Unaware that chinese is being spoken

[Shelley]

Our shop sells amongst other things audio leads. I had a customer yesterday that was Chinese, this was confirmed as he took a phone call on his mobile and I listened to the Beijing accent he had.

 

We attempted to communicate in English about his requirement for a cable, as I didn't know what it was in Chinese, we stumbled on with his English version of what he wanted.

 

He came to the conclusion that he needed to go and check exactly the cable he needed, as he was going out the door, I said 谢谢， he sort of mumbled a quick 谢谢 back and then I said 再见， he replied 再见 and left.

 

The point of this tale is he didn't bat an eyelid at the fact I was talking to him in Chinese, it was almost like his ears were so used to it he didn't think it out of the ordinary. I don't look the remotest bit Chinese so I don't think he would have half expected it.

 

My question is what do you think was going on here?

 

P.S. He returned the next day and purchase the original cable we had discussed, no mention was made of my Chinese and again as he left I said 再见, not sure he heard me this time as he was busy attending to a small child he had with him.

[Silent]

Not sure what's going on in this case, but I surely can imagine he's not consciously aware of the language used. Personally I have had several occasions where I was not consciously aware of the language I used. If you give me something to read, after reading take it away there is a good chance that I can't tell or the essay was in English or Dutch. Specially if it's something simple, if I've to make an effort to understand it it may be a bit different. I suspect it's fairly normal if you're used to switching languages all the time.

[Geiko]

I had the opposite experience last weekend. I was in Paris to take TOCFL exam, and near the church of Saint Severin I found a small bubble tea shop. I entered to buy a matcha tea, and when I ordered the drink (in French), I heard the two waiters talking to each other in Chinese. The waiter that was dispatching me spoke really good French (well, at least it sounded good to me), but at some point I didn't understand what he was saying, and to appologise for not understanding him, I said: 我是西班牙人！He looked at me as if I was a three-headed dog or something, so I repeated "西班牙人？西班牙 ？" and he still didn't react. I thought: oh my God, five years learning Chinese and you can't even say such a simple sentence and make yourself understood!!! That was really frustating. But then he suddenly reacted and said that he had understood me in the first place, but couldn't believe that someone was talking to him in Chinese. He then asked me the typical questions (how long have you been studying Chinese, how many languages do you speak, what do you study at university...), and we chatted for a couple of minutes until my tea was ready.

 

However, in Shelley's case, I'm not surprised the Chinese person wasn't that surprised: whenever I go to Chinese supermarkets near my home, many people use the words 你好、谢谢 and 再见, and some of them never studied Chinese. Shopkeepers don't make any comment, only smile. I still remember two 中秋节 ago, the shopkeeper had her young daughter on her lap (a 5-year-old, maybe?), I said 谢谢 to her, and she told me in perfect Spanish that she didn't need me to speak Chinese, she could speak Spanish! Too cute!

[eshen]

My take is that people respond with some phrases automatically.   Like whenever anybody asks "How are you?", the immediate response is 'Fine.  And you?'

[Silent]

I guess it's a combination of habits, expectations and standard riddles that come out without thinking and probably many more. You get some cues and respond automatically in a 'suitable' way. I used to work at an international servicedesk where I changed languages dozens of times a day. At some point you don't think about which language to use, without thinking you pick automatically the 'right' one.

 

But then I also experienced a few times that people unexpectedly spoke to me in my native language and had to ask several times before I even realised they were speaking Dutch and to understand it. This usually happens when traveling and I have barely spoken Dutch for a few weeks.

[Shelley]

Chinese people accepting non Chinese people speaking Chinese must be more widespread than I had imagined. When I first started to learn Chinese, it was a very rare thing for people to do.

Also when I did speak Chinese to people they were all so amazed that it didn't go unnoticed with many rounds of "well done" and "oh you speak Chinese" etc.

 

So I suppose I am underestimating how normal it has become.for this sort of thing to happen.

[li3wei1]

When I was in Taiwan, I learned how to say 'I don't smoke' in Taiwanese, because one of the first things people do when they meet you is offer you a cigarette, and it's a really easy phrase to whip out in a casual and relaxed manner. The double-takes were priceless, and back then, foreigners speaking any amount of Taiwanese were treated like royalty.

[anonymoose]

When I speak to people in Shanghainese, either I'm met with surprise and excitement, or no reaction at all, as though nothing unusual has happened.

[stapler]

I never get much reaction when I speak Mandarin. Sometimes a small laugh if I use Hakka. But everyone loses their shit if they can see I use chopsticks.....

 

My theory is most people don't remember learning to speak, but remember the struggles with learning to use chopsticks.

[Demonic_Duck]

It's because he was in too much of a rush to say “喔，你中文说得很好！”

 

Actually though, it's weird. I also tend to get much less of a reaction when I use my Chinese in England (where it should logically be much more surprising that I can speak it) than I do in China (where really, it should be par for the course that foreigners can at least speak a bit).

