Singaporean uses language skills to resolve misunderstanding between American and Chinese tourists at French airport
A Singaporean woman used her language skills to mediate a misunderstanding between an African American and a group of Chinese tourists in France's Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday (Nov 5).
Ms Nuradillah Zakbah, 31, was in Paris for a stopver, enroute to Portugal on a work trip, reported Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao.
She was in a queue at immigration behind an African American tourist and a group of Chinese tourists when the incident occurred.
The Chinese tourists were chatting among themselves when the American started chiding them. The Chinese tourists were puzzled as to why they were being scolded, and the two parties started quarrelling.
Ms Nuradillah said to Zaobao: "The American looked at me and said angrily 'This group of people called me n**ger when I did not do anything to them!'
"That was when I realised that the Chinese tourists had said the word "that" (na ge) in Mandarin a few times in their conversation, which sounds like the word 'n**ger'. Therefore the American tourist might have misunderstood them."
Ms Nuradillah told The Straits Times she intervened on the "spur of the moment".
Ms Nuradillah, who has taken basic Mandarin lessons, used her language skills to explain the misunderstanding to both parties. She said on Facebook she "became mediator and explained to each parties (sic) in english and my shoddy mandarin, the cultural misunderstanding".
After her intervention, both sides were slightly embarrassed and shook hands and apologised.
"I usually practise my Mandarin by watching television. My command of the language may not be very good, but I felt I had to step in to clear up the misunderstanding then," she said to Zaobao.
Her Facebook post received numerous comments that praised her act.
Through this episode, Ms Nuradillah also realised the importance of racial harmony.
"We should not take the racial harmony in Singapore for granted. There are many different cultures and races in the world, we should always seek to understand others to avoid unnecessary disagreements," she said to Zaobao.
A Singaporean woman used her language skills to mediate a misunderstanding between an African American and a group of Chinese tourists in France's Charles de Gaulle airport on Saturday (Nov 5).
Ms Nuradillah Zakbah, 31, was in Paris for a stopver, enroute to Portugal on a work trip, reported Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao.
She was in a queue at immigration behind an African American tourist and a group of Chinese tourists when the incident occurred.
The Chinese tourists were chatting among themselves when the American started chiding them. The Chinese tourists were puzzled as to why they were being scolded, and the two parties started quarrelling.
Ms Nuradillah said to Zaobao: "The American looked at me and said angrily 'This group of people called me n**ger when I did not do anything to them!'
"That was when I realised that the Chinese tourists had said the word "that" (na ge) in Mandarin a few times in their conversation, which sounds like the word 'n**ger'. Therefore the American tourist might have misunderstood them."
Ms Nuradillah told The Straits Times she intervened on the "spur of the moment".
Ms Nuradillah, who has taken basic Mandarin lessons, used her language skills to explain the misunderstanding to both parties. She said on Facebook she "became mediator and explained to each parties (sic) in english and my shoddy mandarin, the cultural misunderstanding".
After her intervention, both sides were slightly embarrassed and shook hands and apologised.
"I usually practise my Mandarin by watching television. My command of the language may not be very good, but I felt I had to step in to clear up the misunderstanding then," she said to Zaobao.
Her Facebook post received numerous comments that praised her act.
Through this episode, Ms Nuradillah also realised the importance of racial harmony.
"We should not take the racial harmony in Singapore for granted. There are many different cultures and races in the world, we should always seek to understand others to avoid unnecessary disagreements," she said to Zaobao.
