老外在中國：有個會中文的女兒是什么感受
我6歲的孩子覺得我像一個小寶寶，至少是當我說普通話的時候。最近，她對我說：“我喜歡你說中文，你的中文有點笨笨的，像一個嬰兒。我喜歡嬰兒。”
By Erik Nilsson
My 6-year-old thinks I’m a baby — at least when I speak Mandarin.
我6歲的孩子覺得我像一個小寶寶，至少是當我說普通話的時候。
“I like it when you speak Chinese,” she recently told me.
最近，她對我說：“我喜歡你說中文”。
“It’s a little awkward. It’s like a baby. And I like babies.”
“你的中文有點笨笨的，像一個嬰兒。我喜歡嬰兒。”
Chinese is the blonde, blue-eyed girl’s first language. Lily, who was born in Beijing, started to speak English later, after mixing the two tongues. (Her mother isn’t Chinese.)
中文是這個金發碧眼小女孩的母語。Lily生在北京，以前總是會把兩種語言混在一起說，之后才開始說英語。（她的媽媽不是中國人）
“Baba (Daddy) eats jirou (chicken). Baba looks at xiongmaode (the panda’s) hand."
“爸爸eats雞肉。爸爸looks at大熊貓的hand。”
By age 3, she’d separated the languages.
直到3歲，她才能區分兩種語言。
Her 2-year-old brother recently acquired his first several words — nearly all Chinese.
而Lily兩歲的弟弟最近也學會說話了——說的幾個詞幾乎都是中文。
He nai (drink milk), baobao wo (hug/hold me), jiejie ku (sister is crying).
“喝奶，抱抱我，姐姐哭。”
He uses both “ball” and its Chinese equivalent, “qiu”.
他會說英語里的“ball”和中文里的“球”。
“No” is one of his few — and favorite — English words. It’s worth noting, Chinese doesn’t have a direct equivalent to “yes” and “no” but uses other grammatical constructions to affirm and negate.
“No”是他會的為數不多的幾個英文單詞，也是最喜歡的一個。值得一提的是，中文里沒有和“yes”、“no”對應的詞匯，而是用其他語法結構來表達肯定和否定。
My Chinese is perhaps less like a toddler’s and more like an immigrant’s (a concept my daughter hasn’t developed. She must soon to explain her parents.)
也許，我的中文說得并不像小孩，而更像是外來的移民。移民這個概念我的女兒還不清楚，不過她肯定很快就能替父母解釋了。
I’m certified as intermediate in reading and writing, since I passed the national Chinese Proficiency Test’s Level 4 before Lily was born. (Level 6 is the highest.)
在Lily出生之前，我就通過了全國漢語水平四級考試，達到了中級讀寫水平。（六級為最高等級。）
And my spoken Chinese is multiplications better than my character proficiency.
我的中文口語能力比書面表達能力好太多。
I can converse about, say, (basic) economics but with grammatical flubs, tone errors and a funny accent. The second two are common among native Chinese with less-than-perfect Putonghua (standardized Mandarin).
我可以談論基本的經濟學，但是有語法錯誤，聲調錯誤，口音滑稽。而后面兩個問題在普通話不標準的中國人中也很常見。
There’s a theory that language shapes how we perceive the world.
有一種理論認為，語言決定了我們看待世界的方式。
I’ve observed, for instance, that after using only Chinese for a period, two things happen.
比如說，我發現，在講中文一段時間后發生了兩件事。
First, I start to think simple thoughts in Chinese. I notice because I sometimes talk to myself. Say I’m traveling and haven’t spoken English in days — I’ll mutter “Wode shouji zai nali?” rather than “Where’s my phone?”.
第一是我開始用中文來表達一些簡單的想法。因為我有時會自言自語，所以注意到了這點。比如我在旅行時幾天沒說英語了，我會嘟囔著“我的手機在哪里？”而不是“Where is my phone”。
Second, I think about the world differently in such ways as, in my mind’s eye, “opening” rather than turning on the light — a direct translation into English that retains the Chinese language’s conceptualization of the phenomenon.
第二，我開始用不同的角度感知世界，比如，我會想到“opening”而不是“turning on”電燈，這就是直譯成英文，保留了中文語言對開燈這一動作的概念。
I was wondering how this works for Lily, since she’s a native speaker of both but acquired Chinese first.
