Why many Asians learning English are Self Centered and never want to share their language?

Question

I've met many Asians learning English. They always want to speak English and never want to teach you nothing in return. I'm a latino who has interest in other cultures....

whenever i meet these people i just feel really bad cause time passes and all they care is about themselves and talking english . it never crosses their mind that i would also like to learn about their language and culture.

That's why, many times i have given up on many of these people and i tell them ,"I think it would be better for you to speak with a white guy who speaks only english and has no interest in learning other languages" and we end it.

The ideal thing would be we speak English for a white, then we speak their language , etc etc. But they think the only person that should learn is themselves.

I guess they think that foreigners have no interest or ability to learn their languages . And they tend to think that English is the most important language in the world and also i think they think there is no use in learning another language if you don't travel so why teach it to a foreigner in his own land.

Answer 1

I was actually reading about that yesterday:

http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2003/04/13/english-only-please-this-is-china



The article as well as the comments are rather interesting. One commenter said that he would say that he didn't speak English (in Chinese) and that he only knew Chinese and Greek. Then they would continue on speaking in Chinese.



One other user commented "In their head, they’re thinking, 'Why the heck does he insist on speaking Chinese? Chinese are poor! Chinese language is worthless!'"

I thought that was a pretty interesting perspective.



And please don't stereotype and say Asians. That's just too general. I've only heard this about a few Asian countries, like China. Many others are not like this.

Answer 2

That's a rather harsh generalisation.



I don't know how it is like in your country, but from what I've observed on Yahoo Answers, the Chinese seeking help are glad to exchange knowledge on their native tongue. This is especially so for those who are looking for pen pals keen to learn the Chinese language, while they [the Chinese] pick up the English language simultaneously. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement. An example: https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20090319204722AAfe3jx



The Japanese as well. Given the popularity of Japanese mass culture, there are often people asking for translations and I've observed many natives offering their assistance.



On a personal note, I feel indignant because I have actually gone out of my way to help those who need Chinese translations on Yahoo Answers, only to have such an image be cast over Asians such as myself. Is it really fair to use such a blanket term?

Answer 3

English is one of the most important languages in the world, because it's the language of buisness, and it's the main language of pop-culture. But I havent noticed that. There's a Korean boy in my class who is teaching me Korean. I also have a chineese tutor, who's from china. There both willing to teach me there language. You might be right with the majority of asians but it's unfair to say that about ALL of them.

Answer 4

i have sort of noticed that too. although i feel reluctant to say Asians do that, and i know its not only with Asians, they do seem to do it alot more, other cultures have went out to teach me phrases and get me to learn their language, russians, latinos, arabs, indians, etc. i don't know what that is about,



i would be interested to find out, maybe they think their language is too hard for us to learn, or may be alot of them since they use it in a business setting , dont want us to know what they are saying, sometimes i speak the little korean i know to some people, they were quite receptive, but did not offer to teach me anything lol

Answer 5

I can understand why you would think this way. Although I've never experienced this myself, I've known people who had. I rountinely ask my friends that are of a different ethnicity than me, "How would you say this in ____ (insert language)?" or "What does your culture think about this?" They were always happy to share what they knew.



Perhaps I'm lucky. My parents and I routinely share cultural information to those that are interested (we are Asian). We'll never do it randomly, however. A conversation related to the topic has to be made first.

Answer 6

I do not find it true for myself at all. Actually quite the opposite. People are always flattered when you are genuinely interested in their culture/language.

When I ask " how do you say that" in your language....usually am given the Mandarin version and the Cantonese, and the Hakka and etc...that my head hurts !!



Experience...not based on what I hear/ read.

Answer 7

English is the most important language in the world, so I don't wanna waste my time on any other languages!

Answer 8

Some people are thrilled to teach you their language if you want to learn it. These include Chinese (sometimes), Japanese, Russians, Hungarians, Italians, Spanish etc.



Other people hate it when you attempt to speak their language. Even if your knowledge of their language is better than their's of English, they switch to English. These include Koreans, Chinese (sometimes), Polish, Germans, Dutch and especially the French (and French Canadians).