Hey there, I am just wondering some of you guys have Chinese friends or not, when you come to Kunming for living or study or whatever, have you ever want to make friends with the local people? or just stay the same language group? and if you have how do you know each other? I'd like to know your point, thanks.
In my opinion, making friends with the local people is good,you can communicate with them the local culture,the difference between western and China, that's so much fun, every times when I talk with my foreign friends I always learning too much, because what we are thinking just so different and fun, I'd like to make new friends from everywhere in the world, then even I haven't been their country but know something about it, the feeling just good, and you can hanging out with the friends from everywhere in the worlds at this time you all in Kunming, sometimes just boring stay in home, and has nothing to talk with the old friends, you are just different now, the in common just gone as you have difference life experience. so we need new friends. what's your opinion?
Yes, I definitely have Chinese friends. It is a great way to learn Chinese language and culture!
good point, but bit nagging!!!
Try TOASTMASTERS! Great way to meet MANY local friends and improve yourse4lf while helping them improve. Check it out.
Cheers
@mmkunmingteacher: Right - I'd add that it's also a great reason for learning Chinese language and culture.
yeah but those locals must learn to speak chinese! too many time when I approach a local, they insist on speaking their dialect, and many of them can not speak mandarin or just not willing to speak it, so in that case, I speak english to them.....making it very difficult to make friends in my opinion
Most of those who have had access to a standard education will speak Mandarin.
@culture: yes, there are local accents, perhaps dialects, etc., of Chinese, and it can be a bit difficult, but plenty of people are able to speak pretty standard Putonghua and drop the local variations, at least in Kunming but also elsewhere. Imagine a Chinese person who has learned English well getting off a plane in parts of Alabama, Scotland or India. Even though I've been here awhile I have problems with this, and some people's Chinese I really can't understand much at all, but it's only rarely an absolute barrier.
The China Ministry of Education says about 30% of Chinese cannot speak Mandarin.
www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-09/06/content_16948200.htm
Sounds about right, although I wonder how narrowly they are defining what is Mandarin and what is not - Cantonese and the several dialects of Fujianese are clearly not Mandarin and should be considered different languages, not dialects; as well as Tibetan, Uighur, Bai etc., but I wonder how they classify Kunminghua. The linguistic distinctions dialect/language are a bit fuzzy, but Kunminghua is certainly the same language, as are most other variations.
@culture: I think you'll find that only few people who can't speak clear Mandarin will be able to speak English at all - in other words, if you can speak some Chinese you'll probably be better at approaching their language than they will be at approaching English. At any rate, the task remains that of us foreigners, though local people who actually do know English fairly well often like to speak it with foreigners, despite sometimes an initial shyness.
