Jenny Tian is a comedian from Australia. In this clip, she hilariously explains her challenges with Mandarin with some fun anecdotes!
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00:00
so Mandarin is my parents’ first language they’re from mainland China and it’s kind of all they ever really speak Mandarin is not my first language I only ever speak it in a life ore situation like if I’m in a Chinese restaurant and there’s no pictures on the menu and I pretend it doesn’t break my
00:19
parents hearts when they hear me say but I’m in Australia and in Australia everyone here speaks English like I don’t need to know any Mandarin and like cryptic fortune tellers they would say but is important for your future not that I trust my parents cuz here’s the type of people they are they
01:36
named me Jenny after Jenny in the 1994 film Forest Gump and when they say I love you Jenny I feel like they’re just quoting the movie no I’m kidding Asian parents don’t say I love you so we flash back to the year 2010 I hang out with my best friend in the world Vivian and we do things like
01:09
go to Bubble Tea stands and we call each other every single night and regardless of your mathematical ability everyone in the 2010s knew this very important equation which is the higher the price of the phone bill the stronger the friendship and me and Vivian had very expensive phone
02:32
bills now one day we’re sitting in class and the teacher makes an announcement she says that we are welcoming a new student to class today her name is Stephanie and she’s just moved over from China and when Stephanie says hello to everyone she’s got a really clear
02:45
distinct Chinese accent and it’s obvious that she’s not as familiar with English so I want to make her feel welcome and I introduced myself to her after class and she responds with which means do speak Mandarin and I say ….. which means yes very impressive cuz me speaking in mandarin
02:08
makes someone else feel included and there is no one else in my class that can do this I feel like I’m The Horse Whisperer or the Dog Whisperer except I’m the Chinese Whisperer and also like the game Chinese Whispers I can only make out about half of what the other person’s
02:28
saying now iow introduced Stephanie to my circle of friends including to Vivian now the thing is aside from English Vivian Only Knows Cantonese whereas I only know Mandarin and Stephanie knows both and Mandarin by the way is not the same thing as Cantonese Mandarin is more
03:46
common more widely spoken more popular and therefore Superior and as Vivian and Stephanie get closer and closer I just find myself on the sidelines a lot just listening to Cantonese and me and Vivian’s phone bills become very affordable now I I kind of try to join into Stephanie and Vivian’s
03:15
conversations but I don’t really know any Cantonese aside from ………………… we got some Cantonese people in yeah that one means have a happy New Year and the other one I know is ………………. which means [ __ ] your mom I mean it’s clear What’s Happening Here Right like Stephanie is a thief and
04:43
she’s stealing my best friend away [ __ ] Stephanie [ __ ] Vivian [ __ ] the Cantonese more like CES now one day I’m sitting around during lunchtime and someone starts and she goes oh my God that international student is so annoying and I’m like yeah I find her frustrating too and she goes
04:11
do you want to know what Stephanie said about you Stephanie said your Mandarin is so awful she thought you had a mental disability now my immediate instinct is to go up to Stephanie and say …….. but I don’t instead I I just sit and I stew on self-destructive thoughts I’m like yeah
05:47
my Mandarin is really awful I mean no wonder Stephanie didn’t want to be friends with me how embarrassing that I tried how humiliating so from that day forward I vow that that I will never speak Mandarin again eventually everyone realises that Stephanie is a [ __ ] and the international student finds
05:14
a new group of friends me and Vivian go back to being best friends again and everything returns to normal except of course I still refuse to speak Mandarin then fast forward a couple of years I get invited to a relatives wedding this wedding is in China fun fact about China everyone speaks
06:32
Chinese even the Cantonese know how to speak Mandarin they just choose not to speak it around me because they are small Petty people now when I’m at this wedding it is so intense I’ve got all these relatives coming up to me saying a you’ve gotten so fat and then they would tell me to eat
06:55
more and keep eating and eating and eating cuz clearly they love gaslighting so I excuse myself and I just I take a breather I roam around the shops and then I see something that catches my eye a glimmer of familiarity it’s a bubble tea stand now bubble tea if you don’t know
06:15
what that is by this point you need some help right it’s like tea but way better it is also my biggest daily Financial investment it’s about $9 for a cup of one of these and in return I receive joy and diabetes but also joy and this isn’t just some like ordinary bubble tea this is Deluxe
07:39
bubble tea and I know because it’s got like the red plastic hearts on top not like that charart time [ __ ] so I very excitedly I go up to the counter and I order and I’m so excited to get this bubble tea but then when I open my mouth I can’t I can’t name any fruits like I I can’t even identify a
07:03
colour the images in my mind are really clear but there’s no words that will come out and that’s when it hits me I don’t know how to speak Mandarin anymore so from that day forward I vow to be more in touch with my cultural Roots maybe not by moving to China but I have moved to bwood
08:36
I still think back to my parents saying that Chinese will be useful for my future and now that I’ve grown older I realise that they’re right because when China takes over the world it will be handy to know the language of our overlords but right now I don’t need it
08:52
for that I’m just happy knowing that I can order a grapefruit green tea shesha GL
1. Life-or-death situation
- Meaning: A scenario where there’s extreme urgency, often associated with survival or critical need.
