He's a good entertainer and knows how to be a celebrity and build a brand around himself. You don't get to be a national celebrity in a foreign country and still maintain your fame 20 years later by just being fluent in that country's language, it takes far more than mere language fluency. He knows himself and knows the business, that's why he could sustain his fame. The fact that many non-Chinese could speak fluent, accentless Chinese, yet none of them comes even close to Dashan's success.
I know this comment is from a decade ago, but I think a lot of his fame comes from being in the right place at the right time. When he first went on shows in the 1980s, the occurrence of nonchinese foreigners that spoke his level was INCREDIBLY rare.
His Chinese is amazing. I have been studying for over 8 years and am nowhere near as good as him. Though I can understand most of this interview, he just speaks so naturally and effortlessly. That's the difference. But I'm sure he would be the first to admit his Chinese isn't perfect. The truth is, for anyone has lived in China or studied Chinese, you know you will never be perfect at it. It's a lifelong learning process. And there are so many damn chengyu....
I speak three languages fluently, and I don't need to think in my mother language, the words in foreign languages come to me naturally. This is true for a lot of bilingual and polyglots. I have no doubt that Dashan thinks naturally in mandarin. Besides, the guy is just awesome!
lol, tell me about it. he can speak it so fast and fluently, i luv it! I don't necisarily want my chinese to sound exactly as his in the future, but i definately wanna speak with that kind of fluency.
da shan is better than most chinese who speak mandarin with local accents(think of cantonese speaking mandarin..lol). There are lots of foreigners after him who have mastered mandarin pronunciation like the fair-haired boy from the usa and the dark-haired man from the UK who c0-emceed Han Yu Qiao (chinese Bridge) chinese profieciency contest at hunan TV. can anyone tell me their names? chinese is one language i find it difficult to master and i admire anyone who masters it.
Ah, impressive. Heh, I'm glad he decided to stick with the "Dashan" name. But there are a lot more fluent-in-Mandarin Chinese foreigners than we might know of. I know a German-American woman who learned Mandarin Chinese when she was an adult, and she's amazing at speaking and writing.
I find it hard to see how your reading could be more advanced than your speaking, especially since you say you live in China. Becoming literate in Mandarin is a far more arduous process than learning to speak or listen.
I can speak to this. In my experience someone is either good at the characters, or the sounds. I've met a few who could do both, but they admitted later on that they studied one much harder than the other. I personally have a much easier time at the sounds and have been told at time that I sound like a native, and I've only been speaking for 3 months! I've noticed I remember the characters when I read them, but not how to write them from the top of my head. What about you?
He's a good entertainer and knows how to be a celebrity and build a brand around himself. You don't get to be a national celebrity in a foreign country and still maintain your fame 20 years later by just being fluent in that country's language, it takes far more than mere language fluency. He knows himself and knows the business, that's why he could sustain his fame. The fact that many non-Chinese could speak fluent, accentless Chinese, yet none of them comes even close to Dashan's success.
I know this comment is from a decade ago, but I think a lot of his fame comes from being in the right place at the right time. When he first went on shows in the 1980s, the occurrence of nonchinese foreigners that spoke his level was INCREDIBLY rare.
There are comments here that are over a decade old. Can't believe UA-cam has been around that long already.
His Chinese is amazing. I have been studying for over 8 years and am nowhere near as good as him. Though I can understand most of this interview, he just speaks so naturally and effortlessly. That's the difference.
But I'm sure he would be the first to admit his Chinese isn't perfect. The truth is, for anyone has lived in China or studied Chinese, you know you will never be perfect at it. It's a lifelong learning process. And there are so many damn chengyu....
Severian Wintermute and what would you know? Many locals' Chinese isn't good as his ^_^
@King David haha
Dont be upset, his Chinese is better than most native speakers!
It's impossible achieving his proficiency level in Chinese. My English and my native language are even worse than his Chinese
I speak three languages fluently, and I don't need to think in my mother language, the words in foreign languages come to me naturally. This is true for a lot of bilingual and polyglots.
