When You Grow Up in China as a White Guy…

Sign up to Babbel today to get 50% off 6 months for a limited time only: bit.ly/Xiaomanyc Today I’m chatting with Jonny who grew up in the Chinese province of Sichuan and speaks Mandarin and the local dialect of Sichuanese at a level practically indistinguishable from an ordinary native speaker. He went to local Chinese schools in China and took classes in Chinese and made Chinese friends just like any other Chinese kid!
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[@samsam2235]

This guy's English is pretty good for a Chinese.

[@cc77111]

😂

[@janajiang566]

lmao

[@deweshgoenka6111]

I see what you did there 🤣

[@TronG33k]

My first thought too

[@4oh4n0tf0und]

I was waiting for him to sound like a typical Chinese person who then learned English, but then my mind was blown

[@numba3son]

This is the reverse of an Asian-American. An American-Asian.

[@wlong697]

Hahaha American-Chinese

[@TheNativeEngine]

White-Chinese?

[@numba3son]

@@TheNativeEngine Cauc-Asian?

[@KH-pw8qz]

numba3son this one wins👆👆

[@droidgeist]

If he had been born in China, you could call him a CBA.

[@xxxxhong6550]

I am from Chengdu, Sichuan. His Sichuan accent is 100% local and his mandarin is Sichuan type 😂😂😂👍👍👌

[@michellebecher1169]

Exactly 😀

[@Seanonyoutube]

Y’all got good beef

[@user-qi8pp1rr2q]

Really? Actually he made some mistakes when he was speaking Sichuanese. 上课(go to class) sounds like 丧课(lose class) 去 should be read "qie" instead of "qu". His Sichuanese is understandable for native Sichuan people. But his accent sounds a bit weird for me.

[@ameowzing652]

@@user-qi8pp1rr2q got it, champ

[@zzhangwindforce]

@@user-qi8pp1rr2q There are also several types of Sichuanese. E.g., Sichuanese in Eastern Sichuan is quite different to the one in Chengdu. E.g. for me 去 should be read between "qi" instead of "qie". Also when speaking 上课 I think my tone is also similar.

[@naokitty24]

It was smart of his parents to send him to a local school instead of an international school. So he can fit in the Chinese culture.

[@VishnuQM]

I honestly feel that international schools should be banned. Seriously. That is the number-one way to not appreciate the culture; going to a local school forces you to appreciate the local culture.

[@VishnuQM]

@@JM-tj5qm I get it. But locals have plenty of other ways to learn other languages and cultures. For foreigners, it can be a cop-out and work against integration.

[@catto5387]

@@VishnuQM International schools have their merits. I'm Chinese-Canadian but I went to an international school instead of a local school in China. International schools have a much more flexible curriculum and are preferable if you want to go to university outside of China. They have mandatory Chinese as a second language classes during early years. You can go to an intl school and still appreciate the local culture without being overwhelmed.

[@roselylez]

@@catto5387 if you're in a Chinese household, I think it's better to go to an international school in China so you won't be too far from the western side. Whereas foreigners from other ethnicities would benefit from learning some Chinese aspects in public schools.

[@catto5387]

@@roselylez Yep, don't get me wrong, I think it's great for foreigners to send their kids to local schools so they can pick up another language as well. I just think that international schools have their place and shouldn't be "banned" lol. A good method is to send younger kids to local schools and have them transfer later on so they can prepare for university if they decide to go back overseas.

[@Jantsenpr777]

It's incredible how he has a 100% Chinese accent in Mandarin/Sichuanese, and a 100% American accent in English.

[@johnnyhshify]

How that different compared to Chinese with southern American accents but also fluent in mandarin?

[@graciasvito8067]

@@johnnyhshify the difference is not everybody could do like what he do, not even you and I. Here's the comparison: This American had 100% Chinese accent and 100% American English accent and he spoke them both like it was nothing But some of Chinese who lived in the US would absolutely had 100% Chinese accent because it was their mother language though, but only a few Chinese managed to achieve 100% of American English accent without accidentally mixed it with Chinese accent. Being a *perfect* bilingual, or even trilingual was really tough.

[@skibxskatic]

@@graciasvito8067 it's still not that incredible because there are a few tens of millions of children to immigrant parents who are bi- and trilingual who also have to codeswitch when talking at home and in public. we don't have to go to a superlative of "everybody", it's just "everybody that YOU know" isn't able to do that. I grew up with bilingual, trilingual children of immigrant families.

[@chizhang2765]

There's a difference from being exposed to both languages at an early age, and learning one of them through school.

[@MrGeorgeYbanez]

Maybe he should start a KZbin channel. Lol.

[@jason_zhemingzhang]

As a native Chinese speaker, this is absolutely hilarious. Jonny's Chinese is indistinguishable from I would say 99% of actual Chinese people who never left the country. And the way he is seamlessly switching from standard mandarin Chinese to Sichuaness to English just kills me every time.

[@unalarminggruty352]

my parents are from chongqing, and they constantly speak the dialect to each other. it is very similar to sichuanese (idk if its exactly like it), but because of this, i have to agree with you, my head spun throughout the video 😅

[@ForYuable]

可yeah

[@SharinganMan]

what do you mean by 99%? what's the remaining 1%?

[@p0.c]

@@SharinganManit’s just a general assumption. it’s never going to be 100%

[@SharinganMan]

@@p0.c hypothetically, what would the other 1% even refer to in this statement?

[@a.081xx]

Wow he sounds 100% like an American and 100% like a native Chinese, that is SO fucking cool!

[@KH-cs7sj]

this is what bilingual means. lots of asian people are like this.

[@fiona7651]

@@KH-cs7sj not really usually when we speak in chinese it doesn't sound as right as native chinese speaker

[@harrytan5579]

@Send Songs He actually have some American accents in Mandarin, but his Sichuan Dialect is so on the spot. I'm surprised his Mandarin does was not influenced by Sichuan Dialect.

