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Saturday, August 30, 2008

Sunbath day – We are Chinese, we are yellow.

Your ideal may be able to stand the test of religion, but can it stand the scrutiny of science?
First Chinese lesson with a princess

I decided, if I am going to pass my Chinese knowledge to them, I might as well do it the fun way. Fun for them, fun for me.

You know, many regard language as skill, which one can learn, practice, master and be good at it. I think otherwise. I treat them as legacy, which we inherited them, and you cannot educate, you merely pass it down. So, if you are a proud and excellent English speaker, you think you own it to your talent. I am sorry to say that you are but a spoilt second generation who is born with a sliver spoon. When is the last time you share your ‘fortune’ with a less fortunate?

Did you invent these languages?

Ruth has better ability to pick up Chinese, I can tell. Would I be able to pass down all that I have, multiply them and give even more?

我是语文的败家子,继承如此多,却留下那么少。

This is my first lesson with Ruth, she pronounces accurately every word. I manage to get her attention for about 10 minutes, after that we just play stack’em. She laughs fanatically when a high rise collapses which makes me wonder why it is so funny.

I ask, “将军呢?”

She just pointed at “兵” and said, “ne!”. I guess in such a mess, chaotic situation, it is really very difficult to tell who the leader is. It ends up with me choosing the leader for her.

Chinese, is harder to acquire than English. Is that why many Singaporean choose to go the easier way? This question flashes across my mind in many occasion, and I am afraid this profound, beautiful language may not be able to survive here after 10 more years.

华文,在新加坡正在面对着严冬。

My Saturday night never ends, but I have to shorten our Chinese lesson. I cannot focus anymore.

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