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Chinatown: Chinese in New York City
Jen Lam, Anish Parekh, and Tritia Thomrongnawasouvad
INTRODUCTION
This paper aims to study the use of
Chinese in Chinatown. Chinese does not refer to a specific language but
the many dialects spoken in China. Though China has one written language,
it can be pronounced in a variety of ways (thus the various dialects).
The first Chinese immigrants came to
lower Manhattan around 200 years ago. Many came in search for the "gold"
that America had to offer. The enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act
(1882-1943) caused an abrupt decrease in the number of immigrants coming
from China. The law forbade naturalization by any Chinese already in the
United States; barred the immigration of any Chinese not given a special
work permit deeming him merchant, student, or diplomat; and, most
horribly, prohibited the immigration of the wives and children of Chinese
laborers living in the United States. The Exclusion Act grew more and
more restrictive over the following decades, and was finally lifted during
the World War II. When the Exclusion Act was finally lifted in 1943,
China was given a small immigration quota, and the community continued to
grow, expanding slowly throughout the '40s and '50s. When the quota was
raised in 1968, Chinese flooded into the country from the mainland, and
Chinatown's population exploded (
http://www.ny.com/articles/chinatown.html).
Most of the early settlers were from
Toishan, Shanghai, and Canton. They formed what is known as "Old
Chinatown", which is surrounded by Mott and Canal Streets. The later
settlers, mostly from Fujian, formed the "New Chinatown", which is bounded
by East Broadway. Today, Chinatown is contained by Grand Street on the
north, Chrystie Street on the east, Broadway on the west, and East
Broadway on the south. According the 1990 United States Census, 47,883
people from Lower Manhattan identified themselves as Asian or Non-Hispanic
Pacific Islander. Today's Chinatown is a tightly-packed yet sprawling
neighborhood which continues to grow rapidly despite the satellite Chinese
communities flourishing in Queens (http://www.asiannyc.org).
LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN CHINATOWN
The obvious LOTEs spoken in
Chinatown are the many dialects of Chinese. These include, but are not
limited to, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Fujianese. Other LOTEs spoken in
Chinatown are Vietnamese, Spanish, and other less prominent languages.
Evidence of these languages can be heard as well seen throughout the
neighborhood. In fact, most commercial institutions have employees fluent
in one or more of the Chinese dialects. For example, all employees at the
local Citibank (located at 2 Mott Street) spoke English as well as
Cantonese or Mandarin. This reflects the linguistic composition of the
Chinatown community. The usage of a variety of different languages on
storefronts, billboards, restaurant menus, and other advertisements
demonstrates a strong prevalence of foreign languages. Through
observation, it can be concluded that English is spoken less than the
Chinese dialects. Of the Chinese dialects, it seems that the prevalence
of Cantonese and Mandarin is approximately equal.
Another dialect, which is often
overlooked as a major Chinese dialect by non-Chinese speaking people, is
Fujianese. One explanation for this oversight is that Mandarin is the
official language of China. Therefore, many Fujianese speaking people use
Mandarin as their dialect of choice when communicating outside of the
Fujianese community. However, this is changing due to the growing
Fujianese population. The area surrounding Confucius Plaza is dominated
by Fujianese immigrants. Evidence of this is seen in the rising number
Fujianese owned and operated businesses.
PS 124: THE YUNG WING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
An interview with assistant
principal of Yung Wing Elementary School, Mr. David Tom, gives insight
into the linguistic situation of a typical Chinatown school. The Yung
Wing Elementary School, P.S. 124, located on 40 Division Street, consists
of pre-kindergarten through grade five. One thousand students are
currently enrolled in P.S. 124, approximately 90% of which are of Asian
descent and the remaining 10% are of various ethnicities. Of the one
thousand students, 20% are in the bilingual program offered by the school.
The teachers that participate in the bilingual program speak either
Mandarin or Cantonese. However, the Board of Education does not
differentiate between dialects. The program offers three different types
of learning methods: team teaching, support model and "pull-out." Team
teaching consists of two teachers (one bilingual, one English speaking)
working together to teach a group of students that are part of the
bilingual program. The support model offers assistance to bilingual
students who are placed in regular English only classes. Finally, the
"pull-out" method takes students out of their normal class schedules to
participate in ESL classes when necessary. Students are given an exam
upon entry and based on the test results the students are placed
accordingly into either the bilingual or ESL program. If the students
receive a score above 40% then they are exempted from having to
participate in the bilingual program.
