Phyo Kyaw Week 10: Language Connection

     Have you ever seen the video of a White man in China speaking Chinese fluently to the people there and recording their absolute shock? That video captivated my attention and realized not only the stereotypes given to people, but also how much of an impact simply knowing the native language can have on these natives. While the initial shock arises from the stereotypes, their pleasant surprise is not with offensive intentions. 

    I mean, if I saw a White man in my home country of Burma speaking Burmese, I'd be just as surprised as these Chinese people. So while stereotypes do cause the surprise, it is not with ill intentions. Aside from this, the happiness that radiates off of them from hearing a foreigner speaking their native tongue is wholesome and uplifting. 

    This leads me to my main point in the blog. The impact language has on people. The ability to make them smile by saying a simple couple of words is astounding. A similar video I saw was when a foreigner in Southeast Asia ordered food with the native language and the cashier at the counter's eyes just lit up in surprise. Then, with a wide smile, the cashier not only complimented the foreigner's dialect, but gave him free food.

    Being able to completely make somebody's day by taking a couple minutes everyday to learn a new language is amazing. Doing the minimum alone can impact somebody's life for the better. The power that language has is astonishing. And the best thing is, it only takes a small amount of effort. Next time you plan on visiting a foreign country, consider learning at least a few phrases of the native language there. 

Clueless White Guy Orders in Rare Chinese Dialect, Patrons SHOCKED - YouTube
Chinese Man's Surprise at Foreigner Speaking Chinese    

Comments

  1. John Ray CabanganganFebruary 6, 2024 at 3:32 PM

    Hey Phyo, I liked your intricate blog on how knowing a foreign can impact people. I also find it fascinating how by simply speaking the native language in a foreign country can impact peoples days. From my own personal experience, I remember when I was at a family gathering and one of my cousins brought her boyfriend who was from the South. He had a pretty thick southern accent so I thought he would have a little trouble communicating with the older people in my family who knew limited English. But he managed to speak to them entirely in Tagalog the entire night which shocked me all because I did not expect it. I think this stems from how it is commonly believed that there is little to no practical use in learning any other language a part from English and maybe Spanish. So it makes sense for someone who speaks a foreign language to be shocked when they see a foreigner speaking the language fluently in their country. Overall, I liked reading your blog about how language can impact people.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sonal MadalaFebruary 18, 2024 at 6:33 PM

    Hi Phyo! I also wrote my week 10 blog about language, but rather the power of literacy. Similarly, I find it interesting how it is often perceived as amazing when Americans speak foreign languages, however it is not seen as such a great feat when foreigners speak English. I have seen similar social experiments done with Indian languages, and it is surprising how one's appearance immediately sets an expectation of who they are, what they speak, and their inherent value. Often, racist stereotypes arise from these experiments, however, I think it is important to simply appreciate the effort individual put in to learning a language not native to them, especially ones that have extremely limited opportunities to explore the language. I completely agree with you in that the power of language is truly amazing, it can create opportunities and break barriers, ultimately furthering global connectivity. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Emaan Irfan Week 16: Nostalgia is a dull knife (If I Can’t Have It, It Should Haunt Me, At Least)

Image
The pavement is scorching. I step out of my mom’s beat-up Honda, the one we spent all spring repairing. I look around the dystopian nightmare of a gas station we’ve just stopped at.  As one does on these road trip stops, I start analyzing my surroundings. I wander across bathroom graffiti. I wonder, "Why did someone click off a Sharpie cap just to write,  '*Insert name* wuz here'? At least be creative!" It’s the same reason why I collected bottle caps, and why I kept clothes I’ve outgrown.  I think part of that was because I moved around a lot. Sometimes we cling to a semblance of something to feel like it is still there. I suppose that’s why we write stories as well.     I mean, isn't all of art a reason to say, to prove, “I was here.” As we near the end of this school year, I realized it’s not a bad thing to be sentimental. Looking at everyone’s collages, I see pieces of lives lining Mrs. Smith’s classroom like books lining a shelf—stories in guitar picks...
Read more

Sonal Madala, Week 16: Storage Full?

Image
Over the weekend, I went to prom. As we took pictures outside Lake Chalet, my phone storage displayed a message stating that my storage was full. I have about 10,000 photos on my phone, and each represents a different memory or phase of my life. As I sat down on Sunday to clear my photos which I no longer needed, I was reminded of all of my past memories, from the places I have been to the people I was with. As I scrolled through my camera roll, each photo triggered a flood of memories, taking me back in time to moments I had nearly forgotten. There were photos of family vacations, childhood birthdays, and late night adventures with my friends. Each image was a piece of my personal history, a visual diary documenting the evolution of my life. Some photos brought tears to my eyes, like the one with my grandmother when my brother was born. Others made me smile, like the silly selfies and 0.5 photos taken of my best friend. But amidst the nostalgia, there were also moments of reflecti...
Read more

Anna Paul Week 16; The Tosses That Matter

Image
  The Tosses That Matter The time has finally arrived for the final blog. I feel like this should focus on something that is important to me. Something that has truly impacted me throughout the school year. If you have known me for a while, you would be aware that I do color guard. I even mentioned it in my introduction video during the beginning of the year. For my final blog, I want to focus on my memories with guard since I only have one more year to enjoy it in high school .  As you are reading this, you either have or have no idea what color guard is. Color guard, during fall season or first semester of a school year, is a section of the marching band that provides visuals like the pretty pops of colors. In guard, you are able to toss 6ft flags, rifles, and sabres. These are obviously dangerous to toss but with guard we were able to learn the safeties needed to be able to deal with such equipment.  "Discovery Bay Studios." Throughout my junior year, I was so worried ...
Read more