[@recklessmermaid]

i actually thought that the way he speaks English is not quite natural, particularly the way he hits his Rs, and certain open vowels... it's like he's a British actor auditioning for an American part, with a really terrible accent coach! Makes me wonder if he flounders between British and American accents/pronunciations; that can happen for non native English speakers or those surrounded by a lot of the same side note should i start a business as an English language coach? apparently im an expert lol

[@fiona7651]

reckless mermaid I know that in china they usually teach british english. I don’t really know how to say to like not american english

[@vultureculture3733]

when you’re chinese and two american white dudes speak better chinese than you

[@clandycane1771]

same lol

[@kathybramley5609]

It makes me sad but I wonder if that regret is the goal in some twisted way: I can't tell what the angle of this channel is, for real. It's just a repetitive weird fetishy glee or flex around white people speaking Chinese dialects that feels really off?

[@davies010]

@@kathybramley5609 it’s kinda mind blowing if you think about. Particularly when he switches to certain dialects. It’s like a fluent Chinese man Randomly starting a conversation with me in Welsh. It’s unexpected, it’s a flex to some degree, but learning a non native language is tough

[@heisernsu3813]

sameeeee

[@skylerpetty1530]

@@kathybramley5609 honestly, I think it’s just that it gets views.

[@Rebellen007]

"White guy shocks white guy speaking fluently Sichuanese"

[@nikogalih9260]

I can't.....

[@k.c7655]

Is this what comedy is in 2020? Cringe

[@dauphongii]

@@k.c7655 you must be fun to talk with huh

[@Dante20321]

Lmfao

[@greggperez2124]

This should have been the title. But one the guy's head blown up in the thumbnail. lol

[@sydosys]

was really hoping he would have a chinese accent when he spoke english

[@HFS2046]

Same

[@seanjis007]

Same

[@EbolaBearr]

That would have been so trippy, would have loved to hear it

[@spookyencounters9392]

Same. Gonna kill myself now.

[@rawrdo123]

same same same

[@nathangoddard8115]

His parents gave him a great gift by sending him to local schools. What an amazing story.

[@yanliliu8888]

omggggggg He was my classmate in my primary school

[@SalamanderMagic]

wow actually? thats awesome

[@HeadEnterprise]

Did you let him hit tho?

[@lalicoca1844]

Up

[@dwaynekeenum1916]

@@HeadEnterprise weirdo

[@sunny30675]

@@HeadEnterprise primary school dude.

[@vanessawesten4575]

And here I am, a non Chinese speaker, watching two white Americans speak Chinese to each other.

[@christian5327]

Sabes otras idiomas?

[@vanessawesten4575]

@@christian5327 aprendía español y frances en la escuela y soy alemana :)

[@pieflower6419]

@@vanessawesten4575 sabes muchas idiomas XD solamente hablo español e inglés ¡qué guay!

[@pieflower6419]

@@christian5327 estudio español desde hace cuatro años pero aprendía un poco de francés en mi escuela jajaja

[@enndhan7138]

哈哈哈哈，很好笑

[@notthatyouasked6656]

I know a family in China. The father is American, the mother is from Argentina. When they had kids, the mother would only speak to them in Spanish and the father only in English. The kids went to regular Chinese schools. The kids are grown now and completely fluent in all 3 languages. If they ever came back to the USA, they would have a huge advantage in pretty much any job they could want!

[@thiamjoo]

In Malaysia, a multi-racial country, it is very common for a Chinese-Malaysian to speak multiple languages. Most can speak at least 3, English, Malay, Mandarin plus a mother tongue dialect. In addition to that, some can speak more than one dialect especially when both parents are from different dialect group.

[@TV-mn1zd]

That’s cool!

[@Banom7a]

@@thiamjoo yeah, I know a friend of mine who half-japanese, half-chinese malaysian and speak malay, english, mandarin, cantonese, japanese and hokkien, super crazy.

[@yisiliu]

In case you guys are interested, the period between birth and age 6 is called "critical period" in language acquisition. In this period, if you can expose yourself (or your child more specifically lol) to multiple languages with roughly same amount of time, you will be able to acquire these languages as a native speaker. Any exposure later than that won't give you the same power.

[@lordhelmchen6539]

@viktor hansen way cooler to not need a mobile device to communicate. Besides speaking a language gives you an insight into the culture of the country. As I said, way cooler to be able to speak it.

[@tokyomootsie]

I'm an American whose family all moved to Japan when I was 2 years old, and I totally relate to his story of moving back to the US and people not "getting" your cultural differences b/c you're white. lol

[@unexpectedbreakfast5517]

Unfortunately people can’t tell the difference between race and culture.

[@speakstheobvious5769]

Like "Wait. You take off your shoes before you go inside your house? What's up with that?"

[@annieevie9607]

I had the same problem (but less extreme) after I moved back from China after living there with a host family and attending public school there for a year as part of my student exchange. I came back to live with my Australian family and struggled a lot with reverse culture shock because nobody I knew recognised it. I still miss China in a lot of ways, and am extremely grateful for this video because I've never before seen anyone who could really related to what I experienced.

[@Seanonyoutube]

@@speakstheobvious5769 that’s actually standard in many countries not just in Asia

[@speakstheobvious5769]

@@Seanonyoutube I have a suspition that the reason American's wear shoes in the house stems back to colonial times when there wasn't much urban development. I went hunting with my father one time at a cabin. I took my shoes off in the camib and they fussed at me for it. I was like "WTF?". It was due to the possibility of snakes finding there way into the cabin. So In colonial times, if this was the case, It was just a habit that carried on.. I'm of course talking out of my ass, but it makes sense to me.

[@JimNichols]

So speaking Mandarin he has little Sichuanese accent, speaking Sichuanese he has little Mandarin accent and speaking English he has no Chinese accent whatsoever..... damn it man.