I have no doubt that Dashan thinks naturally in mandarin. Besides, the guy is just awesome!
Haha... I think she can't stop smiling cause she is so surprised and impressed by his chinese!
了不起的大山,中文能到这个水平,佩服!!
我希望有一天我的英語也能說到他說漢語的水平
我现在学习中文，加油!!
去英语国家生活半年就可以了，然后去学其他语言
WOW...I remember him...he was like the first oursider to enter china and really opened the door
amazinggggggggggggggggg! How can he speak so good Chinese?
lol, tell me about it. he can speak it so fast and fluently, i luv it! I don't necisarily want my chinese to sound exactly as his in the future, but i definately wanna speak with that kind of fluency.
主持人好漂亮
wow..no wonder he's so fluent!
太好了！我也学汉语，可是我的汉语不很好。
CiegoEnamorado 你觉得日语和汉语的区别？
已经很不错了！经过了六年，现在应该更好了吧，哈哈！
CiegoEnamorado 但你的中文文法很好。
Does he speak english at all?
The interviewer is really cute
he speak Mandarin way better than i do, very impressive
nice dude ,keep it up~
@shoa31
well, he grew up in Ontario and only started to learn Chinese after University, what do you think?
da shan is better than most chinese who speak mandarin with local accents(think of cantonese speaking mandarin..lol). There are lots of foreigners after him who have mastered mandarin pronunciation like the fair-haired boy from the usa and the dark-haired man from the UK who c0-emceed Han Yu Qiao (chinese Bridge) chinese profieciency contest at hunan TV. can anyone tell me their names? chinese is one language i find it difficult to master and i admire anyone who masters it.
大山 牛 ！
He spends half a year in China and half a year in Toronto with his Chinese wife according to the BBC.
大山很牛！他中文很了不起。 他连比中国人好。
@shoa31 Yes, he does. He was a Canadian.
20 years in china, 4 years in canada
二千个汉字
您才学一年就认识那么多字？
可能么？
老实说一般人要花好几年的时间
才能学得那么多
莫非您是天才?
Ah, impressive. Heh, I'm glad he decided to stick with the "Dashan" name.
But there are a lot more fluent-in-Mandarin Chinese foreigners than we might know of. I know a German-American woman who learned Mandarin Chinese when she was an adult, and she's amazing at speaking and writing.
It would appear that I still have a long way to go in my Mandarin studies before reaching the level that Dashan is at!
哎呀还有更好的啦！那法国来的男的说得更好老大！
You looked so much younger
@shoa31 he was raised and educated in Canada and came to China when he was 23.
应该顶一下~
他是北大中文系的
大山说的中文简直跟中国人无异喔
一点外国腔都没有
如果只听声音
我还以为是中国人在说话呢=。=
he is superman
oh really?
❤
good? hes fluent..bit more than just good
i think you mean Julian. They both have perfect Chinese.
anyone know how long he been speaking chinese?
would love to be that fluent...guess need to practise ALOT more!
11年后
What's with the subtitles? Is it Cantonese translation or what?
DoNN no it's captions in mandarin
I find it hard to see how your reading could be more advanced than your speaking, especially since you say you live in China. Becoming literate in Mandarin is a far more arduous process than learning to speak or listen.
I can speak to this. In my experience someone is either good at the characters, or the sounds. I've met a few who could do both, but they admitted later on that they studied one much harder than the other. I personally have a much easier time at the sounds and have been told at time that I sound like a native, and I've only been speaking for 3 months! I've noticed I remember the characters when I read them, but not how to write them from the top of my head. What about you?
不会吧！你给我们写汉语吧，让我们相信！
他写过！丁广泉老师重病住院在重症监护室的时候他有写过卡片的 一笔一划很认真的
"He's pretty good".....(lol) Keep studying and you'll get there in a decade if your focused.
english is easier
Zhen de ma? Qing wen, ni duo jiu xue xi zhong wen? Zhen de zhi san ge yue ma?
Ew. He looks like my dad o_o..
+ライヤン 哈哈
@shoa31
well, he grew up in Ontario and only started to learn Chinese after University, what do you think?