I want to talk abt knowing a foreign language. A thread.

1/ Whether western reporters’ lack of Chinese language skills hinders their ability to do the jobs always seems to be controversial. To me, that reflects the general attitude towards foreign languages of English speakers. https://twitter.com/willehelmwonka/status/1310753430156107776

2/ To native English speakers, a foreign language is a nice-to-have skill. They travel and expect locals to know English. (I commit this sin sometimes too) But for the rest of the world, knowing English is a necessity if we want to access info or entertainment from overseas.

3/ This means learning English for ppl in CN (and many other nations) is placed at a much higher priority than learning foreign language is for native EN speakers. I started learning EN since 1st grade & it had equal # of course hours as Chinese did. Kids now start even earlier.

4/ “But Will I’m sure everyone knows that.”

I hope they do. But do they know just how few ppl in the Western countries know Chinese comparing to the other way around? The number of HSK exam takers outside of Asia is a fraction of # of CN students who take TOEFL/IELTS/SAT/GRE. https://twitter.com/willehelmwonka/status/1301797327527526401

5/ Why is learning a foreign language important? Because it impacts the way we approach problems. (There’s research on this). Many bilingual ppl take on slightly different personalities and behaviors when they switch languages. It is also the foundation to understanding culture.

6/ For journalism, it means a direct connection to the source material. It means understanding the different voices rather than just parroting or even misrepresenting them. I can’t imagine being able to pick up sub-contextual info without solid language and cultural knowledge.

7/ Sometimes translations can help (human or software), but information gets lost and bias gets introduced. The cost and time to translate also greatly reduces the info throughput. Not to mention a person without solid language skills can’t tell good translations from bad ones.

8/ “But but, would you hold Chinese reporters to the same standard?”

I would and I do, and many Chinese reporters do pass the test, here’s why. China has several universities that specialize in foreign studies, and they have “minor languages studies” (小语种) departments.

9/ These departments offer majors that study languages & cultures outside the major ones like English/French. They get 1st pick on talents too: they can admit students early so they can skip Gaokao (college entrance exam). Some offer special scholarships. A very attractive deal

10/ Many students end up working for diplomatic missions or press stations. The 3 reporters killed during the 1999 US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, 2 majored in Serbian in foreign studies universities and 1 studied Serbian for a year in Belgrade. Many more examples.

11/ Most of the Chinese scholars commenting on the west are fluent in English (required for their degrees) and/or have been exchange scholars.

I don’t get my US news from ppl in China who don’t speak English and have never been abroad. Vice versa for US/UK/EU/AUS ppl.

12/ “But but... what about youtubers?”

For people sticking to showing 1st hand footage, whether it’s about CN or elsewhere, I make an exception. But I still expect them to keep their commentaries to subjects they have experience with, and encourage them to learn the language.

13/ “But but... what about Hakka, Cantonese, and mainland politicians?”

Ppl who throw the Hakka and Cantonese examples around as a gotcha likely don’t know much about China. Yes there are linguistic differences, but they are all part of a contiguous culture & Sinitic language.

14/ Equating the differences btwn Mandarin & Cantonese to that btwn English & Chinese is absurd. I also 100% agree that ppl governing local affairs should learn the dialect. It’s just good manners and good sense. But if they mostly work w/ central gov, then it’s less critical.

15/ A few more personal thoughts on this.

I’ve studied EN & lived in US for decades and would happily stack my English proficiency against any CN experts’ Chinese proficiency. But I still feel necessary to qualify some of my cultural commentaries w/ “fm a outsider’s POV” irl

16/ Maybe it’s just Asian modesty. But to me learning language & culture is an endless journey. How can 1 know all there’s to know abt the lives & psyche of 100’s millions of ppl? Or even know “enough”? Many ppl augment their skills to do their jobs better, reporters should too.

17/ Immersion is also important for learning a culture. It’s alive & evolving (like a bacterial culture, nerd joke, haha).

How can u know the emotions food invokes in CN ppl if u never dined w/ them? Or know their love/sorrow if u’ve never been to a wedding or funeral there?

18/ It takes a lot of work to not feel like a tourist in a foreign place, and sometimes it’s hard to tell.

Have u had a dream in a foreign language? Or gotten drunk/sleepy & spoke to friends/family in language they didn’t understand? If not, maybe you aren’t totally there yet.

19/ no one is saying that u have to be fluent in the language to have an opinion abt a place. But ur opinion will be much better informed if u were. For reporters, pls at least work towards learning the language. It’s never too late & we all start somewhere. I’ll even teach you.

20/ Of course there are Chinese reporters who commit this sin too. Like authors of those clickbait wechat articles about America. You know who reads those thou? My grandma coz she’s retired & bored. But even she knows those articles are crazy and calls me to fact check.

21/ To end I’ll just say this:

On the scale of culture-related annoying ppl, reporters w/o proper cultural knowledge are somewhere between the kid who says “croissant” differently after a week in Paris and the “tourists” who reminisce about that Japan trip on aisle 4 at H-mart.