[iya.donghae]

Sooo... last Tuesday I had night classes, and the prof read out our names for a roll call.

Then he read my name, and noticed my last name. Then he looked at me and asked if I was Chinese. I said dad's part Chinese, and the rest of what I said I think he didn't hear. .__. Then he asked me if I could speak the language, and mentioned some terms. It was kinda embarrassing, actually. He was like, "Then if I give you a [insert word that I don't understand here], you wouldn't know?" over and over. >_< And then he said, "You're Chinese and you can't speak Chinese?"

It isn't the first time, tho. A part-Chinese guy in my class asked me months ago if I could speak Chinese. Then a Chinese girl in my class asked me if I could speak Mandarin or Fookien. I replied honestly and said no. And if i remember correctly, someone in my class asked if I've been to China before, and of course I haven't. >_<

It's kinda frustrating at times.

So, has this ever happened to you? Like, if you're say, part/half/pure [insert ethnicity] and you were raised in another country with another language, and people who notice your name/looks/ethnicity ask if you can speak the language/been there?

Share your stories here.

[jasu]

i have gone through that kind of problem before because besides english, i only speaks hokkien dialect at home...during junior highschool i lived in the states where all chinese speak mandarin, i can't speak that language...i don't have any chinese friends before because of the language barrier...they know i'm chinese but they seem to not understand why can't i speak the language...i was left out...
it makes me hate them...they always think i'm weird...

but now no more...i can speak mandarin now...learned it myself during college time...
but still i hate to live in this country where people tend to have this kind of thinking...my sisters are still having the same problem now because they can't speak mandarin...

i think those people who asked whether you speak your mother tongue is really narrow minded...who cares what language you speak..
they should be more sensitive...

[Antz]

Yeah, I usually get that. Because I'm half Chinese, people always ask me whether I can speak Mandarin or Cantonese.. and truth is I can't speak them, I can only speak a Chinese dialect. Meh.

But nah they usually find it interesting that I'm half Chinese/Vietnamese. So they always ask me whether I can speak Chinese or Vietnamese, or both, or which one better.

[lucky*13]

Yeah, people ask me, I ask them...
It's like that a lot of the times.
I can speak both cantonese and mandrin.
Then people's facial expression changes to this: O.OReally?

[little mixed girl]

i've been asked if i know about cultural things, but not language related things.
i guess if i was part-asian or hispanic, people might ask me about language, but i'm not, so they don't...ha!

[trishaa01]

people ask me the wierdest things, like "can you speak chinese?....what about French? portuguese?"

and the truth is that i can speak all of them, but not fluently.

and one time, this japanese lady came up to me and started talking in japanese. i just stood there and was like O_O

[-N-]

i am pure chinese and i live in malaysia.
but i cant speak cantonese and mandarin fluently.
most people here expect chinese people to KNOW how to speak chinese. argghh.

i worked at a lingerie shop and when i talk to them, and sometimes i dont understand what they are talking about so i'd be like, "sorry can you speak in english?" and they'll say "arent u chinese?"

it's pretty annoying. ><

p/s: sorry if my grammar sucks. :X

[sp4078]

My story is kinda off but still. I'm viet and ppl keep asking "can you speak french?". Err, french left here 50 years ago. My 80 year-old grandma is the only speaks French in my family. Or "can you speak chinese?"

[PH4T]

Hmmm, it doesn't happen to me a lot.
But whenever classmates find out that I'm Chinese AND Vietnamese,
they'll go on a question-spree.

So if you're Chinese and Vietnamese, can you speak both languages?
No...Not really.
Can you speak Vietnamese?
Fluently, yep!
Can you understand it?
...? Obviously...
Then how about Chinese?
I can only understand it. I can speak some basic phrases, but that's all.
So you can't speak Chinese fluently?
What do you think?!

Good thing that these things doesn't happen too often.

[mariika]

Sometimes.
With me, it's mostly "you were born in Montreal? YOU CAN SPEAK FRENCH?" ...and it's like "I never said I could speak French; my parents left Montreal when I was 1" XD;; But that never seems to sit well with them :x

[hippiehop]

I'm half Chinese and half white.

People always assume I can't speak Chinese!!
But I speak it fluently.

[ohmysanity]

I'm mixed with German, Indian, Italian and Irish, and when I tell people that I'm from Germany, and have lived there for 6-7 years of my life and I spoke German before I spoke English, they always want to know if I still speak it, and I'm like "No? My grandfather's German, my dad's half...but my dad doesn't speak it." And they'll go "that makes no sense. You're lying."

So hey, I don't care I don't see any point in speaking German when all the German relatives I have live in Germany. I don't contact ANY of them... You know?

And, another question I get, is "Are you part of the Mafia?"

It's like "Not every Italian Person is in the mafia." XD

People are crazy.

[Rhapsodyy]

Haha well i'm not really HALF anything or whatever, but i'm from Ontario which is right next to Quebec. So pretty much everytime I meet someone out here in BC, they'll like ask me a question about.. say... how to get to a place or whatever. And i'll be like "I'm sorry, i'm not realy sure. I just moved here recently from Ontario." and literally every single person i've told i'm from Ontario is like "Oh... can you speak french?" and some even start speaking french to me haha. I'm like "Uh.. ish?" I don't get it though haha, yes i'm from Ontario, and yeah we do learn french in school... but no one spoke french where i lived [except in school]. We're in Ontario.. not Quebec [or New Brunswick]... lol

[givmeyourcookie]

Ugh. I hate when people ask what I am, know if I speak the language, then if I can "say something."
What are you? Chinese, Laos, and Viet
Can you speak Chinese? ...a little...
Say Something. .:gives a shy no... :.

[mango-iee]

It always happen, and yeah I'm really angry when someone ask me that again.

@givmeyourcookie: That the proof they want to ask me if I could speak Chinese or not since I'm part chinese.
Angry huh?

[EXQU1S1TE]

No, but I did have ppl ask me if I speak asian -______-;

[iya.donghae]

I'm mixed with German, Indian, Italian and Irish, and when I tell people that I'm from Germany, and have lived there for 6-7 years of my life and I spoke German before I spoke English, they always want to know if I still speak it, and I'm like "No? My grandfather's German, my dad's half...but my dad doesn't speak it." And they'll go "that makes no sense. You're lying."

So hey, I don't care I don't see any point in speaking German when all the German relatives I have live in Germany. I don't contact ANY of them... You know?

And, another question I get, is "Are you part of the Mafia?"

It's like "Not every Italian Person is in the mafia." XD

People are crazy.

Whoa. .___. That's kinda weird.

No, but I did have ppl ask me if I speak asian -______-;

LOLOL Do you? Just kidding.

Feels good to know I'm not the only one. >_< The Asian one just made me go LOL.

[CitrusFlower]

im half vietnamese/chinese and i can speak both, but some people don't know how to speak their language and it's common now and days

[babybara]

i know who that prof is and i know also what he said! haha.
he asked us the same question to get a go-chap(50) score. haha.
nobody asks me coz i dont look like chinese unless they can read my surname.
well that's why my father let us learn how to speak chinese and he's being obsessed with going to china for businesses and stuff.

[I.♥_Y0U ;)]

Yes they ask. But I can speak it, so they usually ask me how to say hi, & then we get to the swear words.