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Yemeni wows with Chinese crosstalk
By Xu Wenwen |
December 11, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AMMAR Albadany looks like a laowai (foreigner), but when he starts speaking perfect, fluent, idiomatic Mandarin, Chinese people get confused. Maybe he is Chinese with a foreign face, or maybe he is that rare creature, a foreigner who speaks like a native.
Albadany gets the same reaction when he performs xiangsheng, traditional Chinese comedic crosstalk, reads the news on TV or performs in TV series.
Born in Yemen, Albadany arrived in China in 1997 as an exchange student studying medicine; since 2008 he has been based in Hangzhou, studying for his PhD at Zhejiang University.
Also, in 2009 he won the national championship in the Chinese Proficiency Competition for foreign college students.
Not only does he speak excellent Mandarin, he also understands several dialects.
He shows up on local stages and television from time to time.
"Learning xiangsheng and acting greatly improves my Chinese and understanding of the culture, overcoming the hurdles I used to experience," says Albadany, who is 34 and married to a Yemeni woman.
Albadany is a regular member of the Hangzhou Xiaohai Xiangsheng Society, and is shooting a local comedy soap opera (not yet named), playing one of the main characters. From time to time, he hosts travel program on local stations, such as "A'Chun 8 o'clock."
"The more I learn, the more I know I have a lot more to learn," he says, noting that news anchors and reporters are required to speak at a rapid pace and be accurate and actors must memorize long lines. But xiangsheng is a totally a profound art of the Chinese language.
Xiangsheng is typically a two-man, rapid-fire comic dialogue involving lots of humor, puns and word play.
Two years ago, Albadany studied the traditional form of entertainment at the Xiaohai Xiangsheng Society and made his debut one year after graduating. He audience called for an encore, but he couldn't oblige, since he had learned only one routine, he recalls.
So far Albadany has mastered five xiangsheng pieces, written or adapted from classical works by his teacher Ye Mingzhu, who is also the director of the society.
He performs at the society's regular shows and is invited to comedy shows both in Hangzhou and elsewhere.
Earlier this year at the finals of this year's Chinese Proficiency Competition, he did a xiangsheng routine with Frenchman Sebastien Roussill, another winner from a previous year.
Now Albadany wants to write his own, original material, considered a must for a crosstalk performer.
"Performance gives me experiences I would not otherwise have and a good performance proves that I, a foreigner, actually do understand quite a bit of Chinese culture," he says.
Ever since he arrived in China in 1997, Albadany has been interested in Chinese language and culture. "When I turn TV on, I mainly watch Chinese folk art and lectures on history and culture," he says.
He likes to quote from classical works, such as "The Analects" by Confucius and the "Tao Te Ching," written by philosopher Lao-tzu, founder of Taoism.
He's also active on weibo, the microblogging site, and up on his idioms and newly coined words such as geili (meaning something "rocks" or is very cool) and zheng nengliang (positive energy).
"Though he is a beginner, he has a strong ability to absorb the knowledge, and is capable of imitating different dialects in a very short time. And his intelligence and sense of humor help him brainstorm new jokes," says Ye Mingzhu, his teacher.
"As an actor, he is able to adapt to the story. And while Chinese folk art seems easy, it needs effort and persistence, which Albadany has," says actor Zhu Ming, who is performing with the Yemeni in a local soap opera series.
In spite of all his performances, Albadany is studying medicine and has lots of work to do, including lab work.
But he is also interested in exchange and communication between China and Arab countries.
"I don't want to give up medicine, but if I have to choose between the two, I would choose enhancing relations and understanding," he says.
"The relation between China and Arab countries should be enhanced, but there are few people doing this, and I think I am the right person to do it," he says.
Tips on language learning
Albadany has lived in China for 15 years, and is clearly gifted in languages, but his fluency was formed at the very beginning. After studying Chinese for six months, he passed HSK Level-6. It usually takes foreign students two or three years to achieve it.
It's standardized Mandarin test for non-native speakers, with 11 levels; Level-6 requires a grasp of 5,000 Chines words.
Asked for his advice to language beginners, he offers some advice:
? Interest is always the key to solving all difficulties. Giving up on learning the characters means giving up on learning the essence.
? Dare to speak, even make mistakes. Speak Chinese as much as possible. When I started, I always visited the grocery store with a dictionary, and I wouldn't buy any food until I could pronounce it correctly.
? When you hear a new word, don't let it go, use it, make a sentence right away and see if people understand.
? The first year of learning a foreign language in a foreign country is very important, so spend the time well. That's the period when understanding of the language framework is established. After that, you fill in more vocabulary and knowledge.
