Eric's Beijing Diary

China is an English speaking country. I teach Information Systems. In English. I work every day with people who speak English. My students speak English. I go to a Chinese church, and listen to the service in English. My friends speak English. I get up in the morning and watch the news on CCTV. In English. I step out the door and get the newspaper. In English. I am involved with Bible studies. In English. I encounter people from many countries around the world. I speak to them in English. The speak to me in English. I have speakers for my computer. Every evening, I listen to the BBC. In English. I turn on the radio and listen to the local FM station. In English. I go to the bookstore and buy books. In English. Books from the Foreign Languages Press on history, philosophy, and literature, as well as the classic novels of Chinese antiquity. In English.

English is the international language of trade. But not only that. I read legal documents. Chinese law drafted by the People's Consultative Congress and published in the Beijing Review. In English. When I ride my bike around the city, I have a map. In English. English is not technically an official language in China, the way French is in Canada, but the same kinds of documents and papers which are translated into French in Canada are translated into English in China. Signs are in Chinese, of course, but also in English. The announcements on the subway are given in English. Chinese websites have an alternative version. In English. When people speak to me, they assume that I speak English, and address me accordingly. English is not always their native language, of course, but it is one of their languages. There are many English speaking people in Asia. In fact, there are more English speaking people in Asia than there are in the United States. Not more native English speakers, but more English speaking people. I am studying Chinese. But I am doing it because I want to, not because I have to. I am not conversational yet, but I am getting there. But again, I am doing this because I really want to. I don't have to. It is a moderate inconvenience to live in a city like Beijing and not be able to speak Mandarin. But it would be an unspeakable frustration to live in Beijing and not be able to speak English.