H: Were you born in Cardiff?

J: Yes

H: Are you the second generation in Cardiff? I mean when did your parents come to Cardiff…

J: Oh, I’m the 1^st generation. My parents came to
Cardiff 30 years ago.

H: In that way, you should be the second generation in your family who live in
Cardiff. Because you have to include your parents.

J: Oh, I am the third generation as you count. My grandparents live here too.

H: Where is your original family home? Have you been there before?

J: Vietnam and Hu Bei (湖北) China, to be specific, 天公橋, 武漢, 湖北

H: Can you speak Chinese or Cantonese? If you can, how did you learn the language? (family or language class) Do you use Chinese or Cantonese very often?

J: I speak Cantonese fluently, mandarin to an intermediate standard and Hu Bei dialect and Vietnamese basic. I learnt all these languages from my family. This is because my grandparents are from Hu Bei so spoke the Hu Bei dialect, my parents were born in Vietnam so spoke Vietnamese, however they were schooled in Mandarin and Cantonese. I also learnt Cantonese when I went to Sunday Chinese School and from TVB, a television channel you know?

H: Yes, I know. TVB8 is my favorite. Do you know any Chinese Language Class in Cardiff?

J:Yes. Fitzalan High School Chinese Sunday Class and the Sunday Chinese School run by the Cardiff Chinese Christian Church (卡迪夫華人基督會)

H: When you talk with your BBC friends, which language do you speak?J: Both English and Cantonese. Mostly my BBC friends are from Hong Kong backgrounds and speak Hakka.

H: When you began to school, do you think you are different from native classmates? Are there any advantages or disadvantages?

J: I don’t think I was different to my British classmates, I was treated the same. Two of my closest friends are British. The advantage was that I could speak different languages so it helped me to understand things better and easier. The only real disadvantage was that I’d sometimes come across racism.

H: Do you have any interesting story about your life (because you are BBC) or your friends story, that will be fine

J: I don’t have many interesting stories. Other than working in a takeaway, despite me never wanting to work in a takeaway.

H:  What about China or your father’s home town in your mind? (a remote and irrespective country?)

J: My family history is interesting. My grandfather left Hu Bei because he did not want to join the Red Army. A distant relation of his used to be a Manchu Official (there’s a picture in my aunt’s house). My grandfather left go to Vietnam where he sold flowers to make a living. Soon after my great grandfather sent a letter to him to say that he had to go back to Hu Bei to get married. He married my grandmother and went back to Vietnam and he opened up a dentist surgery. My mother and father had an arranged marriage and left Vietnam shortly after the Vietnam War. My brother was born in Vietnam but I was not.

H: Do you know how many BBC around your age in Cardiff? Do they have the same ideas as you?

J: I know a lot of BBC around my age in Cardiff and the surrounding areas…. Probably upwards of 30. I don’t know if they have the same ideas as me because I’ve never really asked them, but we get on well, so we must be from the same kind of background.

Chinese Face, British Mind

How does the second generation of Chinese immigrants live in
Cardiff?

 

Ally is a 19 year-old girl who was born in
Cardiff. Her parents immigrated from Guangdong province in China 27 years ago and have never been back to their hometown.

 Every Friday afternoon, Ally goes to a Chinese language class for learning Cantonese. This is because a year ago, she fell in love with a boy who comes from
Hong Kong and she hopes to be able to communicate with her boyfriend in his mother language. When she first went into the class, some of her classmates were quite astonished. “They thought I was the teacher because they didn’t believe I can’t speak Chinese. But in fact, I only have a Chinese face.”

Ally calls herself “BBC”, abbreviation of “British Born Chinese”. It means those overseas Chinese who were born in the United Kingdom. The majority in this group are from former British territories, such as Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, and also other countries such as Vietnam, whereas people from mainland China and Taiwan and their descendents make up a relatively small proportion of the British Chinese.

In Cardiff, there are nearly 50 “BBC” around Ally’s age. They are the second or third generation of their families in the UK; They have British citizenship but celebrate Chinese traditional festivals together; They communicate with each other in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, even in some dialects and have their own forum on the Internet. 

“We get on well, so we must be from the same kind of background.” Jenny, an active girl in “the BBC forum” said.

Jenny has a special family history. “My grandpa left Hubei (a middle province in China) because he did not want to join the Red Army,” she explained. “He went to Vietnam and then opened up a dental surgery. My mother and father had an arranged marriage and left Vietnam for the UK shortly after the Vietnam War.”

So Jenny can speak fluent Cantonese and Mandarin, basic Hubei dialect and Vietnamese. She learnt all these languages from her family and from TVB, a Channel operated by Television Broadcasts Limited in Hong Kong.

Lee, Jenny’s “BBC” friend, can also speak Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Generally, most “BBC” people can speak one or two languages apart from English. They learn Chinese from families or language school in Cardiff, formally or informally. The Chinese Sunday Class of Fitzalan High School and the Sunday
Chinese School run by the Cardiff Chinese Christian Church are the most widely known. Jenny and Lee have both been to some classes to improve their Chinese.

“Understanding different languages helped me to learn better and easier,” Lee stated, “I can read more and understand more than my peers.”

For their lives in Cardiff, most “BBC” pointed out there is no difference to other natives. They are all pretty much westernized so they have always been called as “banana people” who have Chinese face but British mind. And they are also eager to enter into society as a host even though sometimes they come across racism.

“I don’t think I was different to my British classmates. I was treated the same and you know, two of my closest friends are British.” Jenny said.        

interview