Learning xiangsheng and acting greatly improves my Chinese and understanding of the culture, overcoming the hurdles I used to experience ... The more I learn, the more I know I have a lot more to learn."
Albadany gets the same reaction when he performs xiangsheng, traditional Chinese comedic crosstalk, reads the news on TV or performs in TV series.
Born in Yemen, Albadany arrived in China in 1997 as an exchange student studying medicine; since 2008 he has been based in Hangzhou, studying for his PhD at Zhejiang University.
Also, in 2009 he won the national championship in the Chinese Proficiency Competition for foreign college students.
Not only does he speak excellent Mandarin, he also understands several dialects.
He shows up on local stages and television from time to time.
"Learning xiangsheng and acting greatly improves my Chinese and understanding of the culture, overcoming the hurdles I used to experience," says Albadany, who is 34 and married to a Yemeni woman.
Albadany is a regular member of the Hangzhou Xiaohai Xiangsheng Society, and is shooting a local comedy soap opera (not yet named), playing one of the main characters. From time to time, he hosts travel program on local stations, such as "A'Chun 8 o'clock."
"The more I learn, the more I know I have a lot more to learn," he says, noting that news anchors and reporters are required to speak at a rapid pace and be accurate and actors must memorize long lines. But xiangsheng is a totally a profound art of the Chinese language.
Xiangsheng is typically a two-man, rapid-fire comic dialogue involving lots of humor, puns and word play.
Two years ago, Albadany studied the traditional form of entertainment at the Xiaohai Xiangsheng Society and made his debut one year after graduating. He audience called for an encore, but he couldn't oblige, since he had learned only one routine, he recalls.
So far Albadany has mastered five xiangsheng pieces, written or adapted from classical works by his teacher Ye Mingzhu, who is also the director of the society.
He performs at the society's regular shows and is invited to comedy shows both in Hangzhou and elsewhere.
Earlier this year at the finals of this year's Chinese Proficiency Competition, he did a xiangsheng routine with Frenchman Sebastien Roussill, another winner from a previous year.
Now Albadany wants to write his own, original material, considered a must for a crosstalk performer.
"Performance gives me experiences I would not otherwise have and a good performance proves that I, a foreigner, actually do understand quite a bit of Chinese culture," he says.
Ever since he arrived in China in 1997, Albadany has been interested in Chinese language and culture. "When I turn TV on, I mainly watch Chinese folk art and lectures on history and culture," he says.
He likes to quote from classical works, such as "The Analects" by Confucius and the "Tao Te Ching," written by philosopher Lao-tzu, founder of Taoism.
He's also active on weibo, the microblogging site, and up on his idioms and newly coined words such as geili (meaning something "rocks" or is very cool) and zheng nengliang (positive energy).
"Though he is a beginner, he has a strong ability to absorb the knowledge, and is capable of imitating different dialects in a very short time. And his intelligence and sense of humor help him brainstorm new jokes," says Ye Mingzhu, his teacher.
"As an actor, he is able to adapt to the story. And while Chinese folk art seems easy, it needs effort and persistence, which Albadany has," says actor Zhu Ming, who is performing with the Yemeni in a local soap opera series.
In spite of all his performances, Albadany is studying medicine and has lots of work to do, including lab work.
But he is also interested in exchange and communication between China and Arab countries.
"I don't want to give up medicine, but if I have to choose between the two, I would choose enhancing relations and understanding," he says.
"The relation between China and Arab countries should be enhanced, but there are few people doing this, and I think I am the right person to do it," he says.
Tips on language learning
Albadany has lived in China for 15 years, and is clearly gifted in languages, but his fluency was formed at the very beginning. After studying Chinese for six months, he passed HSK Level-6. It usually takes foreign students two or three years to achieve it.
It's standardized Mandarin test for non-native speakers, with 11 levels; Level-6 requires a grasp of 5,000 Chines words.
Asked for his advice to language beginners, he offers some advice:
? Interest is always the key to solving all difficulties. Giving up on learning the characters means giving up on learning the essence.
? Dare to speak, even make mistakes. Speak Chinese as much as possible. When I started, I always visited the grocery store with a dictionary, and I wouldn't buy any food until I could pronounce it correctly.
? When you hear a new word, don't let it go, use it, make a sentence right away and see if people understand.
? The first year of learning a foreign language in a foreign country is very important, so spend the time well. That's the period when understanding of the language framework is established. After that, you fill in more vocabulary and knowledge.
Learning xiangsheng and acting greatly improves my Chinese and understanding of the culture, overcoming the hurdles I used to experience ... The more I learn, the more I know I have a lot more to learn."
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