Learning the ins and outs of Chinese language rituals can open doors to intercultural understanding

Language learning is an important bridge between cultures, civilizations and people, which is why it is important to consider ways to better help foreigners understand China through its language.

Foreigners might be introduced to the Chinese language and culture through artifacts and other cultural elements, such as the Great Wall, paintings and Chinese cuisine. But it is equally interesting, as well as important, to consider how Chinese people use language day to day, because increasing global awareness of communication norms and expressions can help resolve misunderstandings and, more generally, form a bridge between China and the world.

To understand why Chinese daily interactions are complex as well as fascinating, we should look to the long history of China. Speakers of Chinese inherit many language rituals that are totally natural for them, but differ from how people of other cultures communicate. Indeed, such customs are often difficult for foreigners to understand.

Take, for example, expressions used in greeting others. In Western languages such as English, greetings are often routine. English speakers will use “hi”, “hello” or “good evening” in pretty much every relationship. However, in Chinese, such greeting rituals vary greatly, depending on situations and relationships. Some speakers of Chinese don’t even use typical greeting expressions, but rather choose friendly remarks such as “Ni zai ya” (Oh, you’re here). While foreign learners might feel that Chinese speakers in such situations are not properly greeting each other, the greeting customs used in Western languages often seem robotic and cold from a Chinese perspective.

The same goes for expressions, which are used when taking one’s leave. Many foreigners have noticed that Chinese speakers, when ending a phone conversation, might say “Ni xian gua ba” (You hang up first), and then continue to converse for a long time before actually finishing the call. “You hang up first” might seem odd to foreigners, because the speaker is encouraging the other person to end the call. Also puzzling to non-Chinese is that no actual goodbye might be said before or after this expression. But for speakers of Chinese, encouraging the other person to hang up first is a clear indication of the speaker being considerate of the other person.

Chinese language becomes even more intriguing when we move beyond simple expressions. For instance, although I began learning Chinese when I was young, when a colleague mentioned that one of her parents had turned 80, I could hardly mumble an intelligible congratulation. This is because congratulations of Western origin, such as “Wish her a happy birthday” sound awkwardly plain for such an occasion in Chinese, a language in which many ritual phrases exist for this occasion, such as “I wish your (the senior person’s) happiness might flow like the endless Eastern Sea, and your years stand firm like the eternal Southern Mountain!”

It is this richness of language customs and the ancient culture behind them that makes learning Chinese both an intriguing and a daunting experience. Indeed, it seems that Chinese speakers have complex language habits for every sphere of life.

Yet this very complexity in how Chinese is used in daily situations makes Chinese an ideal language to be presented globally, partly because of the need to adapt to specific realities, not only for language learners but also for anyone who wishes to visit China or learn about its culture.

In introducing Chinese modes of communication to the world, it is important to move outside our comfort zone of big cities and business meetings, situations that foreigners often face. When one of my students and I examined how Chinese people conduct small talk in villages, we were fascinated to discover that shop owners often ritually behave as hosts, in order to build a good relationship with their customers. On one occasion, we heard a shop owner say to a customer who bought a large item: “You know what? Hop in the car and I’ll take you home. Otherwise, isn’t it very far for you to go back?”

Both the customer and the shop owner knew that this was not a genuine offer, but rather a gesture of goodwill, leading them to extensive small talk about road conditions in the village. Such archaic and polite practices may help foreigners better understand China and its people, and also grasp what makes Chinese language genuinely interesting.

As interactions are destined to amplify between Chinese and people from the rest of the world, it is more important than ever to promote Chinese language and culture. It should be a key task for teachers of Chinese language and for academics to present to foreigners in much greater detail the seemingly humble daily customs of Chinese language. Doing so would be a fruitful way to foster global understanding.

There are lots of ways academics can help spread the Chinese language around the world. One idea is to create free, interactive websites that make learning Chinese easy and fun, drawing attention to Chinese language rituals. Online discussion boards show that many learners get confused — and even frustrated — about how to use and interpret such rituals. For example, a common question occurring in many forums is why Chinese speakers often compliment learners on their Chinese skills, which clearly puzzles a lot of people. Such questions should be collected and answered in an organized way on an authoritative website including real examples of ritual language use, academic explanations of these examples, interaction images and an opportunity for foreigners with interest in China to interact.

It’s also important to create new ways for Chinese learners and the Chinese public to explore the language. For example, interactive exhibitions on Chinese — hosted with the help of national museums — could make learning fun. These exhibitions could not only feature historical items such as letters, but also hands-on games for children, and presentations from academics and language experts, presenting examples of such ritualized language as mentioned. In the age of the internet, it would also be useful to host online exhibitions.

Finally, let’s talk about films. Learning Chinese shouldn’t be something only foreigners do — it could be part of the entertainment industry itself. In the English-speaking world, movies such as The King’s Speech have drawn a lot of interest in English, attracting both native speakers and learners far beyond what any classroom could achieve. With China’s rich history and culture, the Chinese movie industry could create movies that showcase the beauty and power of the language. Academic research on Chinese, which allows us to understand Chinese and its use beyond conventional boundaries, could play a key role in making this happen.

The author is a professor and the international director of the Center for International Cooperation and Disciplinary Innovation at Dalian University of Foreign Languages.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.