<p>Do you guys speak the language of your Asian side? If so, how fluent are you? Just curious since I haven't run into many other half Asians throughout my life, but those that I did meet only spoke English. (PS before someone calls me racist...I myself am half White half Chinese and I speak Mandarin on a semi-fluent level but only read/write on an elementary level)</p>
<p>I’m very fluent.</p>
<p>Mochi is delicious. Especially ice cream mochi. Can’t eat too many at a time though. =(.</p>
<p>I’m half white and half Chinese as well! I speak Mandarin Chinese semi-fluently but can’t really read or write it. The main reason why I can speak it at all (even though I never spoke it at home) was that when I was little I made frequent visits to Taiwan to visit relatives and somehow gained it mostly through that. I also went to Chinese school for forever but I learned practically nothing there. :P</p>
<p>practice makes perfect :)</p>
<p>Oops sorry i was referring to rymd’s comment before. But i went to Chinese school too when I was young! Didn’t last long though…I was the youngest kid in the class and the most clueless. I mostly just sat there and ate lunch hahaha</p>
<p>Lol, I’m half Taiwanese and my parents didn’t even try teaching me.
Now I’m 19 and unable to speak Mandarin beyond “hello,” “tastes good,” “good bye,” and the like. I can’t even attempt a conversation with half of my family.</p>
<p>Half Mexican and half Japanese here.</p>
<p>I used to speak pretty good Japanese when I was a little girl. Sadly, I have forgotten all but a few words. I was no longer exposed to the language so I just ended up gradually forgetting it over the years.</p>
<p>I speak Spanish fluently though.</p>
<p>Hey I’m fully Taiwanese!</p>
<p>I know 2 half asian girls at my school. Neither of them can speak their “native” language (chinese and korean).</p>
<p>I also met 2 half asian/black guys at a summer camp last year. LOL. They called themselves “Blasians” which sounds SOOO COOL.</p>
<p>I’m 100% American-born Chinese, and kind of like Rattus, I ONLY spoke Cantonese (“Southern” form) until I was 5-6. In fact, i remember not understanding anyone in pre-school and kindergarten. Unfortunately, I lost A LOT of my speaking abilities, but I have still retained most of my ability to understand. Thus, if someone speaks Cantonese to me, I can fully understand them and execute instructions but won’t be able to answer back XD </p>
<p>My parents never bothered to teach it, either. idk how i picked up so much of it…I wanna take Cantonese in college but they don’t have it! Guess i’ll stick with Mandarin…(at least I could learn to read, though I would still be “separated” from my family & culture)</p>
<p>im 100% korean. but when i moved to the states in like 7th grade i just watched tv to learn english haha</p>
<p>I think people whose families are more recent immigrants are more likely to retain their Asian language. I’m half Chinese and my Chinese grandparents were born in the US. I’ve noticed that the language skills steadily eroded over time. My grandmother was fluent and literate in Chinese. My mother was only able to speak it (except for one of her sisters who was literate, that was the case with the rest of her siblings). By the time it got to my generation, none of us (my sister nor any of my cousins) were able to speak the language, must less be literate. The Chinese that I know is “culinary” Chinese and that which I learned from a year of accelerated Mandarin in grad school. Didn’t help much with the family as they speak Cantonese. I think that there was a greater emphasis on becoming acculturated and being an “American” among earlier immigrants than there is today. Now, while immigrants recognize that learning English is an important economic and social skill, there is greater pride associated with retaining your cultural identity and greater effort is made for children to be bilingual. A good thing in my estimation.</p>
<p>I totally agree with you pohaku. My grandma immigrated from China when she was around 16, and she wanted to become more Americanized. She didn’t want her kids to learn Chinese (Cantonese in their case). I sort of wish she had so I could become fluently bilingual! (Right now, I have taken Mandarin college classes but I am nowhere near fluent.)</p>
<p>Edit: I’m half Caucasian and half Chinese.</p>
<p>Let’s just say I feel ashamed when I can’t understand what the chinese kids at my school says anymore lol</p>
<p>I’m 100% Korean, but I’ve lost my ability to speak fluently 
When I was little I would only talk Korean, but up until I started attending preschool and gradually learned English, I’ve forgotten so much! BUT I can read it, write some words and all the of the “alphabet”, and 75% of the time understand what people are saying. I don’t understand why I can do all those things, yet can’t even speak it … Probably because I’m too embarassed to actually say it without sounding stupid to my elder Korean relatives lol.</p>