I’ve been speaking pure Chinese for almost an entire week straight. Certain muscles in my tongue that I didn’t know existed are tired. People tell me they’re surprised at how good my Chinese is — not just in terms of pronunciation, but vocabulary as well — and wonder how it’s possible without any means of practice. I can’t explain this myself, aside from a constant interest in learning new terms, and a love of Chinese movies (although this is more of a love of Hong Kong, and Chinese movies are my sentimental way of revisiting it). There are also some Chinese terms that have no English equivalent, and people are always shocked when I know them.
Somehow, I can switch between the languages quickly when I’m here. I even catch myself counting in Chinese now, which they say is what reveals your mother tongue.
It’s so true about counting in your mother tongue. After 20 years in US and speaking English 99% of the time, I still prefer to count in Russian, though I am more comfortable thinking in English.
So you must swear in your head in Russian too. :)
Surprisingly, swearing always comes in English. I guess, hearing it from the day one in such insane amounts made it a natural and, sometimes, needed filler. It just doesn’t flow well without the “f” word:))
Wow that’s really great — my Chinese friend who grew up from age 6 in the States here gets teased about his Chinese when he goes back to visit, and his family always spoke Chinese at home. You must be keeping current!
Well…some people do tease me, but I think most are just plain surprised because I have no opportunity to practice speaking Chinese, but can hold my own in deeper conversations. My other cousins have mostly lost it all, so I suppose I’m just keeping the best out of them.
Oh how my Chinese is so rusty, it’s been years since I spoke it (much less reading and writing it) and when I did to my girlfriend’s parents, I felt so tongue tied. It was hilarious. I’m assuming since you’re in Hong Kong that Cantonese is your mother tongue rather than Mandarin.
You still got to love Hong Kong movies and dramas (or Taiwanese dramas for that matter). It’s a class of its own compared to it’s western counterparts. Half the time, absolutely epic.
I do frequently feel tongue tied; there are concepts in English that I just don’t have the ability to express in Chinese, especially because I’m so picky with my words. I generally find a way around it, using examples, but sometimes I’m not sure if I’m getting through the right way. And yep, my mother tongue is Cantonese.