Tarzan Chinese

[abcdefg]

Earlier today I was apologizing to a Chinese friend for a word order mistake and my generally awful “Tarzan Chinese.” Since I wasn’t sure whether or not Tarzan was a cultural icon in China, I included a link to the Wikipedia article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarzan

I paused to read the article myself and was surprised to learn Tarzan was a better linguist than I remembered from the movies. May not be so bad to be a practitioner of “Tarzan Chinese” after all.

He can learn a new language even in days and thus speaks many languages, like one of the great apes, French, English, Dutch, German, Swahili, many Bantu dialects, ancient Greek, ancient Latin , Mayan, language of the Ant Men and language of Pellucidar among many. He is also capable of communicating with every species of animal in the jungle, short of predators… He possesses advanced learning skills which enabled him to teach himself how to read with nothing but a few books and learn any language only in few weeks.

[renzhe]

I've read a couple of books, and Tarzan was an extremely intelligent man who managed to pick up spoken English very fast.

I doubt that much of this made it into the movies, though.

[mcgau]

what do you mean that Tarzan is a cultural icon in China?

The transliteration of Tarzan is 泰山, the same name for one of the 'holy' mountains in china. Correct me if í'm wrong, I never think of any offense by calling Tarzan as 泰山.

[HashiriKata]

I never think of any offense by calling Tarzan as 泰山.

But 太脏 (的中文) may offend!

[mcgau]

What about 太正 (good for cantonese girls?), 太漲 (dream for stock investors)?

[abcdefg]

what do you mean that Tarzan is a cultural icon in China?

What I meant is that I did not know whether this western comic book character would be known to the average young Chinese person. I knew that Tarzan wasn't really part of China's cultural heritage, and was unsure to what extent he had been "imported."

In the early Tarzan movies he frequently says things like "Me Tarzan; you Jane" which get the idea across just fine, but wouldn't receive high marks for grammar or syntax. It’s kind of the way I speak Chinese.

[animal world]

"Me Tarzan; you Jane" which get the idea across just fine, but wouldn't receive high marks for grammar or syntax. It’s kind of the way I speak Chinese.

If that's his level of knowing a language, then his ability to master a new language in a matter of days is perhaps not quite so commendable.

Does 我泰山你简 work well for you as a pick-up line in Kunming?

[trien27]

太漲 (dream for stock investors)

太漲 also means "too bloated" [as with gas]!

[mcgau]

'What I meant is that I did not know whether this western comic book character would be known to the average young Chinese person. I knew that Tarzan wasn't really part of China's cultural heritage, and was unsure to what extent he had been "imported."

He's not quite a household name in China. I mean some Chinese know him from the Disney animation in late 90s but I've never seen anyone in real life to take Tarzan, at least as a metaphor. When Chinese see a guy who can climb and cling as good as an ape, they more likely call him "Sun wu-kong" .

In the early Tarzan movies he frequently says things like "Me Tarzan; you Jane" which get the idea across just fine, but wouldn't receive high marks for grammar or syntax. It’s kind of the way I speak Chinese.

I'm pretty sure Chinese won't feel offended on this, because 'Tarzan in China' speaks in Chinese.

EDIT: Typo mistake.

Edited December 22, 2009 at 01:59 PM by mcgau

[abcdefg]

Does 我泰山你简 work well for you as a pick-up line in Kunming?

I don't know. Will try it out and report back.

[xiaocai]

When Chinese see a guy who can climb and cling as good as an ape, they more likely call him "Sun wu-kong" .

Not really unless the guy rides on a piece of cloud and is able to perform 七十二变. And from the ways he speaks in 西游记, I personally think 孙悟空 is quite well educated, compared to Tarzan.

Edited December 27, 2009 at 02:44 PM by xiaocai