[@darrylkassle361]

@William Keeper strange i can still hear the foreigner/westerner in him. The closest foreigner i have heard who speaks mandarin almost indistinguishable from a native mandarin speaker is DASHAN Mark Rosewel the Canadian dude. Although even with him I can hear his tones are off once every 4 or five sentences. I am talking about not looking at them and guessing whether they are a native speaker or not just by listening to their voice Xiaomanyc can say a lot and probably understands a lot but his tones are actually quite sub standard. Also anything he ever says is no more than a level above lower intermediate. His definitely no LELE FARLEY that’s for sure. He is actually an advanced level speaker. His mandarin can be considered fluent even native by any standards.. Xiaonyc should speak about topics like current affairs and deeper cultural issues to show people that he can speak a fluent advanced level. To me you are fluent if you can understand and discuss the 6 o’clock news. A lot of these guys cant. They might be able tell you what the news story is about but i doubt they could understand it even at an 80% level more like 40 or 50% level if at all. If i approached a native speaker in english and simply said " The parliament enacted four legislative bills today lowering the highest personal income tax rate by 10% in an effort to accord to pre election promises catering to their core demographic support base" native speakers would understand. Say that to anyone bar Lele Farley, Dashan and a handful of others and they would not know what you are talking about. I just get a bit peeved when people make out they are fluent when they are not. Dont get me wrong i like this guy. I obviously spend time watching his channel but I just want things to be portrayed as they really are. Go to China study 1 month of chinese and the locals will tell you out of politeness you speak good mandarin coupled with genuinely looking but fake surprised reactions. They will do this just to be polite even if they can't understand a single syable you sayl

[@arys8133]

@@darrylkassle361 That's not entirely true. Being native doesn't mean you have a very advanced way of speaking, and can understand most to all super complex speaking. Being native simply means you grew up with that language, and you are part of it. Take a "peasant" for example, they are native speakers of their languages but they most likey will be illiterate and have a very poor usage of their languages, but they are still natives. A lot of countries have millions of people like this. Not everyone can get an education, and not everyone can understand what you just said as an example. Lots of non-natives can pass a C2 test and can speak more fluently than a native could, but the average native probably wouldn't be able to pass that same test.

[@tyrel_c]

@@arys8133 I see this a lot, people from well off countries or areas will judge a non-natives accent or level of vocabulary. Forgetting that even in native speakers there is varying accents as well as vocabulary levels...

[@zippo718]

He has a little English accent in his Mandarin, at least from what I can hear. His Sichuanese sounds good to me but I'm no expert on that.

[@hellokitty33997]

@@zippo718 His Sichuanese is good. Some tones are off. But overall sounds great

[@thelittlesthobo7100]

I’m going to be honest, was not expecting such a natural American accent. Damn

[@Challenges-um2zd]

Yeah same lol.

[@FutureAllenNL]

His parents are American so he would have taken their accent. My youngest brother is born in NL but he speaks with the same accent as me and my siblings because that was where he learnt English from.

[@dopaminesoup]

@@FutureAllenNL Yeah, but a lot of 2nd-gen immigrants in the States don't speak as fluently as their parents, or at least have some accent.

[@ashina5924]

@@dopaminesoup as a 1st gen Asian American (dont wanna specify) most of my peers me included struggle speaking our native language already lol so this guy is very impressive especially with his accent. You'd think his english accent would change a bit but nope it didnt. I mean Michael Bisping, a british mma fighter has already lost some of his british accent since moving to the US for the last 11 years. And he came here when he was 30.

[@MaseraSteve]

Probably his parent still taught him daily? I picked an accents through movies. I can pitch my voice just like your average joe also commercial narrator too, Pretty much indistinguishable in voice. there’s random person on discord confused me being either Canadian or American, the funny thing is.. English are one of many languages i speak. Wait till you hear that my first accent were actually British. The only one from harry potter (yes it is considered posh whatever i am rich in real life anyway) still prefer it to this day

[@seanarooni]

"prove to me you're american." "yyeah, uhhh". well i'm sold.

[@bocchi_boy]

Sounds legit

[@liu10899161]

and the amount of "you know" lol

[@user-ux6nr4wt6l]

“我…我…偷渡来的” lmao

[@julienchine3498]

As a foreigner living in China, it's hilarious to see him speak Sichuanese like a real 四川人 like that…simply amazing. Also, it's very nice how says "we" have a dialect or "we" this and that. Been living in Beijing for over 10years and this motivated me to keep improving my Chinese:)

[@harianirudh1478]

Bonne chance! Moi aussi, mais le Français au lieu de chinois.

[@tsubaki4412]

His accent is SPOT ON!! The enunciation, the diction and the accent are everything.

[@lamphiaalonso5341]

He is literally from there, of course his accent is spot on, i really dont get why people think its so impressive that a native person sounds,,, native

[@JasmineDragonXYL]

@@lamphiaalonso5341 ye lol

[@1x0x]

hes not imitating the language he has spoken it basically his entire life...

[@MrNajibrazak]

agreed, i spent a couple of decades in China speaking Foochow, Fujianese, Hakka, Cantonese and Putonghua and its tricky to get the accurate accent for each of the respective dialect. Ended up only getting one dialect perfect as i hangout with Hakkas alot. And now i have problem speaking Japanese perfectly after a while. Everything sometimes become a mix of Japanese, Chinese dialects and English. LOL

[@terrancewood9322]

@@lamphiaalonso5341 Because most people from non-english sspeaking countries don't learn the language to fluency

[@Lily-zx8en]

His parents made a great decision putting him and his brothers in a public school. I love that he wants to use his language ability to help bridge the two cultures.

[@sophieyangsmagicclassroom3392]

The public school system in China is actually not bad. I would assume at the time this guy grew up, the majority of Chinese schools were public schools. Now it is more diverse of course.

[@TV-mn1zd]

True

[@SaintNyx]

His English is even more impressive, considering he lived his entire life in China since he was a toddler. Most children of immigrants have a difficult time with the accent of their parents' language, even if they can speak it. I would never guess that he didn't grow up in America.

[@gabrielceolato2]

But he probably spoke English with parents for the whole time

[@fraai]

I'm guessing his parents taught him English from an early age especially since they're both American.

[@mypartyisprivate8693]

With two American parents, it's not hard nor rare to speak without accent. Don't know where you're getting this.

[@agme8045]

Nyx not really, most kids in this or similar situations, usually have perfectly native accents in all the languages, because their parents talk to them the whole time in their native languages.

[@agme8045]

Nyx plus his mother tongue is still English, he only listened to people speaking english his first 3 years of life, he learned Chinese as a second language.

