ThE cOw AnD i

Friday, May 09, 2008

You know, someone wrote to the newspaper to complain about salesgirl speaking to her in Mandarin and lamented how "unprofessional" it is. Then, to cover her backside, she said it wasn't because mandarin is inferior, but she feels that customers like her and everyone else, who doesn't know a lot of chinese, should be served in English. Excuse me, i beg your pardon. I do not see how "unpro" it is to converse in Mandarin. In my humblest opinion, i think that it is ok to converse in mainstream languages apart from english. There may be people who do not understand english, just as there are people who do not understand chinese, for that matter. If i were her, i would simply express my preference for speaking english. If she was so affected, she could probably consider migration than make a ruckus out of it.

Frankly, i think it is a pity that as an ethnic chinese, you know nuts about your own language, and chooses to condemn it. I relish the chance to understand more about my roots, culture. It gives me more meaning to my existence as one, and allows me to share my experiences with people from all walks of life =)

by xiaojia at 11:41 PM |