ChinesePod
@ 40863 Overseas Chinese
A 你的美國表弟怎麼樣？
nǐ de Měiguó biǎodì zěnmeyàng?
How is your American cousin?
B 特別有意思的一個人，就是沒辦法溝通。
tèbié yǒu yìsi de yī ge rén, jiùshì méi bànfǎ gōutōng.
He is a very interesting individual, but there is no way of communicating.
A 他不會說中文？
tā bù huì shuō Zhōngwén?
He doesn't speak Chinese?
B 會是會一點，都是些比較簡單的句子。他在芝加哥出生，一直都沒回來過。這是他第一次回國。見到那麼多親戚，人都暈了。
huì shì huì yīdiǎn, dōu shì xiē bǐjiào jiǎndān de jùzi. tā zài Zhījiāgē chūshēng, yīzhí dōu méi huílai guo. zhè shì tā dì yī cì huíguó. jiàndào nàme duō qīnqi, rén dōu yūn le.
He can a little bit--all just relatively basic phrases. He was born in Chicago, and had never come here. This is his first time to China. He's met so many relatives, it was overwhelming for him.
A 是啊，光那些七大姑八大姨就要記好一陣。他們家很早就去美國了吧？
shì a, guāng nàxiē qīdàgūbādàyí jiùyào jì hǎoyīzhèn. tāmen jiā hěn zǎo jiù qù Měiguó le ba?
Yeah, just learning the terms for all the relatives takes quite a while. Did they move to America a long time ago?
B 對，爺爺那輩就去了，是老華僑。我記得剛改革開放，他就寫信給我們，我們都嚇了一跳。
duì, yéye nà bèi jiù qù le, shì lǎo huáqiáo. wǒ jìde gāng gǎigé kāifàng, tā jiù xiěxìn gěi wǒmen, wǒmen dōu xià le yī tiào.
Yes. It was in his Grandfather's generation that they left and became overseas Chinese. I recall that just after China opened up to the outside world, he wrote us all a letter. We were all so surprised.
A 那時候真閉塞，現在進出國門簡直是家常便飯。好多新移民都是兩邊跑。
nà shíhou zhēn bìsè, xiànzài jìnchū guómén jiǎnzhí shì jiāchángbiànfàn. hǎo duō xīn yímín dōu shì liǎngbiānpǎo.
At that time it was very closed off, and now going in and out of China is very commonplace. Many new immigrants now go back and forth.
B 現在中國就缺這些懂不同語言文化的人，所以華裔特別有優勢。我表弟這次就是想看看有什麼機會。可惜他語言不過關，否則馬上就能找到好工作。
xiànzài Zhōngguó jiù quē zhèxiē dǒng bùtóng yǔyán wénhuà de rén, suǒyǐ huáyì tèbié yǒu yōushì. wǒ biǎodì zhècì jiùshì xiǎng kàn kan yǒu shénme jīhuì. kěxī tā yǔyán bù guòguān, fǒuzé mǎshàng jiù néng zhǎodào hǎo gōngzuò.
Right now China is lacking people with understanding of different languages and cultures, so overseas Chinese have a great advantage. My cousin is here this time looking for some opportunities. It's too bad his language is not up to par--if it were, he would find a good job very quickly.
A 哎，如果從小開始學中文就好了。
āi, rúguǒ cóngxiǎo kāishǐ xué Zhōngwén jiù hǎo le.
Man, it would have been good if he had learned from an early age.
B 他是第三代移民，連他父母都不太會說，更別說他了。而且好多人剛出去的時候怕孩子語言跟不上，就鼓勵他們多說英語。這樣難免要忽略中文，也沒辦法。
tā shì dì sān dài yímín, lián tā fùmǔ dōu bùtài huì shuō, gèng bié shuō tā le. érqiě hǎo duō rén gāng chūqù de shíhou pà háizi yǔyán gēnbushàng, jiù gǔlì tāmen duō shuō yīngyǔ. zhèyàng nánmiǎn yào hūlǜe Zhōngwén, yě méi bànfǎ.
He's a third generation immigrant, even his parents cannot speak Chinese that well, so obviously he can't either. On top of that, when many people leave here, they are scared that their children wont be able to keep up with the new language, so they urge them to speak English. So when this happens it's easy for their Chinese to get neglected--there's no way around it.
A 也是。你表弟的想法比較像美國人還是中國人？
yěshì. nǐ biǎodì de xiǎngfǎ bǐjiào xiàng Měiguórén háishi Zhōngguórén?
You're right. So, is your cousin's thinking more American or Chinese?
B 不能這麼分吧。我問過他，他說自己是美國人，好多想法也比較西化。但是他也認同中國的一些傳統價值，因為他是華人。
bùnéng zhème fēn ba. wǒ wèn guo tā, tā shuō zìjǐ shì Měiguórén, hǎo duō xiǎngfǎ yě bǐjiào xīhuà. dànshì tā yě rèntóng Zhōngguó de yīxiē chuántǒng jiàzhí, yīnwèi tā shì huárén.
It's hard to distinguish. I have asked him, and he says he is an American, and that a lot of his viewpoints are very western. However, he does identify with some traditional Chinese values as he is of Chinese decent.
A 噢喲，雙重身份真不容易。有機會叫他一塊兒出來玩兒吧。
ōyō, shuāngchóng shēnfèn zhēn bù róngyì. yǒujīhuì jiào tā yīkuàir chūlai wánr ba.
Wow, a dual identity cant be easy. If the chance comes up, invite him to come out with us.
B 好啊，他正想多交些朋友呢。
hǎo a, tā zhèng xiǎng duō jiāo xiē péngyou ne.
Sure. He really wants to make some friends.
Key Vocabulary
表弟 biǎodì
溝通 gōutōng
芝加哥 Zhījiāgē
親戚 qīnqi
七大姑八大姨 qīdàgūbādàyí
華僑 huáqiáo
閉塞 bìsè
家常便飯 jiāchángbiànfàn
移民 yímín
華裔 huáyì
優勢 yōushì
過關 guòguān
跟不上 gēnbushàng
難免 nánmiǎn
忽略 hūlǜe
西化 xīhuà
雙重 shuāngchóng
Supplementary Vocabulary
兩全其美 liǎngquánqíměi
劣勢 lièshì
跟得上 gēndeshàng
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