[@docrobert8099]

This shit really freaks me out!!! I'm a chinese born and raised in Si Chuan.This guy is definitely speaking the most authentic Si Chuan Hua

[@annieevie9607]

I really relate to the sentiment at ~11:54 of building friendships in China via sports. I didn't grow up in China like Jonathan did, but I did go to China during high school on a high school exchange program, during which I attended a Chinese public high school for a year. At first, I didn't really speak Chinese and felt I was seen very much as a foreigner, however within the first few weeks I joined the dance club at my school and became an active member. To my friends in that club, I was just another member of the club, just another one of their dance friends. As I interacted with them and started to learn Chinese culture from them, and my Chinese got better, I began to be more accepted and seen as less of a foreigner in more and more parts of my community. I wasn't treated differently at restaurants anymore as I ordered confidently in Chinese and clearly knew what I was doing. But yeah, I really made a lot of my Chinese friends through that dance club. It was a huge part of my time in China, and forms many memories that are now extremely important to me.

[@theresaalexander5269]

As a bilingual Chinese and English speaker (who, conveniently, also speaks the Sichuan dialect) I LOVE THIS

[@winchester37a]

Imagine

[@iamf6641]

as a gay person you violated my equal rights

[@lhn2370]

@@iamf6641 Haha that really made me laugh :D

[@tmcd6902]

👏

[@xiwang97]

Same here hahahaha

[@bogao283]

It's so amazing to hear an american boy speaking Sichuan hua...

[@todaywaspretty6309]

He was born in chengdu! Doesn’t that make him Chinese ? Just sayin

[@todaywaspretty6309]

Jás Zipporah ah you right you right

[@Phosphoros47]

Today was Pretty citizenship by birth in China requires one parent with Chinese citizenship.

[@loujr9869]

Xiomanyc we need more reaction videos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@alfredoalejandromartinezji4539]

He is chinese even he was born in usa

[@sroberts605]

This is fascinating! I'd love to hear more from this family actually. To get such an ambassador able to articulate the commonalities/strengths/weaknesses and misconceptions from both sides of that cultural divide. Definitely a programme there!

[@slamdunk406]

Really cool how his parents got him to go a local Chinese school. That’s dope!

[@bryceliu1955]

As a Chinese, I can’t believe he is American if I didn’t see his face

[@sdfasdkafdsjf2054]

我听得懂前面的四川话，听不懂后面的英语

[@proclipz8226]

Does he sound 100% native? I know he would be very close living there that long but I mean is it like ABSOLUTELY native sounding?

[@jinhaoxiong6503]

@@proclipz8226 xiaoma's mandarin is 6/10（you can easily know he is a foreign speaker) jonny's mandarin I will give 9/10, but still can find some pronounces not like the native sound( a little bit) jonny's sicuanhua is amazing, cuz I am not from sicuan, so I think it's really close to the native sound,I could even imiagine how he use sicuanhua hang out with his friends.(like higher brothers)

[@proclipz8226]

@@jinhaoxiong6503 Excellent! Thank you for the reply. 👍

[@user-hw2vy2lg2x]

确实，四川话讲的很溜

[@AkilaZhang]

i literally laughed through the whole video this guy rocks

[@nr655321]

Next time I see a Chinese person who can speak English I'll laugh to his/her face. How about that?

[@sangpham9871]

@@nr655321 I thinks its a compliment

[@jeremychen9816]

大师球！抓到ak本人啦！

[@googlewreckedit]

@@nr655321 are you not good at reading written English? OP wasn't mocking the guy in the video.

[@wenjing3930]

哎哟 这里也能碰上

[@jcai4824]

As a sichuanese who lives in US right now, It feels soooooo good that I don't need to rely on CC for any of their conversation.

[@jackrose5077]

Wow. This is definitely one of the coolest things I've seen on KZbin in a while.

[@ArcsYT]

Okay.. I heard his Mandarin & Sichuanese, but when my boi switched to English...jawdrop. That's ridiculous how he could pull off both accents so smooth. Def a goal

[@norb4152]

Very very hard to do if you didn't grow up there. But definitely a good goal to have

[@olliert4840]

I don't think he'd have to work hard at either accent tbh... He grew up in Sichuan and as he said that accent comes naturally to him. As for english, I'm pretty sure given his circumstances that his mothertongue is english and since he had 2 american parents he would have adopted their accent, especially since growing up he probably wasn't exposed to much english-with-a-chinese-accent, so his exposure to english would have been parents + media = american accent. The hardest thing for him is probably speaking mandarin and getting that accent right.

[@tempestmars123]

@@olliert4840 but you can still hear his English accent in his Chinese. His Chinese grammar is also a little bit crude.

[@dirkwu8443]

@@tempestmars123 I suppose it's because he spent the past 6 years in the States.

[@LexxPoisonati]

Yes I was so shocked. Definitely a goal!

[@Sam-yu4ve]

Take him with you in NYC and try and find Sichuanese speakers

[@gregormiller4037]

great idea

[@dabking8305]

Yessss

[@dabking8305]

Or go to the place he's at

[@yamsylm]

@@dabking8305 I'm Sichuanese living in NYC, His Sichuan dialect is slightly better than his Chinese and he definitely has a Chengdu accent.

[@saulolacerda8181]

@@yamsylm When you say his chinese is slightly inferior it means that people can tell he's not native? Or it is something more related to accents only?

[@soloflight75]

I find myself watching these videos with a smile on my face so often. It is amazing how learning a different language builds so much respect between different people and cultures. In this current devisive US culture it seems learning languages would be such a way to level the playing field on the I am better than you attitude currently ravaging America.

[@ruiruihuang]

Great video! Like to see an interview with their entire family speaking Sichuanese. It’d very fun.

[@kpotatov]

My mother tongue is Chinese and I can’t even speak my mind that clearly in Chinese. DISHONOR TO MY COW

[@Arrrstll]

Oky come on learn with me Chinese I'm African

[@jessicaavila2722]

Ok this had me dead!! 💀😆

[@theelysian1172]

Underrated comment

[@gretelmolgora5688]

🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂💕

[@WarriorJournals]

Haha, best comment!!!😀 "Dishonor on your cow," Mulan!!!💜💕💙💕

[@pkerpylon2244]

When he switched from mandarin to English it surprised me lmao

[@jessiestone]

Me too! I actually laughed in a bit of shock. Haha

[@prosperityherr4326]

Time stamp?