The school also provides
assistance for parents of the students. This assistance includes
translators and various community programs. The school sponsors the
Chinatown Planning Council, which organizes community events. P.S. 124
also offers night classes to help adults in various subjects including
English.
GOVERNMENT SERVICES
Through telephone calls to
various agencies, we found that some government services are available in
LOTEs. For example, the Department of Motor Vehicles offers many of its
services, including the written exam and registration in Chinese. In
addition, voting registration forms and ballots are available in Chinese.
For services that do not offer publication in LOTEs, translators are
available. This is seen in the court system and police departments.
With the advent of the disaster
that occurred on September 11, 2001, government agencies are providing
more services in LOTEs. From talking to a representative of FEMA (Federal
Emergency Management Agency), we found that their agency is working with
the New York Immigration Coalition in assessing community needs related to
disaster relief. To accomplish this FEMA has hired more Mandarin and
Cantonese speakers.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Dr. Bo Chen is one of many
doctors who offer services in LOTEs. He is representative of doctors who
are practicing in Chinatown. His office is located on East Broadway. He
speaks Mandarin, Chinese, Fujianese and English. Publications in both
English and Chinese can be found in his office.
Hospitals located in the area,
such as Governeur and New York Downtown Hospital, provide translators for
speakers of LOTEs. The program is supported by AT&T where patients and
doctors are connected to a translator via telephone (http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/
html/hhc/home.html).
Community health serivices such
as the Chinatown Health Clinic, located on 125 Walker Street, provide
further health care, aid, and education for the local population.
According to the Chinatown Health Clinic's Mission Statement their aim is
to:
- Provide access to quality and culturally sensitive health care and
health education services to the Asian community in the greater New York
metropolitan area;
- Advocate on behalf of the Asian community who, due to cultural,
language, education or financial barriers, may not have access to basic
health care services or health education activities;
- Recruit and train future Asian-American health care workers, develop
their understanding of Asian community needs and problems, and encourage
an interest in community involvement upon completion of their training.
Services they provide in health
education patient workshops, audiovisual materials, bilingual pamphlets,
and presentations for Chinese language media. The social work department
provide bilingual and bicultural services to clinic patients (http://asianweb.net/news/java/chc/htm).
RELIGIOUS SERVICES
Religious institutions in Chinatown
offer services in LOTEs, English, or both. The Mahayana Buddhist temple
on Canal Street functions only in Chinese, primarily Mandarin. All of the
temple's publications are in Chinese with limited English. The
Scriptures, however, contain no English.
Christian services can also be found in
Mandarin and Cantonese. The Church of Latter-Day Saints located at 401
Broadway holds sermons only in Cantonese and Mandarin. However, their
publications are completely bilingual. One interesting note is that the
congregation is composed mainly of Fujianese immigrants; however, no
sermon is offered in Fujianese. Elder Kong, a representative of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, stated, "Fujianese is to
Cantonese as Spanish is to Portuguese." This shows the need for the
church to include Fujianese sermons.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
In Chinatown, there are many
organizations dedicated to particular groups. The following is a list of
just some of the many organizations: The Chinese Society, The Fujianese
Societies, Museum of the Chinese in the Americas, and Asian Americans for
Equality.
COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS
The prevalence of Chinese owned
and operated stores and restaurants can be easily observed. To get an
"insider" prospective, we spoke with Henry Lam, Restaurant Contractor, and
Rita Lam, Restaurant Architect. Both have over 15 years of experience
working for restaurant owners in the Chinatown area. According to them,
the majority of currently operating restaurants are owned by Fujianese
speakers. Even the various non-Chinese ethnic restaurants are maintained
by the Fujianese people. Stores are mostly run by Cantonese and Mandarin
speakers. Their advertisements, handouts, and signs are multilingual in
both English and Chinese.
PUBLICATIONS
Publications in LOTEs can also
be found in the area. There is a public Chinese library and many Chinese
bookstores. Newspapers, such as Sing Tao Daily News and World Journal,
are only published in Chinese. They contain both American and Asian news
and current events. Imported Chinese magazines can also be found in
newsstands.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Chinatown is very
immigrant friendly. Life can easily be conducted without speaking English
since many services and organizations use Chinese in business. However,
it is also conducive to English only speakers because jobs requiring
inter-group communication are generally occupied by bilinguals; hence it
is a popular tourist attraction.
