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The Chinese can be blunt | ||
Tags: Mandarin | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| leosmith Senior Member United States Joined 6550 days ago 2365 posts - 3804 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Tagalog | Message 41 of 52 28 December 2010 at 1:52am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
Not likely, since most westerners don't like being publicly humiliated. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| Enki Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5833 days ago 54 posts - 133 votes Speaks: Arabic (Written), English*, French, Korean Studies: Japanese | Message 42 of 52 28 December 2010 at 7:39am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
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I'm wondering if, somewhere, on a Chinese equivalent of HTLAL, there's a thread titled "Westerners can be oversensetive" ;)
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| Snowflake Senior Member United States Joined 5959 days ago 1032 posts - 1233 votes Studies: Mandarin | Message 43 of 52 31 December 2010 at 1:12am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
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My experience has been that Chinese who ask how much you earn, and the other mentioned questions, tend to be people who have had less education. Take it with a grain of salt and move on. If the person says you are fat (胖 pàng) and that person is not part of the younger generation, then it's usually a compliment. However being called fat (肥 féi) would be an insult.
I have encountered educated Chinese who have made unsettling comments. Realize that you have license to make equally unsettling comments back if you chose so. Edited by Snowflake on 31 December 2010 at 4:20am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| BobbyE Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5247 days ago 226 posts - 331 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 44 of 52 31 December 2010 at 3:06am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
What is "not likely"? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| leosmith Senior Member United States Joined 6550 days ago 2365 posts - 3804 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Tagalog | Message 45 of 52 31 December 2010 at 4:15am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
3 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| BobbyE Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5247 days ago 226 posts - 331 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 46 of 52 31 December 2010 at 6:10am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
touché 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| Nguyen Senior Member Vietnam Joined 5093 days ago 109 posts - 195 votes Speaks: Vietnamese | Message 47 of 52 04 January 2011 at 11:16am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
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I am not Chinese but we share some similarities in terms of the questions asked of people. I can say that rudeness to outsiders is highly frowned upon by the Vietnamese. I am not making excuses for any rude behaviour but I can explain why some of the questions mentioned before come up in conversation:
If someone in Vietnam says you are looking fat it is meant to be a compliment. Up until just a few years ago being overweight was the luxury of a privleged few. A beer belly is a sign of status and affluence particularly for those approching middle age (over 30 in Vietnam). Many people think that if you're too thin you will never have money, thin women are sometimes thought to be hard and cold. It's therefore no surprise that Vietnamese girls are attracted to overweight middle aged guys. I don't know if this applies in China but that's the way it is here. Question about age are again not intended to be rude but have a huge social significance. The way a person is addressed depends alot on their age and to a lesser degree there social status. There are umpteen ways to address people and not to defer to age can carry serious consequences. Various titles and professions also come into play. A Vietnamses will ask these questions not to be rude but to avoid losing face and coming accross as insulting. Questions aboute wages are normally more personal here but this still comes up. Normally if you are talking to someone close to your own age in a similiar profession. Maybe your an engineer and you are talking to a friend who is also an engineer. He may want to find out if he is getting the shaft regarding his own pay. This happens alot when talking to Westerners because of the disparity in wages. It's unlikely that someone your junior would ask such a question though. As far as ques go thats just the way it is in Asia. If you want to make people angry here try standing around waiting for a que to form with a shopping cart in a crowded supermarket. You need to move or your holding up progress. Streets are pretty noisy also and it's crowded. You have to be loud to get noticed. This is just hard for Westerners to get used to. Yelling across a crowded restaurant beconing the waiter with a friendly "Hey You"! Whilst rude in the West it is just the way it's done and the waiter will give you no mind. Shopkeeps and merchants use the same technique to attract customers and they don't mean to offend. China is a different place with a very different culture but this may explain a few things. Edited by Nguyen on 04 January 2011 at 11:19am 9 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||
| Matheus Senior Member Brazil Joined 5081 days ago 208 posts - 312 votes Speaks: Portuguese* Studies: English, French | Message 48 of 52 12 January 2011 at 2:22am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||
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Tonight my chinese friend said that I am really bad at singing. She also said that God didn't give me talent. It broke my heart. Sincerity is so cruel.
1 person has voted this message useful |
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