我想知道Lily是不是也有這種感受，因為中英文都是她的母語，只是她先學會了中文。
She says she only thinks in English and translates in her head.
她說她只用英文思考，然后在腦子里 She claims to never dream in Chinese, which I sometimes do.
她說自己從來不會做說中文的夢，而我有時候會這樣。
That seems counterintuitive.
這似乎和直覺相悖。
She told me in English the other morning: “I’m not afraid of the cold. I’m afraid of being hot.”
某天早上，她用英語告訴我：“I'm not afraid of the cold. I'm afraid of being hot.（我不怕冷，我怕熱）。”
This is a direct translation into English. Chinese typically conveys an aversion to temperature extremes using the word for fear (pa), rather than a synonym for dislike.
這句話是直譯成英文的。中文中通常用“怕”這個詞傳達對極端溫度的厭惡，而不是用“不喜歡”之類的同義詞。
And I’ve noticed how our family mixes the languages at home.
而且我注意到我們在家里也會混合兩種語言。
I’ll ask my wife: “Mind if I kai (open) the kongtiao (air conditioner)? Did you mai (buy) the piao (tickets)?”
我會問我的妻子：“Mind if I開空調？Did you買票？”（介意我開空調嗎？你買票了嗎？）
My daughter only calls me Baba— never Daddy — whichever language or mix we’re using.
不過，不論我們用哪種語言交流或是混合使用，我的女兒只叫我“爸爸”，從來不會叫“Daddy”。
That said, I’m still a baby to her.
雖說如此，和她相比，我的中文依然是嬰兒水平。
Perhaps I am —in the way of rediscovering the world like children do, through another language. It’s like “opening” the light that illuminates a new perspective.
或許我現在就如小孩一般，通過另一種語言重新認識這個世界。就像是“開”了盞燈，照亮一個全新的視角。
音頻編輯：唐曉敏
更多內容請關注“CHINA DAILY”微信公眾號：
Broadcaster
Erik Nilsson is an American journalist who has worked in China for over 10 years. His work has won various honors, including the Chinese Government Friendship Award - the highest honor the country bestows on foreigners. He has traveled to every provincial-level jurisdiction except Chongqing and Guangdong, covering such stories as the Wenchuan and Yushu earthquakes, nomadic communities’ development and civil society.
我6歲的孩子覺得我像一個小寶寶，至少是當我說普通話的時候。最近，她對我說：“我喜歡你說中文，你的中文有點笨笨的，像一個嬰兒。我喜歡嬰兒。”
By Erik Nilsson
My 6-year-old thinks I’m a baby — at least when I speak Mandarin.
我6歲的孩子覺得我像一個小寶寶，至少是當我說普通話的時候。
“I like it when you speak Chinese,” she recently told me.
最近，她對我說：“我喜歡你說中文”。
“It’s a little awkward. It’s like a baby. And I like babies.”
“你的中文有點笨笨的，像一個嬰兒。我喜歡嬰兒。”
Chinese is the blonde, blue-eyed girl’s first language. Lily, who was born in Beijing, started to speak English later, after mixing the two tongues. (Her mother isn’t Chinese.)
中文是這個金發碧眼小女孩的母語。Lily生在北京，以前總是會把兩種語言混在一起說，之后才開始說英語。（她的媽媽不是中國人）
“Baba (Daddy) eats jirou (chicken). Baba looks at xiongmaode (the panda’s) hand."
“爸爸eats雞肉。爸爸looks at大熊貓的hand。”
By age 3, she’d separated the languages.
直到3歲，她才能區分兩種語言。
Her 2-year-old brother recently acquired his first several words — nearly all Chinese.
而Lily兩歲的弟弟最近也學會說話了——說的幾個詞幾乎都是中文。
He nai (drink milk), baobao wo (hug/hold me), jiejie ku (sister is crying).
“喝奶，抱抱我，姐姐哭。”
He uses both “ball” and its Chinese equivalent, “qiu”.
他會說英語里的“ball”和中文里的“球”。
“No” is one of his few — and favorite — English words. It’s worth noting, Chinese doesn’t have a direct equivalent to “yes” and “no” but uses other grammatical constructions to affirm and negate.
“No”是他會的為數不多的幾個英文單詞，也是最喜歡的一個。值得一提的是，中文里沒有和“yes”、“no”對應的詞匯，而是用其他語法結構來表達肯定和否定。
My Chinese is perhaps less like a toddler’s and more like an immigrant’s (a concept my daughter hasn’t developed. She must soon to explain her parents.)
