Marvelous! Learning a language is an act of bravery. You illustrate the abstract and sumptuous art of language learning very well here. And damn I didn’t know about any of that Lahiri news. Incredible. You’re a great writer and I thank you for writing these essays. Enjoy your ultimate inbetweenness. It’s really all we’ve got.
Interesting. I myself harbor a dream of writing a novel about North-South War St. Louis in Chinese. Probably won't happen because it would be a tremendous effort (Chinese not being my native language) and I doubt it would be publishable. At a minimum, it would require a heroic copyeditor. But I think writing fiction about the North-South War in Chinese for a Chinese-speaking audience who didn't necessarily spend much time studying the North-South War in school would open up new directions which are difficult to express in a purely American context. For example, in American English we call it 'the Civil War' yet in Chinese it's called the 'North-South War.' That already shifts the perspective (IIRC it's also called the 'North-South War' in Japanese).
That sounds fascinating, Sara! Especially for the reasons you mention. Maybe you could start by writing a short story or intro for web publication first. I feel like learning more about this chapter of American history might be particularly illuminating for Chinese readers, and resonant with current events. We all need good editors, no matter the language of our writing. :)
Thanks for the suggestion, and the encouragement! Soon I plan to read 美国演义, a history of the United State by a Chinese scholar written for a Chinese audience. I wonder how it differs from the history I learned in school and through American pop culture.
Marvelous! Learning a language is an act of bravery. You illustrate the abstract and sumptuous art of language learning very well here. And damn I didn’t know about any of that Lahiri news. Incredible. You’re a great writer and I thank you for writing these essays. Enjoy your ultimate inbetweenness. It’s really all we’ve got.
Thank you, Mollye! Abstract and sumptuous, indeed. Hopefully more sumptuousness and less abstraction soon. 🥺
Interesting. I myself harbor a dream of writing a novel about North-South War St. Louis in Chinese. Probably won't happen because it would be a tremendous effort (Chinese not being my native language) and I doubt it would be publishable. At a minimum, it would require a heroic copyeditor. But I think writing fiction about the North-South War in Chinese for a Chinese-speaking audience who didn't necessarily spend much time studying the North-South War in school would open up new directions which are difficult to express in a purely American context. For example, in American English we call it 'the Civil War' yet in Chinese it's called the 'North-South War.' That already shifts the perspective (IIRC it's also called the 'North-South War' in Japanese).
That sounds fascinating, Sara! Especially for the reasons you mention. Maybe you could start by writing a short story or intro for web publication first. I feel like learning more about this chapter of American history might be particularly illuminating for Chinese readers, and resonant with current events. We all need good editors, no matter the language of our writing. :)
Thanks for the suggestion, and the encouragement! Soon I plan to read 美国演义, a history of the United State by a Chinese scholar written for a Chinese audience. I wonder how it differs from the history I learned in school and through American pop culture.