[L is re-positioning a light on the roof of the lift that had fallen out of its housing]
C: You're tall.
L: [awkward smile]
C: Two meters?
L: One hundred nine six [I said 'nine' instead of 'ninety' but in three digit numbers you can usually omit just fine]
C: oh wow. You play basketball? [I guessed this because he went on to mime shooting a basketball]
L: No.
C: <<unknown>>
L: Don't understand.
C: Chinese.
L: No, can't speak.
C: You speak very well. Goodbye!
L: Goodbye.
L: Goodbye.
A lot of the language barrier can be crossed by gesture and tone, even in a tonally-dependent language like Chinese. One of those "more in common than separates us" things. I don't know the word for 'tall,' or the word for 'basketball,' or 'meters,' but context can provide a lot.
The phenomenon is, at least in part, the origin of the idea of "high context" cultures. It expands on the observation that verbal communication is only a small part the words actually said. For low-context cultures, the words carry more of the weight; conversely, high-context cultures rely on situational factors to convey and support meaning. English-speaking countries like the US tend to be low-context cultures, though there is variation even there (the page linked above lists the Southern United States as being higher-context than average). China is particularly high-context, as is Russia. This is reflected in their languages: in Chinese, a single tonal change can shift the meaning of a sentence drastically. A co-worker at my last job was fluent in Chinese, and his favorite example was that the sentences "I enjoy eating Chinese food" and "I enjoy eating dog poop" are one tone change apart.
Obviously, nobody who makes that mistake is assumed to be expressing the latter.
In my brief studies of Russian, it's been suggested that word order is entirely irrelevant. Latin was very much the same - while there were conventions, the complexity of conjugation and subject-preposition agreement meant that words could be ordered in any way and the actual meanings would still be decipherable. For another example, I studied American Sign Language for a year; ASL is among the higher-context languages out there, as I imagine most sign languages are, as the limited number of possible distinguishable gestures and the lack of centralization in the language would make it difficult for two Deaf people from different parts of the country to communicate on a low-context level.
The greatest asset a TEFL teacher has, then, is that working in a high-context culture means that gesture, mime, tone, and expression carry more of the meaning they are accustomed to taking in than the words themselves; this allows teachers to communicate ideas, directions, and language structures without needing to use the students' L1 (native or original language, as opposed to L2, the additional language they are learning or speaking).
I had heard the term 'high-context culture' before, but never truly understood it. Turns out it's another part of this great puzzle to me, the connection between culture and language. I hope to study it further someday, possibly to the extent of getting a second Bachelor's in Linguistics and/or Cultural Anthropology.
Regardless, my growing (but very young) knowledge of Chinese is allowing me to have more interactions with local folks thanks in part to the degree of context in Chinese language and culture.
There's something interesting to me about the fact, then, that Chinese schools tend to be very stoic. Children are taught facts and expected to recite them, rather than taught concepts and allowed to explore them. There's a similar element at play in American schools, which many have pointed to as training students for work in production/labor environments. Given the impetus China has placed on industrialization (indeed, it was a major part of its emergence onto the world stage), it's understandable that this would be the approach...but it does limit the potential of the growing generation and their place in the future workplace.
As citation for this, I can only say that it is the word of multiple local teachers I've spoken to on the matter. People who grew up in that system, and have seen another through the influx of foreign teachers.
It leads me to once again wish that we could stop allowing our differences and our pride to prevent all the progress we could make as a race, if we'd just stop shouting and start listening, stop taking and start sharing.
I'm such a hippy.
For lunch today, I went to a restaurant in the food court of the nearby mall. Every table was full, and there were one or two groups of people waiting for a table. As one of the employees looked around for a seat, a middle eastern-looking man waved me over - he was eating alone and had an open chair. I thanked him and sat down, and he proceeded to help me order and interpret for the employees. His name is Abe, and he's been in Harbin for eleven years; he earned his Master's and now teaches Hospitality Management at the University level. He's fluent in English and Chinese, and I assume Arabic, being originally from Yemen. He has stayed in Harbin because he finds the welcoming, appreciative attitude most Chinese people have towards foreigners as being a wonderful environment. He said, "when people learn you are a foreigner...you can be here for eleven years, I've been here eleven years and people still see a foreigner...they see you as someone coming to give them something. As a teacher, they will appreciate and respect you because you are bringing something, enriching them. It's a very loving atmosphere."
Lacking sufficient language to interact personally with almost anyone I meet from China, I haven't really experienced that yet - but I have sensed very little hostility or rejection for my nationality. Mostly just awe and some intimidation for my height, and sometimes a sense of frustration or disappointment that they cannot (yet) communicate with me.
I'm looking forward to changing that.
In closing, an interesting story and a quick photo dump. One of the other American teachers I've met here is a remarkably adventurous person. She is one of those "experience everything you can" types. We had lunch together the other day at a restaurant neither of us had tried; a 'hot pot,' which is basically Chinese fondue. Where I'm still trying to use what few symbols I recognize and words I know to order recognizable food, she simply pointed at lines on the menu and said "this one." She didn't know either.
Which is how I ended up trying brains for the first time. They aren't really recognizable as brains after cooking, but it was quite clear on the original plate. I'd love to report how brains taste, but the texture was so...unusual, that I couldn't even get it on my tongue before my body sorta rejected it. Still, points for trying things.
China is an excellent place to try new things, because everything is comparatively very cheap. This meal, for example, was the equivalent of about $6; two small chicken sandwiches, two wing-size drumsticks, fries, and a coke. Easily 10-12 in America. This is the best example I've been able to clearly document so far. I plan to hit up a night market sometime soon and track a few of my purchases, produce and meat and such, and I'll report back then. First I need to learn how to communicate and understand weights.
And finally, another instance of less than successful translation.
Zaijian,
-L
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