[@chadsgiantdevilv2]

He doesn't even have an accent like wtf

[@dabking8305]

Broooo Samee holy shit

[@barracuda6817]

@@prosperityherr4326 3:00

[@Ultradude604]

He could be a Chinese language professor in the US.

[@tacitozetticci9308]

He's more ambitious than that, but yeah it's a great plan B

[@miamyy4]

i‘m from Sichuan too and his sichuanese is better than mine lol

[@somethinglikethisone6635]

As a chengdu girl, i can tell his mandarin has exact the same accent as mine: 川普，but his English doesn’t have the same accent as mine: Chinese accent.

[@lyadmilo]

His parents are English professors. Honestly, I think if he didn't speak English at all with his parents as a kid, he would have a Chinese accent in English. It was a little disappointing! But now that he is back in America, people would think he was making fun of Chinese people if he had a Chinese accent in English hahah XD

[@lefauteuilparesseux7971]

Oh come on he does not speak 川普， not even close. He's 丁广泉学生level

[@koreanqpatriot4595]

@@lefauteuilparesseux7971 English translations please

[@dave1st299]

@@lefauteuilparesseux7971 keep being jealous!

[@lefauteuilparesseux7971]

@@dave1st299 of his Chinese accent ? No thanks. But I do wish you a lot of fun trying.

[@AGreyAlien]

This guy seems pretty easygoing and friendly. I like him. He is set for any job knowing Mandarin and English fluently. He has no accent in English at least to the American ears. Crazy!

[@miixvre]

a lot of people from other countries can speak more than one language. i speak chinese and english fluently and also indonesian. not sure why it's surprising for a lot of americans tho

[@GraceAloneThroughFaithAlone]

@@miixvre That's not true in the least bit, and that misnomer needs to stop perpetuating. However, I will agree that the most predominant second language spoken is English, but that is because it's the language most used inter-continentally for business. It shows the sphere of influence that England had during it's peak.

[@pinkcloud8182]

@@miixvre the surprising part is that he grew up in china yet has no accent in english. i grew up speaking multiple languages but i sound more native in some than others.

[@reyisawesome]

@@pinkcloud8182 Same man, same. I speak French and English (Canadian) as my first language(s) but still have an accent in at least French to the point where I've been asked if I come from somewhere else in Canada. I was born and raised in Quebec, but my whole family is French Ontarian. I can't help the accent!

[@phil2544]

He has an accent when speaking English, he's clearly American! There are many accents in English.

[@Crossword131]

WHOA! When he switched to Sichuanese I could TOTALLY hear a difference! it sounds very different from his Mandarin, even if he has a Sichuan accent. I didn't think I would be able to spot a change. Thanks for the video, I'm subbing!

[@ddomingo]

I feel the same way about Catalan. I grew up in Barcelona, Spain and my whole education was in Catalan and the same thing you described about Sichuanese happens with Catalan people. If you speak to them in their language without an accent they immediately treat you differently.

[@jmluc90]

As an American born and raised in japan I similarly speak native Japanese. I have to say, after 30 years, I'm still not used to seeing a foreigner speaking an Asian language natively. When I see a foreigner with good Japanese I'm like "Whoa. Why does he speak good Japanese???" and all my friends are like, "Yeah, that's what everyone thinks about you."

[@GXrevolution96]

Why he is that surprising? Lol. I literally see foreigners speaking English everyday

[@GXrevolution96]

Another thing, it’s not that strange to come across someone speaking your language well. It’s like people think their language is impossible to learn.

[@jmluc90]

@@GXrevolution96 the difference is the one you actually highlighted of the difference of one who has learned a language and one who is a native speaker

[@southamericunt6354]

@@jmluc90 theres millions of asian americans in t latinamerica who speak native spanish cause they were born here lol they are racially asian but their culture is latinamerican, its not really that hard to grasp, i think north americans are just very race obsessed.

[@jmluc90]

@@southamericunt6354 I agree, but we’re not talking about South America, Europe, Africa, or anywhere else, but Asia. The concept of course isn’t difficult to understand, but the reality is finding a foreigner of ANY ethnicity who speaks an Asian language natively is as of yet a comparative rarity.

[@heykay15]

i knew he had a chinese heart, when I heard the empty suitcase story. Only a true asian immigrant has so much dedication to fill a suitcase just with instant noodles and snacks they can't get in their adopted country.

[@wraithkiss]

That was really really good. If you find more stories like that to share I will definitely listen.

[@aleksandrasucur8615]

Simply beautiful. It reminded me of an Italian saying "parla come mangi" ("talk in a way you eat"), with which we invite another person to speak his/hers mind out with clear, simple and open words. In this case, he literaly talks and eats Sichuanese, soundly proud of his upbringing at Chengdu. Chapeau, Jonny! Tnx for uploading.

[@tobiaszhang8802]

I guess one of his brother‘s name is Chen De Ning, cause we studied in the same class when we were in primary school. What a coincidence 😂

[@RJ-us1hg]

omg

[@caninelynx0747]

送你上去👀

[@yunying8944]

How did they get their Chinese last names?

[@tacocatt6808]

@@yunying8944 you can legally change your last name in many countries. I’m guessing since he and his siblings were all growing up in China, his parents maybe decided to use Chinese names for them to help them integrate. However, it could also be that that is his Chinese name, and his legal name could be his english name (incase you don’t know, many people will have both a Chinese name and an English name when they’re Chinese learning English or English speaker learning Chinese or going to countries to speak the other language. It’s common and convenient 👍)

[@haxhali3547]

所以你们俩肯定讲川话了

[@berrygoodm6167]

at the beginning he speaks in mandarin, I: that does not sound native... he: I grow up in Sichuan I: make sense now

[@NO1xANIMExFAN]

Lmao exactly my thoughts... Then when he pulled out the Sichuanese I'm like yea he's the real deal lmak

[@kane3812]

Lmao as a native from Sichuan I feel so shame T T

[@minhvu1184]

@@kane3812 so what do you think of his sichuanese?

[@kane3812]

@@minhvu1184 The way of speaking is a little smilar, but the tone and style of speaking is still a little tasteless. So I wanna give it a 7.2

[@yaos297]

川普

[@mariocomputer808]

what a fascinating life story! So glad to learn about it!

