I'm not American or Australian or ............ I AM CANADIAN
Zoraja @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:07 pm
I thought it was Mandarin not Chinese?
kaetz @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:18 pm
Mandarin is official chinese language, also called "pu tong hua" or "guo yu". Unfortunately, i don't speak Cantonese (Yue yu) or any dialect, just a lil Henan hua (somewhen i could) and couple of phrases in two other dialects but this doesn't count...
so what was you question about?
Zoraja @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:24 pm
No idea, forgot while I was reading.
Yank-in-NY @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:37 pm
Well if anybody cares I have repeatedly been mistaken for Canadian, I was in Canada by the way and one guy had a hard on for Americans, so I just played along and laughed along with him. What's the big deal? The world didn't end. And the point is, where there are certainly differences, none of them are catalysts to discern nationalities.
Plus there are regional identities, a person in New York has alot more in common with someone in Atlantic Canada and almost nothing in common with the hippies in California or BC 
(no offense).
So, here we are. 
Tricks @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:40 pm
Well, your a cool yankie....so of course you would be mistaken to be Canadian 
Zoraja @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:45 pm
QFT
Tricks @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:47 pm
Zoraja Zoraja:
QFT
Quite Fucking True? I'm so lost.
Motorcycleboy @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:40 pm
bootlegga bootlegga:
Motorcycleboy Motorcycleboy:
I think many Canadians enjoy making a big production over this type of thing as a way to assert their identity. It's kind of immature.
The fact is, very few Americans would care one way or the other if a European or Brit confused them with Canadians. But Canadians seem to relish in taking offence when it's the other way around. A perfect example of little brother syndrome if you ask me.
We speak the same language, have very similar accents and grow up watching the same media, movies, etc. It's hardly a sign of ignorance when someone in another country has difficulty making a distinction that very few Canadians or Americans could make themselves.
The fact is, very few Americans would care one way or the other if a European or Brit confused them with Canadians. But Canadians seem to relish in taking offence when it's the other way around. A perfect example of little brother syndrome if you ask me.
We speak the same language, have very similar accents and grow up watching the same media, movies, etc. It's hardly a sign of ignorance when someone in another country has difficulty making a distinction that very few Canadians or Americans could make themselves.
Call someone from New Zealand an Aussie (or vice versa), and you'll never hear the end of it. Both sides think the other are sheep shaggers! Or as Xerxes said, ask a Brit if he's Irish.
Why is it wrong for a Canadian to correct someone if they mistakenly assume that you are an American? Would it be wrong for a Korean to correct someone who thinks they're Japanese? Of course not...
I wear a maple leaf pin sometimes when I travel, sometimes I don't, but I look at it as simple patriotism. If Americans can chant U-S-A U-S-A at sporting events and drive around with giant American flag stickers, why can't Canadians be just as proud of our country as them?
There's nothing wrong with being patriotic or correcting someone who mistakes your nationality.
What I think is stupid is this feigned shock and annoyance that many Canadians like to manufacture everytime someone from another country mistakes them for an American.
There are probably no two groups of people on the planet who are more similar than Canadians and Americans. And to be honest, apart from people who come from areas with a distinct regional dialect (Newfies or Texans) even Canadians have a tough time distinguishing between the two.
Face it, can you tell the difference in accents between the average American network TV anchor and his Canadian counterpart? Does Peter Mansbridge speak all that differently from Tom Brokaw? Of course not.
Tricks @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:42 pm
I have a solution though! Lets all just tatoo the Canadian flag to our forehead! Woot!
ShepherdsDog @ Thu Apr 20, 2006 6:16 pm
kaetz kaetz:
hey! Koreans and Japanese look totally different and speak the languages that sound really different.
when i speak chinese on the phone soem people ask me what part of China i am from but i consider it a compliment and sometimes play their game
when i speak chinese on the phone soem people ask me what part of China i am from but i consider it a compliment and sometimes play their game
Geneticists have determined the Japanese, except for the Ainu, are descended from the Koreans. Something the Japanese don't like to be told since Koreans were considered a subject people for so long. As to the Chinese being impressed about foreigners speaking Mandarin, Fokien(Taiwanese/Fujian dialect), if you can get three word out that they can understand, you get the thumbs up and lots of hao! hao! Damned tones are a bitch.
