SAPS members learning Mandarin

Published Nov 29, 2015

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Kate Morrissey

JOHANNESBURG: While politicians debate the benefits of offering Mandarin in South African schools, members of SA Police Service (SAPS) are learning how to speak the Chinese language.

Through a partnership between the Chinese Embassy and the SAPS human resources department, officers who work in areas where they’re likely to interact with Mandarin speakers have been taking classes for up to two years.

These areas include places like the airport and national key points where tourists or travelling businesspeople are likely to be.

“The world is starting to be small,” said Lin Lieshout, the teacher for the class in Cyrildene’s Chinatown area.

She said having police who spoke a little Mandarin helped Chinese people feel more comfortable, whether they had been victims of a crime or were trying to find the toilet at the airport.

Lin, who immigrated from the People’s Republic of China 23 years ago, hoped that the welcoming experience of hearing their own language would encourage Chinese investors to bring more business to South Africa and lift the economy.

The police officers in her class agreed.

“We have to work with them to develop our country so that the economy can grow faster,” said Sam Masehela.

One detective said he used to struggle with the language barrier with Chinese victims, but now he was able to win their trust by greeting them in their own language.

Zhigang Wang, counsellor for police at the Chinese Embassy in Pretoria, said he helped organise the pilot programme in Johannesburg about two years ago, and the programme had since spread to five cities across South Africa.

“It’s beyond my expectations,” Zhigang said.

He added that all costs were covered by the Chinese community, which he estimated at 300 000 people.

To understand not only the language, but also the culture, some of the officers even got to take a trip to China, where they spent time at the Chinese police academy.

Zhigang said cultural differences compounded the issues created by the language barrier between SAPS and the Chinese community.

The Mandarin language poses several challenges for non-native learners. It has four tones, so the same sound pronounced with different tones will have different meanings.

Lucia Hau-Yoon, a teacher at the Mandarin Training Centre in Johannesburg, said native speakers of African languages like isiZulu and isi- Xhosa had an easier time hearing and producing the tones compared with native speakers of languages like English or French.

For reading and writing, Mandarin has a character system with thousands of characters. Each has to be memorised for stroke order and meaning.

While Mandarin is the official dialect in China, according to Hau-Yoon, there are more than 20 other dialects.

She said most Chinese people speak one or two dialects at home besides Mandarin.

Many of Hau-Yoon’s students are South African businesspeople looking to advance their careers or even work a few years in China.

Lin said she also teaches third generation immigrants wanting to learn the language of their grandparents.

Johannesburg residents have many opportunities to study Mandarin through private schools like the Mandarin Training Centre and the Shu Ren Language Centre, where Lin is principal. Most offer options for adults and children.

Wits Language School also has adult Mandarin classes.

Hau-Yoon had some advice for potential students.

“One should have the attitude that language is a tool which will not only enhance one’s career, but also enrich one’s life experience,” she said.

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