Comments on: for international friendship

By: rosa

rosa — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:22:56 +0000

i think vikram seth in “From Heaven Lake” coined the term “language rapist”

By: ABDUL QADIR SAGGU

ABDUL QADIR SAGGU — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 21:44:33 +0000

I OFTEN THINK THAT THIS LIFE IS VERY SHORT EVEN FOR LOVE AND Y R THE PEOPLE SPREADING HATERED ?

By: marksim

marksim — Mon, 19 Apr 2004 16:42:23 +0000

hi everyone i’m new here

By: Rillifane

Rillifane — Wed, 12 Feb 2003 10:47:13 +0000

My first time in China was in 1981. Although half Chinese I was still obviously a foreigner. These were few and far between in Heifei (my family home). All I had to do was to stop in the street for a second and I would be surrounded by literally hundreds of people all offering to chat or give me directions. I’d sit down somewhere and write in my journal or open a book and a dozen people would be looking over my shoulder trying to read along.

Someone described it by saying “The Movie is “Alien” and you are in the title role.

By: kc

kc — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 20:07:33 +0000

what sort of questions you consider that don’t suck? :)

By: Brendan

Brendan — Sun, 29 Dec 2002 15:17:49 +0000

Yeah - in retrospect, “language rapist” is not really the right term. I’m not sure what is, though - John is right; these people are for the most part very nice. The problem is that they assume that I have nothing better to do than chat with them in bad English - and sometimes I don’t. It irritates me to no end, however, when I’m sitting and reading or writing in my diary and someone comes up, asks what I’m doing, and starts an interminable conversation about - as always - the same topics that people always talk about.
I don’t understand the endless fascination with how many cars my family has, or how many floors our house is, or what I make per month, or how cold I do or don’t think Harbin is. And I don’t understand why people don’t ask me questions that don’t suck. I’d welcome an interesting conversation; really, I would. I just hardly ever get into them.

By: Sambo

Sambo — Fri, 27 Dec 2002 20:22:14 +0000

Hey Brendan,

Long time since we chatted. How are you doing over there?..Hope to party when you come back. Take care..

By: tie miy shoo

tie miy shoo — Fri, 27 Dec 2002 12:09:28 +0000

Hey Brendan,

Long time since we chatted.

By: P

Wed, 25 Dec 2002 10:48:21 +0000

I agree with John, above–being hit on is not the same as being raped. Language leech, culture vulture, perhaps, at worst. And John may be right that at least some have kind motives: It wouldn’t be odd or self-serving, for example, for you to converse in Mandarin with a Chinese ex-pat living in Ireland, would it? Nonetheless I’m sure that at least some are interested more in their learning than your welfare. Probably the females of your webacquaintance are best able to give advice on how to sidestep a hitter (I have astonishingly little experience in this area). It has been a long and tortuous two years, hasn’t it? Here’s to more of them, perhaps a little less tortuous. Happy New Year.
—P

By: John

John — Tue, 24 Dec 2002 10:39:29 +0000

“Language rapists” huh? I’m not sure I like that coinage because — as I think you agree — these people are usually not bad people at all. There really isn’t a conspiracy. And I like to think that sometimes they actually think that you might not get to speak to anyone in English very often and that you might just welcome the opportunity to make friends with them. And speak English.

I’m not denying that these people can drive you to the edge of insanity, however. Even if it is for “international frienship,” you went the extra mile. I wouldn’t have done it. Well, unless I was really bored, anyway…