Introduce and Analyze "Foreign Babes in Beijing"
The purpose of this paper is to introduce and analyze the book "Foreign Babes in Beijing: Behind the Scenes of a New China" by Rachel DeWoskin. Specifically it will discuss the author's statement, "I imagined cultures were contained in their language"(DeWoskin 42), and how language expresses the culture DeWoskin encounters in Beijing.The author opens her book by noting how important language was to her encounters in China. She writes, "At the core of all my Beijing interactions, both the successful and the not so successful, was language" (DeWoskin 10). She and her friends even developed "Chinglish" a blend of Chinese and English they used when they spoke. She lives in Beijing, and comes to love the city and the people of the city. She also learns volumes about the Chinese and English cultures, and how they often clash. Most of all, she learns the importance of the language of Chinese, and how difficult it can be to put the same ideas expressed in Chinese into English. In fact, her experience does indicate that cultures are contained in their language, and that ideas about culture often come from language, as well as other clues.However, DeWoskin believes that once she learns the Chinese language fully, she will automat
ically fit in the country, and of course, that is not the case. It's one thing not to understand the flow of language. Language is the culture of Beijing, but ultimately the author finds that it is much more than that. The nuances were different, even if she was beginning to understand more of the language itself. After the death of her friend, Shi Wei, she discovers that her initial thoughts about language were wrong. Then there was the time she attempted to say "strict," and because her tone was wrong, she said "circumcision" instead. She writes of this after she signs a contract to star in the TV show, "Foreign Babes in Beijing. She thought she would learn the language and be instantly acceptable, but as she learns more about Chinese culture and the people, she learns more about herself and how she views the world, as well. She writes, "If I gained experience or context as a result of losing Shi Wei, then I also lost confidence in my belief that any language can cover the bases" (DeWoskin 304). It's another not to understand anything at all" (DeWoskin 84). She also discovers that her theory about language is correct, but that everything from body language to clothing can convey messages that she does not understand. She writes, "The loneliest I ever felt in China was around other Americans, because they inspired mistaken hope that we would know each other intimately, instinctively. The Chinese think Americans are all fat and blonde, and that they all think Chinese people are lazy. There are nuances and hidden meanings to Chinese, just as there are in English, and it took the author quite a while to understand all these nuances, even though she had studied Chinese and traveled widely in China. She also finds that culture often transcends language, and that stereotypes persist in all corners of the world.
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