Do you read and write Chinese?

Today, I was reading a report in Chinese. And when my colleagues saw me, all I got was looks surprise.

In the morning, my South-East Asian colleague stopped by my desk and dropped a 100% surprised “You’re reading in Chinese?” comment. Then, my Chinese colleague came by and her “You’re reading in Chinese” comment had a bit of contempt in her tone, as if to mean “Why on earth would you be reading Chinese?” Finally, a foreign colleague came by. (Yes, I was still not done with my report :) ) Her “You’re reading in Chinese?” sounded more as a sign of bewilderment, and a bit of guilt, as she followed by saying, “I have not brushed up my Chinese in a while”.

I am always a bit of a shock that people would be surprised that I read Chinese. I am a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese language and literature. I have spent 4 years in university studying Chinese language, both written and oral, and countless numbers of hours reading books, articles, magazines, writing papers and expressing my thoughts in the language. I have written for college competitions articles in Chinese too. Anyone undergoing such a study for a degree would have to learn fully to read, write and speak the language. It’s actually just like any other language.

Would you ever ask an Italian language major: You’re reading in Italian? Or French? Or English? When you learn a foreign language, do you only learn the spoken word, and not the letters? So why should it be different with Chinese language? Only because it takes a bit more efforts to study the characters and practice? If you were only to learn to speak a language, you would be half literate, right?

I still need a bit more time than a Chinese native to go through an article, but any Chinese language major would not let himself or herself give up if faced with a Chinese report. After all, language is a tool, a tool to communicate and learn about the country and its customs. So I hope next time you meet a Chinese literary major of foreign nationality, do not ask them to explain why they are reading in Chinese. On the contrary, ask them how they are progressing, what they have read in Chinese recently, or, better yet, give them a language challenge so that they can hone their skills! :) No true language major would refuse nor would they have it any other way. :)