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2nd Foreign Language in ASIA ? | ||
Tags: Asian Languages | Foreign Languages | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| flatlandllama Diglot Newbie United States Joined 7089 days ago 35 posts - 44 votes Speaks: English*, Vietnamese Studies: Khmer | Message 9 of 20 18 July 2009 at 5:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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I know in Vietnam English is a big one...but because they have significant trade ties with Japan and Korea, those are popular as well. I didn't feel like the Chinese section at the social sciences uni in Saigon was that big, but I did see a lot of private schools offering Chinese in addition to the above languages. French figures in there some and Russian has really lost its hold there.
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| cordelia0507 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5838 days ago 1473 posts - 2176 votes  Speaks: Swedish* Studies: German, Russian | Message 10 of 20 18 July 2009 at 7:05pm | IP Logged | ||
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Very interesting answers.
Really, Chinese (Mandarin) is on the rise everywhere! (I wonder if the "predictions" from the cult Sci-fi series "Firefly" will come true after all? It's an American series, set in a future in which Chinese is a dominant language. All the American actors had to learn to swear in Chinese, and use some common Chinese expressions. Some of it sounded a bit off, I thought, but I wouldn't really know. The style of the actors clothing was a bit "han fu" inspired too, very funky and elegant. Interestingly the series got cancelled after only one season, even though the fans loved it.) Well, I'd like to see another language give English a real run for its money! Jiwon's thorough response about Korea was very interesting, and ZJJ:s about China too. One of the things I've noticed in Asia is that a lot of people have STUDIED English and can read it, but they are not able to speak it. I guess one of the benefits from studying more regional languages is that they are somewhat easier to learn, and perhaps easier to visit for a holiday. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 Jiwon Triglot Moderator Korea, South Joined 6436 days ago 1417 posts - 1500 votes Speaks: EnglishC2, Korean*, GermanC1 Studies: Hindi, Spanish Personal Language Map | Message 11 of 20 19 July 2009 at 12:28pm | IP Logged | ||
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Yeah, thanks to horrible enducation system which hardly focuses on speaking and listening, the majority of Koreans will never be able to speak or write English eloquently, although they can manage to read.
Yes, this thing for Mandarin is huge. But I believe that in Korea it would take at least another 10 years before it becomes more popular than Japanese. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| pmiller Account terminated Groupie Canada Joined 5674 days ago 99 posts - 104 votes Speaks: English* | Message 12 of 20 21 July 2009 at 7:27pm | IP Logged | ||
The situation is the same in Japan, and it was deliberately set up that way. Why? Because the governments of these countries see themselves in an economic war with the West. Westerners are "the enemy". They want to catch up with and then destroy the West economically so they can be number one in the world. Hence, they want their citizens to be able to read English in order to learn advanced technology. They don't want their citizens to fall in love with Westerners (much less marry them!) or immigrate to Western countries. By not teaching English properly they give most students the impression that it's an impossibly difficult language to speak, and thus discourage them from getting involved with foreigners or thinking of immigrating. Contrast this with China, where so many people speak very good English. The difference is really remarkable. And it doesn't seem to be hurting China's rise one bit. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Z.J.J Senior Member China Joined 5608 days ago 243 posts - 305 votes Speaks: Mandarin* | Message 13 of 20 22 July 2009 at 6:36am | IP Logged | ||
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I feel that Japanese usually speak English in an odd way, just like they're using the method of katakana to pronounce Japanese-English that westerners cannot quite catch on to. And some Koreans, that I've ever met with, also speak an alternative English which was full of special Korean accent. In fact, when some Chinese speak English, the syntax error is difficult to avoid, just as Japanese and Korean, perhaps they have a Chinese accent too. But it's easy for westerners (US/UK/AUS) to communicate with them.
And I really think Chinese speak English much better than those highly educated indians who've been living in such a good atmosphere of English in India. If Chinese were in such a condition like India, I guess our English level would be better than now. Note: I meant no offense by this remark. Edited by Z.J.J on 22 July 2009 at 6:47am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Jiwon Triglot Moderator Korea, South Joined 6436 days ago 1417 posts - 1500 votes Speaks: EnglishC2, Korean*, GermanC1 Studies: Hindi, Spanish Personal Language Map | Message 14 of 20 22 July 2009 at 8:50am | IP Logged | ||
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pmiller, what you have written about the motive behind horrible English education is a bit controversial and highly political in nature. So I will not comment further on that.
@ Z.J.J: I wouldn't say that Chinese accent is anymore intelligible than Japanese, Korean and Indian accents. Besides, for me Indian accent is a lot easier to understand than most European ones, so I really don't get this anti-Indian consensus. Plus, the highly educated Indians would speak amazing English, it's just that you are not used to the accent. You wouldn't say a Cockney can't speak English just because you can't understand their accent would you? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Z.J.J Senior Member China Joined 5608 days ago 243 posts - 305 votes Speaks: Mandarin* | Message 15 of 20 22 July 2009 at 9:14am | IP Logged | ||
1. Are you sure that you saw my note, "I meant no offense by this remark"? 2. Have you often listened to Indian-English spoken by those educated Indians? I don't think they can speak English very well, at least, not many of them. 3. Personally, I'm inclined to comprehend British English (London or Oxford) better than American English, or other kinds of English with non-native accents. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Jiwon Triglot Moderator Korea, South Joined 6436 days ago 1417 posts - 1500 votes Speaks: EnglishC2, Korean*, GermanC1 Studies: Hindi, Spanish Personal Language Map | Message 16 of 20 22 July 2009 at 5:25pm | IP Logged | ||
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1. Haha.. Yes I did see your note. My last comment was supposed to be a witty remark about silly anglophones who insist they can't understand non-native accents, nothing personal against you. :)
2. Yes, I have been exposed to Indian English quite a lot of times. You might not know this if you joined the forum recently, but I lived in Sri Lanka for nearly 8 years, so I've spoken to many of the "highly educated" Indians. Personally, I think they speak better Engilsh than most East Asians. 3. I am also more used to RP than American Standard. I did my A Levels, you know.. :) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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