也許，我的中文說得并不像小孩，而更像是外來的移民。移民這個概念我的女兒還不清楚，不過她肯定很快就能替父母解釋了。
I’m certified as intermediate in reading and writing, since I passed the national Chinese Proficiency Test’s Level 4 before Lily was born. (Level 6 is the highest.)
在Lily出生之前，我就通過了全國漢語水平四級考試，達到了中級讀寫水平。（六級為最高等級。）
And my spoken Chinese is multiplications better than my character proficiency.
我的中文口語能力比書面表達能力好太多。
I can converse about, say, (basic) economics but with grammatical flubs, tone errors and a funny accent. The second two are common among native Chinese with less-than-perfect Putonghua (standardized Mandarin).
我可以談論基本的經濟學，但是有語法錯誤，聲調錯誤，口音滑稽。而后面兩個問題在普通話不標準的中國人中也很常見。
There’s a theory that language shapes how we perceive the world.
有一種理論認為，語言決定了我們看待世界的方式。
I’ve observed, for instance, that after using only Chinese for a period, two things happen.
比如說，我發現，在講中文一段時間后發生了兩件事。
First, I start to think simple thoughts in Chinese. I notice because I sometimes talk to myself. Say I’m traveling and haven’t spoken English in days — I’ll mutter “Wode shouji zai nali?” rather than “Where’s my phone?”.
第一是我開始用中文來表達一些簡單的想法。因為我有時會自言自語，所以注意到了這點。比如我在旅行時幾天沒說英語了，我會嘟囔著“我的手機在哪里？”而不是“Where is my phone”。
Second, I think about the world differently in such ways as, in my mind’s eye, “opening” rather than turning on the light — a direct translation into English that retains the Chinese language’s conceptualization of the phenomenon.
第二，我開始用不同的角度感知世界，比如，我會想到“opening”而不是“turning on”電燈，這就是直譯成英文，保留了中文語言對開燈這一動作的概念。
I was wondering how this works for Lily, since she’s a native speaker of both but acquired Chinese first.
我想知道Lily是不是也有這種感受，因為中英文都是她的母語，只是她先學會了中文。
She says she only thinks in English and translates in her head.
她說她只用英文思考，然后在腦子里 She claims to never dream in Chinese, which I sometimes do.
她說自己從來不會做說中文的夢，而我有時候會這樣。
That seems counterintuitive.
這似乎和直覺相悖。
She told me in English the other morning: “I’m not afraid of the cold. I’m afraid of being hot.”
某天早上，她用英語告訴我：“I'm not afraid of the cold. I'm afraid of being hot.（我不怕冷，我怕熱）。”
This is a direct translation into English. Chinese typically conveys an aversion to temperature extremes using the word for fear (pa), rather than a synonym for dislike.
這句話是直譯成英文的。中文中通常用“怕”這個詞傳達對極端溫度的厭惡，而不是用“不喜歡”之類的同義詞。
And I’ve noticed how our family mixes the languages at home.
而且我注意到我們在家里也會混合兩種語言。
I’ll ask my wife: “Mind if I kai (open) the kongtiao (air conditioner)? Did you mai (buy) the piao (tickets)?”
我會問我的妻子：“Mind if I開空調？Did you買票？”（介意我開空調嗎？你買票了嗎？）
My daughter only calls me Baba— never Daddy — whichever language or mix we’re using.
不過，不論我們用哪種語言交流或是混合使用，我的女兒只叫我“爸爸”，從來不會叫“Daddy”。
That said, I’m still a baby to her.
雖說如此，和她相比，我的中文依然是嬰兒水平。
Perhaps I am —in the way of rediscovering the world like children do, through another language. It’s like “opening” the light that illuminates a new perspective.
或許我現在就如小孩一般，通過另一種語言重新認識這個世界。就像是“開”了盞燈，照亮一個全新的視角。
音頻編輯：唐曉敏
更多內容請關注“CHINA DAILY”微信公眾號：
Broadcaster
Erik Nilsson is an American journalist who has worked in China for over 10 years. His work has won various honors, including the Chinese Government Friendship Award - the highest honor the country bestows on foreigners. He has traveled to every provincial-level jurisdiction except Chongqing and Guangdong, covering such stories as the Wenchuan and Yushu earthquakes, nomadic communities’ development and civil society.
