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Mark Zuckerberg Answers Q&A in Mandarin at Chinese University

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Re: Mark Zuckerberg Answers Q&A in Mandarin at Chinese University

#41

Post by jamesdutc »

I wish the exoticising of the East would just go away. This mystique associated upon the Chinese language is horribly old-fashioned. It comes up far too often (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7624342)

Of course, we should always encourage ourselves and others to learn foreign languages, even if only to dabble.

Unfortunately, this is just gimmick, and bad gimmick at that. Compare to a completely normalised (and far more impressive!!) display of Chinese-language skill. It's implied that they're mostly housewives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5na5nHZsww#t=5m30s

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Answers Q&A in Mandarin at Chinese University

#42

Post by hawkice »

Dewie wrote: post #39
ezequiel-garzon wrote: post #33

Even if Zuckerberg's main motivation was to learn his wife's language, I believe this will effectively raise the bar for CEOs in the years ahead. I wouldn't be surprised if this seemingly unnecessary skill could signify new business opportunities for large corporations.

Isn't speaking relevant foreign languages considered a plus in business settings? That seems to be the layman perception, at least.

I've been told by Americans doing business in China that, even if you have pretty good Chinese, you don't have good business Chinese unless you specifically know that you do. So you'll get a translator anyway.

Understanding the culture is important to understanding the product you provide, if it's at all different, so that can be pretty important.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Answers Q&A in Mandarin at Chinese University

#43

Post by dreamweapon »

pgrote wrote: post #24
mastermojo wrote: post #17

his tones are off, but he has a pretty impressive vocabulary

I took Chinese in high school and did ok. Didn't use it and have tried to pick it up twice as an adult and have yet to get the tones down in conversation. Put a book in front of me, I can get it. Let me listen to someone speak it and I am lost. Any ideas on how to conquer that fault?

What the others are saying. The thing is, your brain is very plastic and will eventually grow new connections to process the novel sonic inputs -- but there will be some time delay involved. Not a lot will happen for a while. But then... a lot will happen. It will all start gelling, and making sense.

The key is to (1) watch/read/listen to stuff you truly love, and (2) make a sustained practice of it.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Answers Q&A in Mandarin at Chinese University

#48

Post by arasmussen »

jamesdutc wrote: post #41

I wish the exoticising of the East would just go away. This mystique associated upon the Chinese language is horribly old-fashioned. It comes up far too often ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7624342 ) Of course, we should always encourage ourselves and others to learn foreign languages, even if only to dabble. Unfortunately, this is just gimmick, and bad gimmick at that. Compare to a completely normalised (and…

I think you're missing the point.

The number of Westerners who become conversational in Chinese is astoundingly low compared to vice-versa. It's known to be quite difficult. Being able to publicly answer questions at a Q&A without falling back to English once is a feat that takes years of learning and practice. It is amazing to me that Mark has been able to find the time and dedication for this while simultaneously running one of the most successful tech companies ever.

This isn't on hacker news because the East is exotic or Chinese language is mysterious.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Answers Q&A in Mandarin at Chinese University

#49

Post by eximius »

jamesdutc wrote: post #41

I wish the exoticising of the East would just go away. This mystique associated upon the Chinese language is horribly old-fashioned. It comes up far too often ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7624342 ) Of course, we should always encourage ourselves and others to learn foreign languages, even if only to dabble. Unfortunately, this is just gimmick, and bad gimmick at that. Compare to a completely normalised (and…

I speak Chinese and it is a ridiculously hard language.

For a more eloquent response (not mine), see this:

http://pinyin.info/readings/texts/moser.html

Re: Mark Zuckerberg Answers Q&A in Mandarin at Chinese University

#50

Post by ravitation »

newhouseb wrote: post #25
pgrote wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took Chinese in high school and did ok. Didn't use it and have tried to pick it up twice as an adult and have yet to get the tones down in conversation. Put a book in front of me, I can get it. Let me listen to someone speak it and I am lost. Any ideas on how to conquer that fault?

Watch reality Chinese television with subtitles. You get both the visual confirmation alongside the sound. They can be kind of a drag to get through (esp if you're used to HBO-level stuff), but the benefit of reality TV is that you can miss parts of a conversation and not be completely confused as to what's going on as there is no real plot.

I find it really hard to watch foreign TV/Movies with subtitles because I lose almost all of the audio, and am pretty much just reading the whole time - path of least resistance to understanding, I guess.
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