[ZhangJiang]

About the praise, sometimes I just can't help saying it just like yesterday I told a Japanese guy his tones are almost perfect (actually hinting a little that other aspects of his pronunciation can use some improvement, but since we had just met and he said he's totally OK with understandable Chinese so... perfect tones.) Somehow we are convinced that Chinese is a real hard language for any foreigner, and also with a need to be polite and not to embarass people, a praise comes to fit the situation.

[Flickserve]

As an ethnic Chinese, I observe many non-chinese people saying 谢谢 or 再见。Seriously speaking, I wouldn't bat an eyelid.

Now if you had come out with a substantive sentence or two in chinese during the conversation, expect more of a reaction.

[tooironic]

I think Demonic Duck's explanation is most likely in that he was probably in too much of a rush to react.

 

But I understand Shelley's point. I have sometimes found myself in a similar situation, where the Chinese person I'm talking to in Chinese does not express any surprise that I can speak the language. But isn't it a bit strange for us to have this kind of reaction? If we take it par for the course that foreigners in, say, Australia should speak basic English, why can't we expect the same thing for foreigners and Chinese? Or it could be that, after being praised for our nihao's so many times, we have been conditioned to be surprised when we don't get such a reaction?

 

Yesterday I was walking through Xiamen Uni campus when a Chinese tourist came up to me to ask for directions in Chinese. I found it strange because 1) she assumed I could understand Mandarin and 2) she didn't think to ask a Chinese-looking person instead, of which there were plenty nearby. Maybe she just wanted to try her luck... I dunno.

 

[Angelina]

Slightly off topic:

 

Somehow we are convinced that Chinese is a real hard language for any foreigner, and also with a need to be polite and not to embarass people, a praise comes to fit the situation.

 

When I first came to China I used to spend a lot of time with a blondish friend. Both of us could speak pretty basic Chinese, but every time we would talk to Chinese people they would praise her for her fluent Chinese while not paying any attention to what I was saying. It was bad for my motivation. 

[Xiao Kui]

I agree with Silent

 

imagine he's not consciously aware of the language used. Personally I have had several occasions where I was not consciously aware of the language I used. If you give me something to read, after reading take it away there is a good chance that I can't tell or the essay was in English or Dutch. Specially if it's something simple, if I've to make an effort to understand it it may be a bit different. I suspect it's fairly normal if you're used to switching languages all the time.

 

 

What often happens to me (in the U.S.) is that we will often be several sentences into a conversation before the Chinese person realizes they are speaking Chinese to me, and when it strikes them they will ask questions such as how I learned Chinese,etc.  I often have conversations with Chinese people,and later, when relating information from the conversation to someone else, cannot recall whether I had the conversation in English or Chinese. 

[roddy]

If I was walking out of a shop and someone said thanks and goodbye, I'm going to say thanks and goodbye back and keep walking. Doesn't matter much what language it's in. 

 

One thing I suspect is true, and perhaps some overseas Chinese can comment, is that sometimes Mandarin (or whatever) becomes a very private, family, language. You use it at home and with certain friends, but your work and interactions with strangers are in English (or whatever). A stranger suddenly using Mandarin is kind of inviting themselves in to the context of family and friends. It's going to be a little disconcerting. 

[Flickserve]

Your first paragraph Roddy. French people don't bat an eyelid if I say 'Merci beaucoup', neither do Germans if I say,'Danke schön'.

[Lu]

I suspect a combination of automatic reaction (再见 -> 再见 without thinking) and being busy with other things, and thus not noticing the fact that OMG foreigner speaking Mandarin, and/or too preoccupied to make a comment on it. Like Silent, I sometimes don't remember in what language I read a thing or had a conversation, and this man might have the same thing. I doubt he's so used to non-Chinese speaking Chinese that he wouldn't think it was remarkable if he had really noticed it.

 

I have sometimes found myself in a similar situation, where the Chinese person I'm talking to in Chinese does not express any surprise that I can speak the language. But isn't it a bit strange for us to have this kind of reaction? If we take it par for the course that foreigners in, say, Australia should speak basic English, why can't we expect the same thing for foreigners and Chinese?

Because it's less common. There are loads and loads of people immigrating to English-speaking countries and speaking passable English soon after (or even before) arriving there, so no wonder we're not surprised. There are on the other hand plenty of people who live in China for years without getting further than 你好 and 这个.

 

Was talking to a friend the other day about Beijing vs Taipei in this respect. He said in Taiwan people fall over backwards in awe when they hear a foreigner speak Chinese, while in Beijing all foreigners speak great Chinese so nobody bats an eye. This is exaggerating a bit, but he did have a point.

[studychinese]

你的中文真厉害。满意呢？

[liuzhou]

Just tonight, I took a short taxi trip home. The relatively young driver and I had a maybe 15 minute conversation. The usual questions. Where are you from? How long have you been in China? 18 years? You are joking? Where do you work? Blah Blah Blah. 

 

As we approached my destination he asked "Can you speak Chinese?"

 

I was baffled. We had been speaking Chinese the whole time I'd been in his vehicle. "I said, 'yes'"

 

"Can you speak 柳州话 (the local dialect more technically known as '桂柳话')?"

"Er, yes. That is what we have been talking the whole trip!"

 

As I paid , he handed me my change and said in English "Thank  you!"

China! Got to love it!