[@e2rqey]

Xiaoma reacts to him speaking like everyone else reacts to Xiaoma speaking

[@Sasfoot]

Yeah, he totally marked out.

[@rulao2904]

when you take the “asian” in “cauc” too literally

[@Kebbab.213]

😂😂😂 clever

[@parthian945]

Caucasia is in Asia so...

[@annaluizatararam2304]

this comment just made me gasp hahaahaahhahah

[@wamuyu887]

this comment had me wheezing...looooool😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@allaakiyeva2249]

@@parthian945 i feel like people don't realize it or even have no idea about the actual geographic region 🤣

[@jiangwu2680]

This guy is 100% Chinese. He speaks Mandarin better than me lol

[@krollpeter]

Surprisingly for me, I found that many Chinese do not speak Mandarin very well.

[@diwu9163]

Peter Kroll the thing is we speak dialects most of the time. Mandarin is only used when you are in school or traveling to other provinces.

[@krollpeter]

@@diwu9163 ... and then it's such a complex language

[@xxnelliexx]

Peter Kroll you either know ur dialect or know mandarin XD its one or the other haha...then theres that one golden child....

[@ericshang7744]

一口川普。

[@__-bk6mm]

I'm always in awe of people who have distinct accents from growing up bi-lingual and who can just hit the switch and just flow in multiple languages, it's amazing.

[@bdonnajpvw]

I love how someone described him as American-Chinese. I'm not surprised he speaks English without an accent. It's his first language, since he was raised by American native speakers of English. It's great his parents sent him to Chinese language schools, that ensured his bilingual native fluency. Fantastic, all around, this video.

[@mothatuck]

Hahaha I taught him in school 😁 he was in my choir. Glad to see how well he’s done after graduating. His story is amazing and I can tell he’s going to make a significant impact in the world.

[@bballerryday]

Did you teach in China?

[@TheBjameso]

Actually I taught Hannah Tucker how to teach this guest. I taught Donald Trump how to troll the universe. I taught your mom how to play trumpet.

[@mothatuck]

@Irish Lu Yep :) Still do

[@mothatuck]

@@bballerryday Yep :) going on 7 years now.

[@mothatuck]

@@TheBjameso hahahahahha

[@serenajasmine10]

i’m more surprised at his american accent than him speaking mandarin/sichuanese

[@emilt.m.6418]

honestly American accents are pretty hard to lose. I was born in Boston but my dad is Taiwanese and mom is Danish and we moved from the US when I was 5 to Taiwan. I attended public school there and learned mandarin and everything, moved to Denmark when i was 16 and attended an international school there. Still have my American accent despite having first generation immigrant parents. It should be easier for Jonathan since he does have actual American parents.

[@GOREMAXXX]

well his parents are american, and they probably spoke english to him, and just picked up on their accent when he was young

[@hokudadog7637]

This guy is amazing!!!! Love his insight into the culture and language

[@Dezomm]

I have no relation to China or any Chinese languages but I just wanted to mention how much I enjoyed this video. I could relate to some of it also having moved across continents as a kid, but mostly it was just an interesting story told by a very charming and kind guy. Thanks for sharing it with us!

[@mhmoran85]

I'm a US expat living in Beijing. My wife is Chinese and we are going to be having a kid soon and I really hope my kid turns out like this guy. He's brilliant.

[@ibrahim-sj2cr]

do you speak english at home?

[@mhmoran85]

@@ibrahim-sj2cr English and Chinese

[@mistereearly1141]

Your kid will be healthy and super smart. What a great opportunity and bragging rights for a parent.

[@jewelswang6461]

Takes a lot of hard work, determination and will cost a bit money too.. when they grow up, they will thank you heaps tho

[@mhmoran85]

@@mistereearly1141 Thank You!

[@MarcleYTClashRoyale]

I first I thought his English was going to be bad but damn he can speak Chinese and English fluently.

[@nordleuchter3041]

He has american parents...

[@montexic5201]

it’s damn impressive! I immigrated from China very early, and I still have the faintest Chinese accent. Ig my vocal cords never adapted. He’s amazing!

[@zerothehero3426]

My dad is egyptian and my mother italian. I can understand, type and read arabic but I'm not fluent in it despite having been there many times in my life, sometimes for months. Speaking arabic at home, having both parents speaking arabic, would definitely have helped a lot.

[@teemun3979]

@@nordleuchter3041 I know someone who is the oldest sibling in his large family who can't speak Spanish. Everyone older than him can speak Spanish and both of his parents are from Mexico. In fact that he rarely speaks English as well, given that he is more of a listener than a speaker, so that may play a role.

[@kgao7294]

@@montexic5201 true, even if they are ABCs talking in the radio, I can tell they are not white Americans just by their slight accent. I dont know why, maybe asians use the tongue differently

[@binarioloco]

Seriously... I have been in love with learning foreign languages for a very long time and this is the coolest video I have watched on the subject so far. Well done! Un grandissimo abbraccio dalla Toscana, caro. Muy obrigado! ;-) Chapeau. 😊

[@YuanyuanLuo]

His Chinese even has a Sichuanese accent. Love it! When he speaks Sichuanese, he sounds like my neighbor from Chengdu.

[@Pacl-zn6il]

I can relate to him sooo much. I lived in Mandeog Busan from the age of 2 to 22. So I speak 사투리 (satoori) which is the regional dialect spoken in the Busan region and I also speak 표준어 (pyojuneo) which is regular Korean. My family is from western Germany, so I speak the normal German (Hochdeutsch) and the regional dialect (Ruhrpott), which is located near Duisburg as well. I learned Englisch in an international school in Busan. I also speak some french and fluent Spanish, since I had to learn it for my job now. Being able to speak local accents is such a blessing and you also feel at home in two totally different cultures. You can get some funny looks from people sometimes, but that’s just amusing. For me, when I speak in a German dialect to a friend in a restaurant in Busan and then order in perfect satoori..... peoples faces are just so funny to watch. The same is in Germany, when going to a Korean restaurant and feeling at home, because of the food.

