longer need to bargain (although the contrary is often true which is how they accumulated their wealth in the first place).

I'll ask her to wear some shabby old clothes next time. Great tip!

[renzhe]

Yes, my girlfriend never takes me shopping in China for that reason.