The label "Asian American" is a problem for me because it really does tend to lump together all of the different experiences the differing groups have had as one whole. It's like taking a grain of sand and using it to represent an entire beach. It's too general. I do think that there is an Americanised Asian culture in the sense of there is a culture of Japanese-American, Chinese-American, Korean-American, etc. but they can't be lumped into one whole. The funny thing is that most of the people in Northern California I see touting the phrase "Asian Pride" are Filipino.
I think I've been a linguaphile my whole life. I grew up a polyglot by my environment (family of polyglots, lived in multiple countries, etc.), and so it was just always something I've loved. I'm still working on my Sanskrit and Latin. It's always an ongoing work in progress for me. I have to take my time with the Sanksrit still. I started my Sanskrit studies when I lived in a monastery for a few months when I was 9.
What got you interested in Classical and Literary Chinese? I think Ancient Chinese poetry is amazing, but it's certainly no easy thing to tackle. I think it's so amazing that you actually are knowledgable enough that you can choose which period style to write in when you do.
Cantonese would definitely be difficult for a native English speaker, but I say awesome for you for actually wanting to attempt it. With a decent amount of linguistic training, I think you could manage it. You're already training your tongue to be more tonal with the Mandarin, so learning to make and add other sounds should at least be easier in theory since you'll understand how to pick apart the sounds and where in the mouth they come from.
I was actually born in Yokosuka and lived there until I was four. My dad was in the U.S. Navy and my mum is from Korea, so when he was at sea, we'd jump over and spend time in Korea. We moved to the States for the first time when I was about five, and then I spent the last 20 years moving around all over the place. I haven't been back to Japan since we left, but I plan to visit at least once since I'm going back to Korea for the summer.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2007-03-23 08:06 am (UTC)I think I've been a linguaphile my whole life. I grew up a polyglot by my environment (family of polyglots, lived in multiple countries, etc.), and so it was just always something I've loved. I'm still working on my Sanskrit and Latin. It's always an ongoing work in progress for me. I have to take my time with the Sanksrit still. I started my Sanskrit studies when I lived in a monastery for a few months when I was 9.
What got you interested in Classical and Literary Chinese? I think Ancient Chinese poetry is amazing, but it's certainly no easy thing to tackle. I think it's so amazing that you actually are knowledgable enough that you can choose which period style to write in when you do.
Cantonese would definitely be difficult for a native English speaker, but I say awesome for you for actually wanting to attempt it. With a decent amount of linguistic training, I think you could manage it. You're already training your tongue to be more tonal with the Mandarin, so learning to make and add other sounds should at least be easier in theory since you'll understand how to pick apart the sounds and where in the mouth they come from.
I was actually born in Yokosuka and lived there until I was four. My dad was in the U.S. Navy and my mum is from Korea, so when he was at sea, we'd jump over and spend time in Korea. We moved to the States for the first time when I was about five, and then I spent the last 20 years moving around all over the place. I haven't been back to Japan since we left, but I plan to visit at least once since I'm going back to Korea for the summer.