I don’t which surprises/upsets me more: Those here who seemed surprised that my son can speak Mandarin or those that question whether or not he can understand what I am saying.
First of all, why would he not understand -- or be able to speak -- Mandarin? He is living in Taiwan. Everywhere he goes he hears people speaking Mandarin. It’s all around him. Also, do they think he never speaks to the people on his mother’s side of the family? (I do realise that they might not know his mother is Taiwanese, but sometimes they see us all together.) Even if they wrongly assume that we only ever speak English at home, they must realise that he is going to hear Mandarin every time he steps out the door to go outside.
Now, about understanding what I am saying: Let us not forget that most people in this country believe that if you are white, you are too stupid to learn Mandarin or Chinese. They think that if they see a Westerner, they have to speak English, because that person is only capable of speaking English. It is inconceivable that someone from a Western country can actually speak Mandarin. Therefore, do they think I never talk to my son? Or that he hasn’t been listening to me the whole time he has been here?
I might - if I try hard enough -- be able to fathom the idea that some people are going to wonder about the language-capabilities of my son. But when I get some people who think one way or some people who think the other way, I really don’t know what to say. All I can say is that I get tired of people asking if my son can speak Mandarin, I get tired of people being surprised that he can do it, and tired of people exclaiming that he speaks Mandarin so clearly. I’m sorry, but there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be able to speak it any worse than they can. And there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be able to understand what I am saying to him when I speak to him in English all the time.
