Chapter 48 What do old people "learn"?

Learning Cantonese has given me a kind of capital and pride in my heart, because I am already old after all, no one is forcing me, I am consciously working hard, this kind of spirit is related to a person's bravery, and it is also related to his perseverance. It is worthy of complacency . However, just when I was full of confidence, with my tail raised an inch, I thought that one day I might really be able to learn a "bird" language that could be mixed with the local "natives" in Hong Kong. In a few years, with the increasingly close exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland, Hong Kong people want to understand the mainland and do business with the mainland, and they are also desperately learning Mandarin, although it is as difficult for them to learn Mandarin as it is for me to learn vernacular (Cantonese). But besides performance, isn't the main function of language lies in communication?How many foreigners in China can speak Mandarin as authentic as old Beijing?It is enough for the Chinese to understand.Many times the locals noticed that I was uttering bad Hong Kong dialect, and quickly decided that I was not from Hong Kong, so these clever ghosts immediately changed their identities and immediately regarded me as their free "teacher" ", I couldn't stop me from learning and practicing Mandarin.

To give a dumbfounding example: Once I was entrusted by Taili to interview Ma Shiheng, the director of the Financial Affairs and Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong government. A female staff member under the director in charge of news affairs, from the moment she answered the phone, she stumbled and spoke Mandarin to me. She speaks Mandarin, to be honest, it’s really not flattering, it’s completely in the elementary stage, and people feel anxious when they hear it. Several times I stood on the ground and wanted to jump high. I couldn’t help it, so I carefully discussed with her: "Miss , can we change to Hong Kong dialect? If you speak slowly, I can almost understand you.” But this lady didn’t treat herself as an outsider at all, and said “No” stubbornly, saying that she just wanted to learn Mandarin, and it was hard I was caught just now, a true Beijinger, how could I let him go?Made me lose my temper at all.

On May 24, 2006, a "Chinese Private Enterprise Overseas Financing and Listing Summit" entitled "When China Goes Global" was grandly opened in Hong Kong. Direct dialogue provides a broader financing and listing channel for mainland enterprises to go global.The guest of honor gave a speech at the opening ceremony that morning. The content was very solid. For example, in 2006, if calculated by market value, Hong Kong’s stock market ranked eighth in the world and second in Asia; The number of companies has exceeded 340, and the total market value has accounted for 42% of the total value of the Hong Kong stock market... I want this manuscript to be included in the news. I think it can improve the quality of news reports, so I asked the conference staff for a copy The full text of the speech.After a while, the staff called me outside the meeting and said, "Miss Changjiang, there is no need to make a copy, the guest of honor asked me to hand over this original to you." I took the original, thanked me, and then returned to the venue Fu sat down at the table again, unfolded it, and saw that it was incredible. Immediately, there was a muffled thunder in his head, and at the same time, it seemed that there was a tragic performance similar to a symphony—good guy, the original version of this speech will be almost You can enter the museum: Traditional Chinese, No. 2 imitation Song style, each character is as big as a thumbnail, each "thumbnail" is marked with Chinese pinyin on the head, and each pinyin is also added Note the different pronunciations of "Ping, Yang, Shang, Go".The most amazing thing is that on the first page of the article, there is a line of square brackets, inside which is written such a "hint" in traditional Chinese: "When reading this article aloud, the words in the tone of 鐑 are phonetically indicated in the tone of 鐑".

I flipped through this speech one by one, the "speech" has a total of 5 pages, and the words "Morning Thunder" and "Symphony" rolled around in my head-no wonder, just now I heard the officiant guest speaking Mandarin on the stage , why does it feel so slow and laborious, it turns out that the manuscript in his hand has so many "tricks"!Presumably, the officiant guests are either just starting to learn Mandarin, or they are too old (at least over 60 years old), and they are not progressing fast no matter how they learn.However, why do people in their 60s and 70s in Hong Kong still need to learn Mandarin?Want to speak exclusively in "Mandarin" on a forum with hundreds of people?If this kind of thing happened in the Mainland, how many people in their 60s and 70s would accept it if you asked them to learn another foreign language or another dialect?If my children encouraged me, I would have slapped them across the face—compared with this old gentleman, I am so proud of learning Hong Kong dialect, I am like a little literati who has the nerve to laugh at Sima Qian when he sees him?There is no seam in the ground, you can just draw one and get in.

