If you're in Honolulu this week (or wish you were..)

                                                     Confucius Day 2011
             two talks by me, accompanied by my book, Dreaming in Chinese

Date: Tuesday, September 27
Time: 12:30pm
Place: Tokioka Room (Moore Hall 319)
Title: “Chinglish: the Language between Chinese
and English. The linguistics of how we
understand Chinglish & why it makes us laugh.”

Abstract: Chinglish always hits our funnybones, but
we rarely take time to sort out why. We always understand
Chinglish; we get what it intends, even when
it says something quite literally different. How do we
do this? How does our cultural experience provide
the context for guessing the meaning of what makes
no sense at all?

Date: Wednesday, September 28
Time: 5:00pm (followed by a reception & book signing)
Place: Art Auditorium
Title: “Think Like the Chinese Think:
Understanding the Culture of Modern China
Through the Lens of Language”

Abstract: Using her experience as a trained linguist
and a new student of Chinese, Deborah Fallows shows
how simple words, phrases, or bits of the grammar of
the Chinese language can become windows to understanding
much of the Chinese culture—their sense
of romance, humor, protocol, personal relationships,
and interest in foreigners, to name a
few. Why, for example, does abrupt
language in Chinese actually signal a
closeness between friends, rather than
impolite behavior? Or why do the Chinese
have such trouble saying “I love
you” to the ones they love the most. Fallows
provides a necessary human perspective
on an emerging superpower
that many in the West still struggle to
comprehend.
Co-sponsor: University of
Hawai‘i Bookstore
Admission is free.