Viewing Chinatown through Chinese-American eyes:
When I chose to study the
Chinese population in New York, I thought it would be relatively easy for
me. Although Chinatown is foreign place to me, evaluating it for research
made me realize there are many things I overlooked or took for granted.
The screaming of the vendors in the streets and the loud noises coming
from the Chinese women trying to buy groceries for the day's meals all of
a sudden became important to me. A normal day in Chinatown before this
research project for me would be for me to stroll down the streets without
taking note of the many dialects that the residents of Chinatown use,
unless I needed to ask for directions. It wasn't until now that I
realized that it is more comfortable for me to use Cantonese, or other
dialects of Chinese, when I am in Chinatown while communicating with a
resident of Chinatown. Being a Chinese-American allowed me to view
Chinatown in a different point of view from my partners. My command of
the language in several dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, and Fujianese)
enabled me to make an observation of what dialects are prominent in
certain areas of Chinatown. The most interesting observations would be
the preferred use of Chinese among the population. Limited English is
necessary because the population of the community consist of a
congregation of people that speak Chinese. The vendors and restaurant
employees speak more English than the residents because they have to cater
to the large tourist community in the vicinity. Even though I am not a
resident of the community, most of the residents assume that I know
Chinese because of my physical features. There was one incident where I
stepped into a Fujianese restaurant and automatically the employee assumed
that I understood Fujianese. She asked for my order in Fujianese even
though I communicated with her in a combination of English, Cantonese, and
Mandarin.
Even though I am Chinese and
understand several dialects of the language, I still feel like a foreigner
when I step into Chinatown. Unlike Chinatown where the majority of the
ethnic makeup is Chinese, the town that I grew up in consist many of
"WASPs." Seeing Chinese people living the way they would probably live
"back home" was an unusual site for me. Researching the area opened my
eyes to a completely different type of lifestyle as compared to mine. In
my neighborhood, the Chinese community either blends in with the others or
become "invisible." Screaming in the streets, negotiating at the market,
burning incense outside for the ancestors, blasting Chinese opera, playing
the Chinese xian and drums and other Chinese traits are non-existent,
while it is the way of life in Chinatown. The noise created by the
clashing dialects coming from the community may sound like nonsense to
foreigners but to me it represents a home that I never knew.
-Jennifer Lam
Thoughts From a Former Chinatown Resident:
My first experience in Chinatown
during my freshman year was, like for many who are unfamiliar with it, in
the form of dining excursion. Two of my Chinese-American friends guided
me through back streets and narrow arcades of Lower Manhattan. To me it
seemed a piece of China had been oddly misplaced between the trendiness of
Soho and the bulliness of Wall Street. I was awe-struck as we walked
passed numerous fish markets and herbal pharmacies totally consumed by
Chinese people. The only English I heard was from my two tour guides. At
the Vietnamese restaurant we ended up in, Pho Viet Huong, I felt even more
isolated from the local culture when the waiter only spoke Cantonese (I
was told that Chinese-owned but non-Chinese food restaurants were common
in Chinatown) and only spoke to me through my Cantonese-speaking friend.
Nonetheless, the meal was amazing and I had vowed to return; little did I
know that my next visit would last eight months, the duration of my stay
in NYU's Chinatown dormitory.
New York University's 80
Lafayette Residence Hall was for me, and for many other sophomores, an
unwanted housing assignment. When I received the notification that I was
to live there all I could think of was the painful commute to campus.
Reflecting on it now though, I consider living in Chinatown one of the
best experiences of my life. Lacking a meal plan and steady income, I had
to find "cheap eats." I soon realized that there is no better place than
Chinatown to find a great meal under five dollars. During an average
week, I ate out 5-7 times in Chinatown. I think this is the best way to
see the neighborhood. At these restaurants is where I got the most
exposure to the language and the communication struggles that all people
face. However, I feel that most of Chinatown is negotiable to the
non-Chinese speaker. I found the people welcoming and accommodative, for
the most part.
Aside for dining, I truly felt
like a member of the community when I began using more of the local
services. For example, I went to a local optometrist to get new glasses.
While in his office, I was always the only non-Chinese person and all of
the placards and brochures were written in Chinese. I thought language
would be a problem but all the employees' English skills were proficient
enough for a smooth visit.
Although I had many worries when
I first moved to Chinatown, engaging in the people and culture made it
hard for me to leave. Today I live on fourteenth street but I still make
my weekly pilgrimage to Big Wong, Sun Lok Kee, or Pho Viet Huong for some
extraordinary meals on a budget.
-Anish Parekh
