I've studied Chinese in college, but basically, I'm not…

“I've studied Chinese in college, but basically, I'm not bilingual.”

David Henry Hwang

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Studying Chinese gave him exposure but not fluency; language mastery requires immersion and practice.

In simple terms: Studying isn’t enough for fluency.

Key Takeaway

Seek immersive practice.

Themes

language learning culture

Mood

reflective practical

Type

educational personal

When to use this quote

travel
language exchange
study abroad

Key Concepts

bilingualism education

Questions to Reflect On

What steps can you take to become bilingual?
How does partial knowledge affect communication?

A Different Perspective

Fluency takes time and consistent effort.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by David Henry Hwang

I felt pretty good growing up. I didnt feel a lot of prejudice or racism. But I do remember, if there was going to…

David Henry Hwang

I visited a new cultural center in Shanghai in 2005 that was pretty much perfect, except for the really badly translated Chinglish signs: a…

David Henry Hwang

My first plays were amazingly bad, but I had a teacher who thought I had promise, and he kept working with me. I finally…

David Henry Hwang

I think that plays are probably the most personal, because it's just me in charge, but sometimes it's just really - I think that…

David Henry Hwang

“And you wonder, what's wrong with me? Will anyone beautiful want me?”

David Henry Hwang

As Asian-Americans, the charge that is often lobbed against us is sort of the least original: the idea that somehow we're perpetual foreigners, that…

David Henry Hwang

Death with honor is better than life... life with dishonor.

David Henry Hwang

Chinese culture in general is not very religious. Confucianism is more a code of ethics than a religion, and ancestor worship is a way…

David Henry Hwang

My new play 'Chinglish,' which will go to Broadway, is about a white American businessman who goes to a provincial capital in China, hoping…

David Henry Hwang

. . . I felt I was finally in a position to affect not only the artistic content of the American theatre, but also…

David Henry Hwang

Yes, I am one of those people who feels that most of my work is adaptation of one sort or another. For me, it's…

David Henry Hwang

Time flies when you’re being stupid.

David Henry Hwang

If I do a play, it's my vision, and everybody else is working on the production to support that. If I do an opera,…

David Henry Hwang

Why, in the Peking Opera, are women's roles played by men?...Because only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act.

David Henry Hwang

There's something about China and its rush to capitalism that I find confusing. At the same time, we live in an America where capitalists…

David Henry Hwang

Explore all 55 David Henry Hwang quotes

More Basically quotes

When I graduated from Brown, I had a very limited conception of jobs, careers, and what I wanted to do. Basically, I figured I…

Andrew Yang

You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission they feel for the fact of how competent they are…

Matt LeBlanc

I think we should have basically the same tax policy that Germany, Japan, the U.K., everybody else has, which is a tax rate in…

Jeffrey R. Immelt

I can't say that I wouldn't prefer to make small films, basically because I think they are probably more interesting in terms of the…

John Hurt

Basically, Pizza Hut just backed out on the ad agency at the last minute. They got fired and we got fired. It was a…

Gene Ween

My mum was Labour-voting, but wanted us to know we were important. Basically, everyone's equal, but you, my children, are a bit better.

Martin Freeman

When I heard that the bees were in trouble, the fact that they're disappearing and not coming back to the hive, which is a…

Louie Schwartzberg

It would be amazing if we were just basically judged on the merits of what we do, but we're not. That's not part of…

Aspen Ladd

In my own case, I'm an artist, and I'm really interested in expanding the vocabulary of human action, and basically empowering people through interactivity.…

Golan Levin

Civilian law around aviation is much looser than those governing military. Civilian planes can basically fly wherever they want in the world.

Trevor Paglen

Nuclear DNA encodes all the proteins and enzymes that make you you, basically.

Hendrik Poinar

“I basically have nothing to offer to others. If you think about it, I don’t even have anything to offer myself.”

Haruki Murakami

I have been performing in the street for more than 50 years: magic for basically 60 years, and the high wire 45 years. The…

Philippe Petit

Basically, I listen to voices. If they write good songs and they can sing, I'll probably like it.

India Arie

There's something about the air and the sky and the atmosphere in the South of France that must be very conducive to work, to…

Joan Collins

Browse all 1,129 Basically quotes

I've studied Chinese in college, but basically, I'm not…

About This Quote

Related quotes

More by David Henry Hwang

More Basically quotes