[@mahfuzkabir7812]

That’s amazing

[@xChaRee]

Damn that's so cool! I love satoori, a childhood friend of mine was from Andong, gyeongsanbuk-do so her satoori is a bit similar to that of Busan and her mom always spoke dialect with me while I was learning regular Korean but I can't say that I speak it well in any case. Also I was born and raised in Switzerland so I speak the swiss dialect of German and Standard German too! My mom is Thai, from the northeastern region (Isan) where the locals also speak a heavy dialect and I grew up with the dialect and standard Thai too, even though I can't read. Are you living in Germany now?

[@Pacl-zn6il]

@@xChaRee that’s awesome! Now I live in Germany right now and I work here as well. Normally I would visit my childhood friends in Busan every three to six months but since the pandemic, I haven’t been there since January..... but planning to go again soon. Do you like to visit Isan as often as possible?

[@weareallgodschildrenlovefr9556]

Multi language skills will bring you more happiness in life! 😂😂😂👍👍👍

[@kaynesheenan]

I fell in love with a Korean and now I'm studying the language. It's tricky but interesting

[@JourneyDestination]

My wife is from Sichuan. She said his mandarin sounds like hers.

[@juliakrystal19]

This is awesome

[@qiangxiong7476]

Totally agree.. I'm from Sichuan.. I am just unable to say the very standard mandarin, but always with a little dialect accent... 特别是前后鼻音太难了

[@gangli6669]

Im from Sichuan too. Think his mandarin is better than mine haha coz I didn’t speak mandarin till I went to college in Canada

[@cheesecurd100s]

These are my favorite types of videos. You should do more of these

[@getreadywithmemamma6973]

This messed with my mind in a great way!! I’m half Thai and Half American. You guys are so great!

[@user-un9bd2gj7v]

As a Chinese. That's all I can say: "OMG".

[@zli6538]

aka 亲娘嘞

[@bay2176]

额滴神儿

[@wahwah3204]

Yea when a white guy speaks Chinese “OMG” when a Chinese speak English that’s nothing special.

[@screm1746]

@@wahwah3204 Furthermore, when a Chinese American speaks Chinese: "it's a shame he can't speak perfect Chinese" -_-

[@wahwah3204]

@@screm1746 Well it’s just depends on the individual the place they grew up in needless to say they are all Chinese doesn’t matter if they are Chinese from China or in US ain’t no shame in having an accent and by the way this video is about a white guy speaking Chinese so everybody seems to be so shocked and surprised by this.

[@SamSam-jp9mx]

He is actually the whitest Asian that I've ever seen

[@graciasvito8067]

What do you expect from a Cauc-Asian huh *I know it's copied don't whoosh me lads*

[@hyperplayability6290]

not as white as my friend at school xD

[@MariaNI-yf1bz]

Than you are uneducated about the matter. Lol@you

[@MariaNI-yf1bz]

Asia is a continent and there are people who are much much blonder and phenotypically 'more' caucasoid than him. You are uneducated

[@marlenedeleeuw5508]

This is amazing. I wish I could have had this experience.

[@suzanne5971]

Fascinating interview! I really enjoyed it.

[@chenchen9224]

I was a little bit skeptical at the beginning when he speaks mandarin, even though his mandarin is pretty good, but there is clearly some accent that I thought because of he is a foreigner. But the moment he speaks sichuanhua, I was like: damn this dude is definitely a "Chinese" xD

[@bjb0808]

That's so funny. Thanks, Chen Chen.

[@TV-mn1zd]

True

[@jamessmith_321]

这哥们的普通话都是带西南口音的其实。。。。

[@cynthiasrecommendations6004]

yes, so do I. While i heard he spoke Sichuan dialet. He is a really Chinese!!!

[@LuxPsy]

I think his accent when speaking Mandarin is more like a southwestern accent 西南口音than an English accent. (I'm a native Chinese speaker and I have a southern accent.)

[@conniehe2116]

HOLY his 成都话 (chengdu dialect) is totally legit! His dialect is even better than mine haha! (I’m also from Chengdu but I grew up in the west)

[@iceomistar4302]

I am in shame after hearing him speaking chengduhua

[@sveng5319]

Nice story! All the best for getting the best out of both worlds.

[@MadaoAU]

I have had very similar experience with Greek. There are too many dialects in Greek from modern Greek that you speak at school, so you would have to adjust your dialect and clear up your cadence when you spoke in class etc. Quite unique experience.

[@soccerbreath]

haha I actually know Jonathan in real life, we went to the same college. I can definitely say, i had no idea he knew any Chinese or lived in China when we first met. But we were in the same China studies class and thats when I found out

[@dezhiliu1687]

What’s his insta

[@TheHailstorm77]

This guy can play a phone prank with a Chinese girl and when they meet, she will be stunned that he speaks fluent Chinese!

[@jonathansims3283]

@@dezhiliu1687 Jonathan_Sims47

[@logansmith2771]

@@jonathansims3283 the man himself, pretty cool

[@soccerbreath]

@@jonathansims3283 hahahah u boutta be famous bro

[@Petrock2]

ah i love the "tsk's" he adds only when hes thinking and speaking in chinese. it's super cool how even unconscious speech filler/ habits get picked up on when speaking. 8:05

[@simgewassong5083]

Is this a Chinese behavior?

[@cillalaw1816]

Zek hahaha

[@onlyleon855]

in germany we do this do

[@heyjohna]

I noticed that but thought it might be a type of fricative. But I guess it’s the Chinese version of um. Thank you for explaining.

[@jojo5544]

@@simgewassong5083 us Sichuan ppl do that especially a lot lol

[@Matt-by3yd]

That’s so cool lol what an interesting video. Major props to that guy speaking about his life in such a coherent way too

[@MrTraveller.]

Very cool, been living abroad 15 years. That last 9 yrs here in a Taiwan 🇹🇼. Love speaking mandarin, Thai, French, English & limited Spanish + learning some basic Taiwanese greetings & other basics in other languages. The world is amazing. Thx u 4 the video

[@TravisBandManAndy]

How do we know he's legit? When he pronounces "For" like "Fur". Midwestern Me: Yup he's a native.

