Thread by @CarlZha

I do remember the pressure to assimilate was intense among immigrant Chinese families in 1990s US. Many Chinese parents explicitly wished their children gain mastery of English so they would have better opportunities than them. Keeping Chinese language wasn't a priority 4 most

https://twitter.com/notXiangyu/status/1434361261710626826

I also knew many kids who knew Chinese but CHOSE to only speak English. so to save both of us frm awkwardness, I would only speak Chinese if other person initiate convo in Chinese. Over time, Chinese became an intimate language that I would only speak w family

Our family language also shifted from Sichuanese to Standard Mandarin when we moved to US. Since my parents' circle were mostly Chinese students frm all over China studying in US. Dad's 1st language is 海宁话 frm Zhejiang. He prbly relieved not having to speak Sichuanese again

Mom decided Sichuanese too 土 country bumpkin and abandoned it all together til this day. So for the 1st time, we only spoke Standard Mandarin at home. I easily shifted into Sichuanese when visiting relatives 10 yrs later but they say I have some funky accent now.

1 of Dad's student frm Fujian visited us in Chicago. He asked do you guys have accent when speaking Standard Mandarin. I'm like no way. 10 yrs later I tried to use pinyin input to type 翁 but couldn't get it displayed, then I was shocked 2 learn it's weng not Ong in Mandarin!