Chinese Pidgin English

One of the curriculum goals this year is to”give examples of other varieties of English than those that are used in the Anglo-American area core”, and reflect on their distinctive character”. First I had to determine which countries that are not considered Anglo-American. Wikipedia states that: “Anglo American is often used in legal, economic and political writing to refer to those countries that have similar legal regimes that are generally based on the English common law.” A lot of countries are that, so giving examples might be a little hard.
When I was googeling facts on Japanese English, I came across some words on the Chinese Pidgin English. So I continued my research on that topic, and found some interesting facts. For example does people who speak Chinese Pidgin English use b instead of v in the word have (hab). Thay also use the personal pronouns in a very different way than in regular English; Tumoro mai no kan kum (Tomorrow my no can come/tomorrow it can’t rain)*. The language is only based on 700 words inits vocabulary, and the grammar is very simple. I watched a movie on youtube where two people were talking to each other in this language, and I realized; you don’t have to have a rich vocabulary or perfect grammar to be able to hold a conversation, but still, it was almost impossible for me to understand!

*Example borrowed from Wikipedia

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Gran Torino

Today we watched a movie called Gran Torino, starring Clint Eastwood. The film is about an old man, Walt Kowalski (Eastwood), who clings to a world that no longer exists. He feels threatened by the changes in America, and when a young Hmong boy, who is also the new neighbor, tries to steal his car, he realizes a few new things about himself, and the world around him.
Thao, the boy who tries to steal his car, the Gran Torino, and Walt becomes very good friends, and when Thao and family is threatened and hurt by the major gang in the area, Walt sacrifices himself to protect them in the future.

I love this movie, and I believe this was the 10th time I saw it! It is something about how prejudice and ethnical differences is displayed that captures me. I don’t know how this is in real life because I have never visited the United States. Therefore my reliance lies only on this movie and other sources when it comes to that theme. But do Hollywood movies portray people of different races and ethnicities? In that case, how? Personally I think that a lot of Hollywood films show people in the most stereotypical way for their culture. The same goes for Gran Torino, but in this movie it is not negative because it also corrects these prejudices in the end and along, a powerful message is brought up; Have respect for other human beings, and not just those with the same skin color or traditions that you have. Be loyal and show the people you love, that you care for them.

I really recommend this movie; it is both filled with action and drama, but also political challenges, sorrow and most important of all, friendship.

Here is the Trailer for the movie.

The picture is taken from this site.