[@xiaoyuanhu6036]

Wait that’s a Midwest thing?! I learned English from friends in the US (and I live in the Midwest) so I automatically assume all Americans pronounce for as fur lmao

[@natetinker1602]

@@xiaoyuanhu6036 it’s not specifically Midwestern but Midwestern accent is kinda like an extremely American accent lol

[@bjb0808]

Yeah, it's simply American. I've lived out of the States so long my English has a mix of accents thrown in. People never know where I'm from. But when you're really babbling with others from your area, you do slip back into the local vernacular. You can take the girl out of Pittsburgh, but...

[@TV-mn1zd]

Good to know

[@Timothy-su9fj]

My God, I wondered for a while how I always cannot speak this word well. I'm going to try to pronounce it this way, thanks haha .

[@sichingchow3297]

I am Chinese and Cantonese and I laughed so hard listening to a white guy speaking so well Sichuan dialect! Impressive! So great to see people of multilingual!

[@scarlett9665]

I’m Chinese too. but I live in Russia, and I can speak Russian and Chinese. Nevertheless I think my native language is Russian

[@kirihara147]

@@scarlett9665 как так вышло что китаянка живёт в России? И из какого вы города, если не секрет?

[@scarlett9665]

@@kirihara147 Я родилась в России, если вы имеете в виду из какого города в Китае, то не из какого, потому что я родилась в России. А родители из Шанхая.

[@kirihara147]

@@scarlett9665 из какого города в России я имел в виду) Вы же написали, что тут живёте. Хотя судя по тому что родители переехали, то скорее всего это Москва или Питер.

[@konpeitosama]

How is it impressive when he literally grew up in China? He's been there since a toddler to adult. It's not impressive, it's normal if you grow up there.

[@user-bm3ed4ci8f]

wow, speechless 😊I can understand his dialect so fantastic

[@MajorPayne175]

Wow! What a breadth of life experience and fluidity between the languages.

[@Libraryladee28]

I agree! What a gift your parents gave you to learn another language and dialect plus English. Your life has been expanded in so many ways! Loved hearing your story! Thanks for sharing!

[@blizzle1]

To explain this situation and why it’s unique. 1) there are many more Asian immigrants to the U.S. then the reverse. As he said, he was the first foreign person ever in his public school. 2) English is considered a global language so many people in China are learning English but not so much the other way around. As he mentions, a lot of international kids in Asian also end up going to international schools where English is spoken. 3) from an linguistic perspective, it’s just not that common to hear people speaking multiple languages without a notable accent. I’m an ABC (American born Chinese), and I can’t really speak mandarin. Even my friends that speak mandarin usually have notable American accents. I actually imagine that even though his parents are American, if he didn’t study in the US, his English would either be lacking some vocab or be slightly accented at times.

[@TheZenytram]

he study in a internatinal high school, so he picked english vocabs there, plus speaking and hearing english with his parent at home, not suprise he is native good at both.

[@kimslau]

A fascinating video. Thanks Xiaoma

[@mikeeforma2281]

It was a great relief when both of them switched to English! I can say that for sure as Russian who has just started to learn Mandarin. 😅😉

[@ritchiesanford6125]

I'm an American who grew up in Hong Kong, and yes I speak fluent Cantonese flawlessly.

[@filmhk177]

但你識唔識睇中文，寫中文

[@bkcalvine]

All the Asian Americans are doing a slow clap for you.

[@viuhn9621]

Being American, I doubt it’s actually flawless lol. Typical cockiness

[@milanhrvat]

I lived in hong kong for 15 years. I do too. Can't read for crap but can speak like local people

[@user-pc9rz2tl7l]

@@viuhn9621 why would it not be flawless if he was born and raised in Hong Kong? And how does you being american make any difference?

[@JV-ys8fd]

His Mandarin is so clear, when he speaks English I feel like he's lying because there's no accent 😂

[@Atreides217]

This was sooooooo interesting!! What awesome parents to put him in public Chinese schools so he would better understand and love the Chinese people and culture!

[@sarazhou9077]

Jonathan’s Chengdu hua sounds so good! I am from sichuan but live in America, and I am trying to teach my 3 year old suchuan hua currently and she loves it😄😄

[@FervoYT]

Here I am, a spanish native person reading english subtitles from two american guys speaking mandarine

[@dmanakell]

When speaking Sichuanese with his siblings, I'm wondering if other white people tell them to speak English cuz they are in America

[@BearingMySeoul]

HA!!! I want to know too!!!!

[@bzbzbzbzbzbbbz94]

HAHAHAHA

[@AndresGarcia-hu8ij]

Of course not. He's white. That "you're in America, speak English" is racism used against minorities. A white person speaking a language other than English would probably lead to one of those stupid "omgggg I'm 1/1000000th German on my mom's side I almost understood what you said!" discussions.

[@naria2224]

@@AndresGarcia-hu8ij Not always actually, it often happens to almost anyone that it’s obvious their nationality is different. My mother was told that a ton of times and we came from a country in Europe and aren’t racially minority. And not only have we been told to speak English but also to go back to our country.

[@DantalionNL1]

@@AndresGarcia-hu8ij Thats so painfully true, and kinda same here in The Netherlands whenever for example dutch born kids speak turkish because thats how they speak from home allot would say "speak Dutch, because you're in The Netherlands" but whenever a white person would speak Turkish they're like "Wow thats so awesome, I'm actually 0.000012% russian "privet comerade"". It's pretty much in every country I guess.

[@dailyshaves7242]

Incredible video!!! Great interview!

[@topherno]

Awesome video. Heart-warming ending too

[@jakimli9060]

His parents must be very great person, we saw a lot of Chinese speak native English, but not too many in reverse. 赞

[@monkeyslap]

And this is why it's called CaucASIAN.

[@billable1861]

Underrated comment

[@bobbiusshadow6985]

CockAsian, that's how I spell it

[@Aurorabean1210]

Wins 😂

[@jazzymilk9996]

@@bobbiusshadow6985 yeah somethings wrong with you

[@js8430]

@@jazzymilk9996 Lame

[@leonardksw]

Hi Xiaoma... have u ever had a video on asking people in NYC which Asia countries they like the most and why? I am from Singapore and i seldom see many video of yours about Singapore food etc.

[@johnsoran701]

Another cool video. Watching you from the Southern Tier of the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York USA