- Example: Trying to find a restroom in the middle of nowhere felt like a life-or-death situation.
2. Cryptic
- Meaning: Mysterious or difficult to understand; often intentionally vague.
- Example: She gave a cryptic smile and said she had a surprise for us.
3. Hang out
- Meaning: Spend time casually or socially.
- Example: I like to hang out with my friends at the park on weekends.
4. Moved over
- Meaning: Relocated or traveled from one place to another.
- Example: She recently moved over from London to start a new job here.
5. Make out
- Meaning: To understand or discern something, especially with difficulty.
- Example: He whispered so quietly, I could barely make out what he was saying.
6. On the sidelines
- Meaning: Observing without being actively involved.
- Example: He watched from the sidelines as his friends argued.
7. Steal away
- Meaning: To take something or someone secretly or gradually.
- Example: The new colleague slowly stole away the trust of his teammates.
8. Go up to
- Meaning: Approach someone to talk or interact.
- Example: She went up to the singer after the show to ask for an autograph.
9. Stew on
- Meaning: Dwell on or think about something, often with negative emotions.
- Example: After the argument, he stewed on his anger for hours.
10. Gaslighting
- Meaning: Manipulating someone to make them question their perception or sanity.
- Example: She realized her partner was gaslighting her when he denied things she remembered clearly.
11. Catch (one’s) eye
- Meaning: Attract someone’s attention.
- Example: The colorful poster caught my eye as I walked by the store.
12. Takes over the world
- Meaning: Become dominant or highly influential, often jokingly.
- Example: Social media has practically taken over the world in the last decade.
- Have you ever experienced anything that Jenny is talking about?
- Do you like learning languages?
- Do you think being able to speak multiple languages is impressive?
- Do you think being able to speak any particular languages will be important for the future?
- Are there any languages you like or dislike? Why?
- Do you think it’s still worth learning languages or will other language performing tech make it obsolete?
- Should you learn the language of a country you visit?
- Should indigenous languages be saved or are they not worth keeping around?
1. Do you think it’s important to learn foreign languages?
2. How often do you use English in your daily life?
3. Do you think children should learn a second language at an early age?
4. What are some challenges you faced when learning a new language?
5. Do you prefer to read books in your native language or in English?
6. How do you feel when you speak a language that is not your first language?
7. Have you ever traveled to a country where you didn’t speak the language? What was that like?
8. What role do you think language plays in shaping culture?
9. Do you enjoy learning new languages? Why or why not?
10. How important is it to speak the local language when traveling?
11. Have you ever taken language classes? What was your experience like?
12. Do you think technology helps or hinders language learning?
13. How do you practice speaking in a foreign language?
14. Are there any languages you would like to learn in the future?
15. What is the most difficult aspect of learning a new language for you?
16. How do you feel about language accents?
17. Do you think language influences how we think?
- Describe a language you would like to learn. You should say:
- What language it is
- Why you want to learn it
- How you plan to learn it
- And explain how this language might be useful to you in the future.
2. Talk about a time when you had a language barrier. You should say:
- Where you were
- What the situation was
- How you felt at that moment
- And explain how you overcame this barrier.
3. Describe an experience you had learning a new language. You should say:
- What language you learned
- Why you decided to learn it
- What methods you used
- And explain how learning this language impacted you.
4. Discuss a situation where you used a foreign language effectively. You should say:
- What the situation was
- Which language you used
- How you communicated
- And explain how you felt about successfully using the language.
5. Describe a person who has inspired you to learn a language. You should say:
- Who this person is
- What language they speak
- Why they inspired you
- And explain how this has affected your language learning journey.
- How important is it to learn a foreign language in today’s world?
2. What are the most effective ways to learn a new language?
3. In your opinion, is it better to learn a language in a classroom or through immersion? Why?
4. How does knowing multiple languages benefit a person professionally?
5. What role do you think technology plays in language learning?
6. How can governments promote the learning of foreign languages among their citizens?
7. What challenges do people face when learning a new language?
8. Do you think children should start learning foreign languages at a young age? Why or why not?
9. How does language influence culture?
10. In what ways can learning a new language change a person’s perspective?
11. What impact does globalization have on language learning?
12. Are there any languages that you think are more useful than others? Why?
13. How do you think the rise of social media has affected language use?
14. What are the differences between spoken and written language?
15. How do dialects and accents affect communication between people?
16. What role do you think English plays as a global language?
17. How can language learning help in understanding different cultures?
18. Do you believe that language can shape thoughts and ideas? Why or why not?
19. How important is it to preserve endangered languages?
20. What can be done to encourage people to learn their native languages?
