Beautiful Country & The use of Chinese + English

Beautiful Country

    Recently having read Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang, I found myself relating to her in some ways. Not the poverty or the work, but more the blend of English and Chinese words she employs in her writing. The interspersed Chinese words are very reminiscent of how I talk at home, often speaking in an amalgamation of the two languages (although my words are way less 好). I find her usage of this not only adds to the authenticity of her life story, but also a personal touch to certain pieces of dialogue. 

Chinese and Stuff

    Throughout the beginning of the book, after her father leaves, most of her mother's dialogue use the word "别" (bie) which means "don't". This really emphasizes how her mother wasn't doing so great when she was by herself, always just telling Wang to stop doing something. She often also uses "大人" (da ren) rather than "adult" in English. In my view, this is a reminder of how young and small she is at the time, as it directly translates to "Big People". The long pieces of Chinese dialogue stick out from the rest, like when her father told her to always say that she was born in the US. It almost brings a new weight to the situation, as it seems to be a direct quote from her dad. Overall, I feel like my knowing of a little bit of Manderin almost allows me to be like, "Oh yeah, I think I know what that means". And that makes me feel a little bit smart. That's all.