Studying Mandarin in Taiwan: A lesson in cultural and historical perspective.

Having a neighbor like China (The People's Republic of China) it is easy to overlook the thriving island state of Taiwan (The Republic of China). It is only recently, after living abroad in China, that I have come to understand the subtle yet significant differences between political and cultural identities between Taiwan and China. Oddly enough, this epiphany was brought about from attempting to understand my father’s fixation on the Civil War. Yeah, I am not talking about the civil war that took place in China...

Since I was little, I can remember my father’s fascination with the American Civil War. Given the opportunity, my dad would drag me to as many reenactments as he could. While there, my father would tell me about the gallantry of the Confederate soldier and take countless pictures with them. My father’s interest in the Confederates and the American Civil War was always a bit curious and bizarre. Not only because we lived in Southern California, far from any meaningful Civil War history, but also because my father is Chinese.

I grew up associating the Confederate South with ignorance and racial intolerance. So why was my father, a first generation Chinese immigrant, romanticizing their cause and defeat? I finally understood why when my father told me the story of his family’s arduous escape from Mainland China to Taiwan in 1949. He told me about his grandfather’s attempt to relocate his entire university student body from China, and of the number of casualties they endured during their journey. From then on, I had a better understanding of why my father held such an interest in the Confederate South. During my years of berating my father about his “Southern sympathies,” I had failed to consider how identity could play a part in my father’s historical perspective. I had failed to consider that my father’s romanticized views of a defeated group of people were a product of being a boy born into a family of refugees who had supported the losing side of a bloody civil war.  Since this revelation, I have endeavored to understand and experience the different cultural, historical and political perspective of China and Taiwan.

Most notably, I have found that language has been a great way of analyzing these differences.

In my second year living and working in the China I had naively thought that my understanding of Chinese culture and Mandarin would equally translate while traveling to Taiwan for a short Lunar New Year excursion. However, upon arriving in Taipei and meeting my distant family members, I had quickly realized that the language, the culture, and the people were far different from what I have seen and experienced in China. It was then that I came to the understanding that despite having a grasp of the language that both nations shared, I was naive to the fact that simply knowing Chinese Mandarin did not make me fluent in Taiwanese Mandarin, or the linguistic system shared by the Taiwanese people. After my short time in Taiwan, I had become fascinated by how the people’s use of traditional Chinese characters, their colloquialisms, the culinary culture, popular media and film, and their politics were all characteristics that helped encompass a unique Taiwanese identity.

So far my time here in Taipei, Taiwan has allowed me to really immerse myself in the lifestyle and history of the island. In my next posts, I hope to highlight the main aspects of Taiwan's distinctive political, historical and cultural perspective!

Tracie M. Yang M.A Asian Studies, Class of 2018

Sigur Center 2017, Asian Language Fellow

National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan (ROC)

President, Organization of Asian Studies (OAS)

The Wall: Overcoming Your Insecurities on the Path to Fluency

The Wall

While the process of learning a second language may come easy for some, it can be a great challenge for others. As someone who has been learning Chinese for nearly five years, I can say it has not come easy for me. There have been moments in the process that have made me question my ability to learn, or my overall desire to continue studying the language. I have referred to my own doubts as “the wall.” And I have found that once you recognize what your wall is, you will be better prepared to overcome it.

Most often our frustrations and doubts are the result of comparison. It is likely that you know someone who fluently speaks two or three languages. Or perhaps, you know someone who mastered Chinese in only a couple years. And I am confident we have all seen books, or online training courses that boast fluency in just six months! When I first began learning Chinese I was determined to realize the same success. When six months, and then a couple years had passed and I had yet to achieve anything beyond an intermediate speaking and reading level, I grew increasingly discouraged. Why was I struggling so much when others seemed to be doing so well? Slowly my insecurities began to take over. I was afraid to practice speaking in front of others, afraid they would judge me for my limited vocabulary and poor grammar. This fear and my concern with what others thought of me and my abilities grew, and as it did it began to undercut my learning.

I wish I could tell you this is something that is easy to overcome, but it is not. If you have experienced this yourself, I am sure you understand. Self-consciousness can keep you from utilizing the resources around you meant to promote learning, or make you pass up unique academic or professional opportunities simply because you do not think you have what it takes. My self-doubt prevented me from speaking Chinese with my classmates and other international students. It kept me from registering for courses that utilized primary resources in Chinese. While I was studying abroad in Taiwan four years ago, it caused incredible nervousness when I was merely trying to order a meal. I was absolutely terrified of conversing with anyone in Chinese. My fear grew from a bump in the road to a daunting wall. Fortunately, I have just now made it to the other side of this wall.

When I decided to spend the summer in Taipei studying Chinese, I told myself this was for me. I was taking this opportunity to improve myself and nobody else. Personal improvement is just that, PERSONAL! You cannot and should not measure your success or growth by anyone else’s standards. Everyone learns differently and at a different pace. Whether it takes you months or years to learn a language, be proud of yourself. Always be confident in your dreams, even when you are not confident in yourself. The growth I have experienced in the past month is more than I have had in the year prior, proof that when you commit to yourself and your goals, you can overcome all of the irrational yet intimidating insecurities that have ever held you back.

So, go forth! Make mistakes, but choose to learn from them rather than be discouraged by them. We all stumble and sometimes it takes us a while to get back up, but I promise you will make it over the wall!

加油！

Katelyn DeNap

George Washington University - Elliott School of International Affairs

M.A. Security Policy Studies

Organization of Asian Studies – Vice President

Sigur Center 2017 Asian Language Fellow

National Taiwan University - International Chinese Language Program, Taiwan