Let’s take a trip down memory lane—51 years back to a Cold War climate where the Berlin Wall had just been erected, and President Kennedy delivered a monumental speech to a crowd of 450,000 in Germany. In a rather amusing twist, he famously declared in his best Boston-accented German: “Ich bin ein Berliner.” Unfortunately, he accidentally referred to himself as a jelly doughnut instead of saying, “I am from Berlin.” Oops!
Fast forward to last summer, when my nephew, Liam, a 15-year-old counselor-in-training at a summer camp in New Hampshire, encountered a little girl from China who spoke no English. With his Mandarin skills, Liam stepped in to assist while his fellow counselors flailed about with gestures and drawings. He confidently approached her and said, “Rènshi ni hen gaoxing,” which supposedly means, “Nice to meet you.” To his surprise, she retorted, “Ni jùyou meiguo kouyin kepà,” translating to “You have a terrible accent.” Yikes!
What’s fascinating is that I had no clue Liam even knew Mandarin. He had studied it for three years in middle school after choosing it over Spanish. He admitted his skills are, let’s say, less than perfect—his accent is “really bad, very American.” Despite his verbal mishaps, he managed to convey a few essential messages, like what time lunch was, helping the girl feel a bit more at home.
Now, let’s chat about Mark Zuckerberg. Recently, he participated in a staged interview at Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in China, where he spoke Mandarin with, you guessed it, an accent just as “bad” as Liam’s. But Zuckerberg’s motivations for learning the language are compelling. His wife is Chinese-American, and her mother doesn’t speak English, so he’s got personal reasons. On a larger scale, mastering Mandarin shows respect for Chinese culture and could be a strategic move for Facebook, which is currently banned in China. Imagine unlocking over a billion potential new users!
So, is it time for kids to reconsider learning languages like Italian or French? While Spanish may still hold its ground due to its increasing prevalence in the U.S., how often do we really use German or ancient Greek? According to trends, many parents and educators believe if children don’t study Chinese, they could be left behind. The number of American students learning Mandarin has skyrocketed, from about 5,000 in 2000 to over 61,000 in high school by 2009.
David L. Thompson, a Boston-based corporate attorney, suggests that while it might not be necessary to force kids to learn Mandarin, they should definitely be encouraged to do so. The primary motivation is commercial, yet most students may never enter international business or even set foot in China.
Zuckerberg’s case presents a less frequently acknowledged reason for learning a new language—it’s about building connections. Just like Kennedy’s memorable blunder, which illustrated solidarity, Liam’s attempts to communicate, no matter how imperfect, show goodwill and help foster friendships.
In essence, whether it’s a poorly spoken Mandarin or a clumsy French phrase, the effort to bridge cultural gaps is what truly counts. So, if your child is thinking about dabbling in Mandarin, even if they might sound like a jelly doughnut, it could be worth it!
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In summary, encouraging kids to learn Mandarin—even if they don’t ace it—can foster connections and cultural understanding, much like the classic blunders of history.