Verbal Messages
Speaking and Language - :)
In my studies of China, there official language is Chinese, this is also known as Mandarin, Modern or Standard Mandarin. Standard Chinese is also known as Putonghua. As seen in many other countries different dialects are very present across China. According to World Atlas, 955 million people speak Mandarin Chinese out of their total population of 1.21 billion people. It is Chinese law that their government and citizens promote the use of standard Chinese even though there are around 280 known living languages from Tibet, Taiwan, and throughout Hong Kong. Some of different dialects of Chinese are Taihu, Oujiang, Wuzhou, and Xuanzhou. Therefore, this version of Chinese is taught throughout educational curriculum all across the People's Republic of China.
Another language that has routes throughout China is Cantonese. Cantonese came from the city called Canton, or commonly known as Guangzhou. As I mentioned earlier, there are rules to regulate which language is taught and spoken in the government and official spaces. Cantonese, Chinese, and all languages are regulated by the Official Language Divion of the Civil Service Bureau, which is division in the government dedicated to public administration.
A good thing to point out with communicating interculturally is the point of having a lingua franca. A lingua franca is a language that is used as a common language between two people's whose native language is different.
With English being a common lingua franca, it is always going to be difficult to translate and create a shared meaning within a conversation. One of these difficulties relies in with how complicated the English language is. For example, take idioms, similes and any expression that uses words in a way that is anything but there denotative meaning. This could make even translating efficiently tough. Therefore, it is best to pay attention closely in intercultural exchanges, especially with Chinese and English being very different from each other.
Here are some common words and phrases:
Hello : 你好 (nee-ha)
Yes: 是的 (Shi-dah)
No: 没有 (may-yuh)
Please: 请 (she-n)
Thank you: 谢谢 (shi-sheh)
Can I help you: 我可以帮你吗 ( wok-ee-bangy-mah)
I don't understand: 我不明白 (wo-boo-ming-beh)
I don't speak Chinese: 我不会说中文 (woh-bu hoo-ish-oo zhong-wen)
My name is: 我的名字是克里斯蒂娜 (Who-dem-ingzi shee Christina )
I noticed that when going to a website that is written in Chinese, and then Google or Microsoft translating it, I struggled, and so did Google, with making a meaning out of these words. This can make it really hard for English and Chinese speakers to extract information when needed from a website that is not in their own native tongue.
Another thing that needs to be noted is how language affects everyone's, mine and your sense of reality. We think in our language, therefore the limitations of some our thinking, is how our langauge teaches us. Different languages can have very different Ent Ondra meanings. There may be one English word for 'book' but book may be a gendered term in Chinese.
Understanding and trying to explore Chinese from an English perspective gave me new insight on intercultural communication.
-AL