kaetz @ Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:08 am
ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:
kaetz kaetz:
hey! Koreans and Japanese look totally different and speak the languages that sound really different.
when i speak chinese on the phone soem people ask me what part of China i am from but i consider it a compliment and sometimes play their game
when i speak chinese on the phone soem people ask me what part of China i am from but i consider it a compliment and sometimes play their game
Geneticists have determined the Japanese, except for the Ainu, are descended from the Koreans. Something the Japanese don't like to be told since Koreans were considered a subject people for so long. As to the Chinese being impressed about foreigners speaking Mandarin, Fokien(Taiwanese/Fujian dialect), if you can get three word out that they can understand, you get the thumbs up and lots of hao! hao! Damned tones are a bitch.
moot point... however i have no much information and...
still Japanese and koreans look different... to me at least...
and that's true about "lots of hao! hao!". It used to disturb me but then i got used to it...
then the second stage comes: chinese start laughing at you and correct each and every mistake you make, even the most inessential! that means that your level of language is really not bad! it happens in long discussions... some of them even stop calling you laowai.
But I was talking about phone calls, normally people can't see your laowai's face and have no idea where you are from at the beginning of the talk.
The question "where you are from?" (namely which part of China) is very significant in Chinese culture, this is why they ask it each other on automatic pilot...
MissT @ Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:54 am
bootlegga bootlegga:
I wear a maple leaf pin sometimes when I travel, sometimes I don't, but I look at it as simple patriotism.
Actually, wearing a maple leaf pin or having a flag sewn onto your backpack is a really common way of reducing aggro if you are travelling abroad. I remember being in a queue for immigration in Brazil, where an American couple in front of me were being given such a hard time from the guy who evidently hated all Americans... and then when I came up and showed him my Canadian passport, his face lit up "Oh, you're Canadian! Welcome, welcome, I love Canadians etc." It was pretty funny.
Some of the time I suspect that people with maple leafs on their backpacks actually are Yanks...
And then there is the secret Canadian code abroad, whcih is the Mountain Equipment Co-op gear, which is how genuine Canucks know how to recognise each other...
ShepherdsDog @ Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:23 am
kaetz kaetz:
ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:
kaetz kaetz:
hey! Koreans and Japanese look totally different and speak the languages that sound really different.
when i speak chinese on the phone soem people ask me what part of China i am from but i consider it a compliment and sometimes play their game
when i speak chinese on the phone soem people ask me what part of China i am from but i consider it a compliment and sometimes play their game
Geneticists have determined the Japanese, except for the Ainu, are descended from the Koreans. Something the Japanese don't like to be told since Koreans were considered a subject people for so long. As to the Chinese being impressed about foreigners speaking Mandarin, Fokien(Taiwanese/Fujian dialect), if you can get three word out that they can understand, you get the thumbs up and lots of hao! hao! Damned tones are a bitch.
moot point... however i have no much information and...
still Japanese and koreans look different... to me at least...
and that's true about "lots of hao! hao!". It used to disturb me but then i got used to it...
then the second stage comes: chinese start laughing at you and correct each and every mistake you make, even the most inessential! that means that your level of language is really not bad! it happens in long discussions... some of them even stop calling you laowai.
But I was talking about phone calls, normally people can't see your laowai's face and have no idea where you are from at the beginning of the talk.
The question "where you are from?" (namely which part of China) is very significant in Chinese culture, this is why they ask it each other on automatic pilot...
Tell them Hongcouver, or Rich Man(Richmond). In Taiwan we were usually called weigworen (foreigner) or Meigworen (American).
kaetz @ Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:59 am
waiguoren, laowai, dabizi, yangguizi.... whatever.... i can make them feel uncomfortable using their language if there is a case
Xinjiang also works for me sometimes
Blue_Nose @ Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:28 pm
Yank-in-NY Yank-in-NY:
Plus there are regional identities, a person in New York has alot more in common with someone in Atlantic Canada and almost nothing in common with the hippies in California or BC (no offense).
(no offense).I boarded with a family from Rhode Island for a week a few years ago, and almost dies from laughter when they said they thought we sounded the same as they did! It's true that some folks down on the South Shore (of Nova Scotia) have New England accents, but not where I'm from... I tend to sound more like a Caper, especially after a few.
I always liked New England, mostly because we have so much in common...