Hong Kong government officials, business leaders, taxi drivers, shop assistants, and even street vendors. In recent years, many people, regardless of gender, age or status, have become more enthusiastic about "learning common sense".Others don't talk about it, but Chief Executive Donald Tsang. In the past three years, I have seen that Mr. Tsang "learned" Mandarin by leaps and bounds, with remarkable results. Evaluation from an objective point of view: As chief executive, when Donald Tsang came to power, his Mandarin was not as good as that of his predecessor Dong Chee-hwa, because I heard him speak vernacular or English, and he was upright and confident, able to express himself freely and harmoniously; It's not that speaking Mandarin immediately wiped out the chief executive's wisdom and personality charm, but observing from the side, I always feel that he is learning or is in the "internship" stage.

On July 5, 2005, to commemorate the third anniversary of the signing of CEPA ("The Arrangement for Closer Economic Cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong", referred to as CEPA), Donald Tsang accepted an exclusive interview with CCTV.I remember that day when we sat down in the luxurious western-style living room of the Government House, his sofa and I were arranged in the character "eight", and the chief executive was holding a stack of yellow paper in his hand. Sneaking a few or three glances at a leisurely pace.At first, I thought that what was recorded on these pieces of paper must be the main points of the questions he wanted to answer, but later I found that this judgment was not valid, because the interview and the questions I asked were simply too easy for the chief executive. Just pinch and open his mouth, he doesn't need to prepare deliberately, let alone draft a speech in advance.Oh, suddenly I understood that the stack of yellow papers may be used for other purposes. There may be some special symbols recorded on it. Only the Chief Executive himself understands. Its function is only to help the Chief Executive to complete the CCTV interview beautifully in Mandarin. .

Of course, my "oh" may have been wrong that time, because after all, I didn't see what was written on the little yellow paper, but this judgment was quickly strengthened.Not long after, on August 9, I walked into the Government House again, and took pictures with the group. A delegation from Beijing came to visit Donald Tsang, and thanked the Hong Kong Government Flying Service for successfully rescuing 91 people from the Mainland during the typhoon "Paibian". The crew members in distress would like to express their sincere thanks to President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice President Zeng Qinghong for this matter.The chief executive met with all the members of the delegation that day, and his impromptu speech was short and homely, but he pinched another piece of paper in his hand, and he couldn't help but always glance at the paper during the greetings between the guests and the host. To be sure, those papers are likely to be the chief executive's voice prompts.

Tsang Yam-kuen's Mandarin is improving every day because of his hard work.Although I don't know how he learned it, I know in my heart that how he learned it is just like how I learned it. It is impossible for anyone to speak Mandarin and Cantonese like their mother tongue.For example, in an interview with me, he said that he hopes that one day Hong Kong can become an Asian financial center with New York and London. He said that Hong Kong’s advantages, when New York in North America and London in Europe are still at night due to the time difference, Hong Kong However, the banks and the stock market just happened to be open for business... He couldn't grasp the word "open the door" in Mandarin. If it wasn't used in imperative sentences, he didn't need to add the consonant at all, but he said the word "open the door" as "open the door" "Son", I almost burst out laughing when I heard that, but after thinking about the hard work and perseverance of the chief executive, he sits in the seat of the highest chief executive of Hong Kong, and he has to deal with a lot of things every day, but he has to face the people from all walks of life in Hong Kong. With the heavy pressure of party groups and international public opinion, there is no easy day.Under such circumstances, a man (62 years old) who is over half a century old can still study Mandarin so earnestly. Doesn’t it deserve my thumbs up for him and bow down to the learning spirit of Hong Kong people? ?