GameBanshee Forums

[QUOTE=C Elegans]

Heh, I was of course joking and I thought iki did too - it should be bleeding obvious that all languages you know are easy and all you don't are difficult, and the further away a language is from familiar language families, the more incomprihensible it gets. The most incomprehensible language I have ever heard was the kind of clicking noises languages still spoken by some native Canadian Indian tribes. (I met a linguist who studied native Canadian languages, so I go the opportunity to hear it although I have not (yet) visited Canada).[/QUOTE]
Well, that was one of the (still) existing 53 Native Canadian langauges, though not a common one. I think the most common of the Native langauges still being used is whats called 'Anishnabik', which is really something else.

On a similar note, my dad once introduced to an African woman who could speak click tongue. Now that was an interesting conversation.

I have 4 languages at school and latin... Ofcourse I'm not serious.

I don't think any language is spoken faster than another (can anybody verify this?)

If you listen to yourself speaking your native language, you will find that it comes out as a continuous stream of syllables, with rarely a pause between sentences and never between words, or for punctuation.

Perhaps languages with shorter words (fewer syllables) could be percieved to be spoken faster.

I'm offended by this thread.

You are? In what way?

whoops, mixed up adahn and ekental(don't ask me why)which rented this post obsolete so.. hmm i guess this post is now officially SPAM

Huh. If the 'Chinese phrases' were really standard Chinese words then it'd be exceedingly funny... and highly intelligent. However they're just nonsense words, and it makes the joke pretty lame.

[QUOTE=CM]Hu Yu Hai Ding: We have reason to believe you are harboring a fugitive
Kum Hia: Approach me
Lin Ching: An illegal execution
Tai Ne Po Ne: A small horse
Wai So Dim: Are you trying to save electricity?
Wai U Shao Ting: There is no reason to raise your voice[/QUOTE]

ROFL

Again, this is something that makes it VERY hard to hide that I'm reading SYM instead of making up the financial statement of the tram line

[QUOTE=Rookierookie]I'm offended by this thread.[/QUOTE]

Rookie, why are you offended?

Because I speak Chinese.

Erm... Actually, I read CM's post only and I admit, I found that very funny. I'm trying to imagine how the same would sound in Hungarian...

*thinking*

I think I know what you mean. When I was in England, there was a guy from New Zealand and the used to tease me all the time with a Russian dance, acting as if it was typical Hungarian. I hated it b/c he had no idea what Hungarian culture is like, and he was making fun of me - but for the 100th time I got used to it and was laughing at him like anybody else
This case is a bit similar in a way that people from a very far palce are laughing at something that is YOURS....

Anyway, if me laughing at that post is offensive for you, I apologize.

Im offended on behalf of my mate Peter who is chinese (with a geordie accent) smashing bloke! Although he'd probably laugh at the post if he read it. Strange thing is he can speak it fluently as his Mum n Dad do but he is barely able to write his name in Chinese. Not that he cares though.
shame I haven't seen him in 2 years

Hey people, I can't believe this! Rookie says he's offended by this thread, and nobody cares?

[QUOTE=Brynn]Hey people, I can't believe this! Rookie says he's offended by this thread, and nobody cares? [/QUOTE]

It's why I haven't posted before this actually. I had a friend in school who was concieved in China, and born in the U.S. He had a tendency to throw insults at me for being Italian, and I used to put post-it notes on his back that said "Made in China" on his back. It was funny just because we were friends and knew each other well enough it was just goofing around and wasn't serious.

Making fun of his culture though, the fact he spent half again as much time as I did on education, learning both what I did in school and again outside of it on his Chinese heritage was something I didn't do. I defended him from other people. He'd spend probably 20 hours a week learning Chinese, how to speak it, write it, and the history of the country. I found it interesting to be honest, sure we'd throw around goofy words as he tried to teach me a few and I couldn't do it. I've never been good with other languages. That was between he and I though. I did notice, all of the people with a background from China, and that whole area of Asia in the countries south of there were all better students than the majority of those in my school. Half of them were pushed ahead a grade or two than they should have been. I respected the work ethic they had quite a bit.

Even with English, I cannot stand to hear it butchered by people down in the Southern states that come up here, and I'm sure people in England don't like dealing with how American's speak it.

Languages though are altered and changed through time as people spread out. Regardless, it's a joke insulting someone's culture, just like any other joke with a racist bent on it. Doing so in private with someone who knows you well enough to understand your meaning and that you know won't be offended by it is far different than in public where your going to have many people witness to it. Your bound to offend people by it.

The problems of posting on an internet forum are that people will misinterperet what you post no matter how good or jokey your intentions are.

I've already posted about my mate Pete, I also knew another chinese guy when I was at university in Hertfordshire, Hong, he was from Hong Kong, (don't make any jokes about that cause then I definately would take offence) he had an american accent as it was an american who taught him english. Yet again smashing bloke, great fun to be with, and I'm sure that he too would find the initial post amusing, (he never did get me to pronounce any chinese words properly, but only seemed to try when we were drinking lol).

I'm sure the thread was made with only honest intentions and no desire to offend but inevitably people will be.

Tell you what why not post what you think English people sound like, and don't be stereotypical and just do Londoners, there is a lot more to our wee isle than ****neys!

[QUOTE=Macleod1701]The problems of posting on an internet forum are that people will misinterperet what you post no matter how good or jokey your intentions are. [/QUOTE]

Just imagine the same in real: a company of some people, Chinese included, are cahtting and some of them drops in a joke on Chinese language and they all start laughing at it. There's nothing misinterpreted here. Rookie is right, we were disrespectful, I think.

Well really CM is to blame for posting the thread

(Speaking from observer view, although I am not)
The Chinese can't take jokes about their culture as well as other races can, nor are they so capable of taking racial slurs with a smile. Over the last two centuries, China has repeatedly been more or less dominated by other countries until quite recently, and even today, Chinese in other countries are still occasionally the target for discrimination.

This thread was most likely a harmless joke, but I think you can understand that under these circumstances it is rather difficult for us to actually accept it as a harmless joke, especially since CM could have been truly ridiculing Chinese culture. Less open-minded people might even associate this with the "No Chinese and dogs allowed" signs that existed a century ago.

Jokes like this should be limited to smaller circles, such as a group of friends who know that your have no bad intentions. In my school (in Hong Kong), there are a few Caucasian teachers (mostly Australian), and once in a while in school functions, they will try and speak a mauled version of Chinese, which we do laugh at heartily, because we know that they respect the Chinese culture, and that outside of jokes, they do make an effort to learn a few basic Chinese words.

Fair enough Rookie, must be why I get on with my chinese mates so well.....we never talk history, just mess about and have a laugh.