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How do you say "Michigan left" in Taiwanese?
Some of the Tigers will fly home to spend this week’s All-Star break with their families. Others will pack up their wives and kids and take brief vacations.
But if you’re living in a foreign country, you don’t speak the language, you only know a couple of people, and your job shuts down for three days, what do you do?
In the case of Fu-Te Ni, the Tigers’ left-handed Taiwanese reliever, you make plans to take a test to try to get your U.S. driver’s license.
“It’s much easier to drive here than in Taiwan,” Ni explained through his trusty translator and sidekick, Fox.
Ni, Fox and Ni’s girlfriend from Taiwan share an apartment in Toledo. When the Tigers are home, Ni and Fox usually stay in a hotel in downtown Detroit to cut down on the commute.
Ni rarely watches TV. What would be the point? He wouldn’t understand a word anyone was saying.
Dining out is always a problem. In case you haven’t noticed, Detroit is not exactly known for its fine Taiwanese restaurants.
“Sometimes we go to a Chinese buffet or a Sushi bar, but usually we cook by ourselves,” Fox explained.
Ni’s teammates joke around with him the clubhouse, but they do so mostly with gestures. Ni doesn’t understand the chatter in the locker room or in the bullpen.
Last week, when those “Vote Inge” for the All-Star Game signs were all over Comerica Park, Brandon, ever the jokester, reconfigured one to read: “Vote Ni.”
Inge hung the sign above Ni’s locker and the pitcher appeared to get a big kick out of it.
Ni smiles a lot. He knows he’s in the big leagues.
However, communicating with Jim Leyland poses a problem. As you might have guessed, the Tigers’ manager isn’t exactly conversant in Taiwanese.
“I think he understands the word, ‘strike,’ Leyland said.
“All I tell him is, ‘Throw strikes.’
“We’re not going to have a conversation about where we’re going to dinner,” Leyland admitted.
Good thing. Because I don’t think the Tigers’ manager would enjoy sticky tofu.
posted by Jim Hawkins at
10:25 AM
2 Comments:
well, i guess you mean chinese
because taiwanese is just a local language, like catalan
most of taiwanese can speak at least a little taiwanese like how are you etc.
but we often use chinese during our life mostly
To the taiwanese above: Taiwanese people are basically fluent in Mandarin. Some of the Taiwanese are capable of speaking the local dialect, Taiwanese, fluently, while the few rest can only string a word or two (but they can understand more than can speak).
To the author of the article: it's stinky tofu (in Mandarin: chou dou fu). Not sticky.
Last, I am rather glad to see more and more Taiwanese players up in the MLB. They represent my country, Taiwan. I am just so proud of them. Thank you Ni, Hu, Kuo, along with other awesome players and the future stars!
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