My name is Vanessa Winghei Yeung. I was born and raised in Hong Kong and have lived in Bristol, Freiburg im Breisgau, and Rome. I work as a steward at Glasgow Cathedral with Historic Environment Scotland, a waitress at Sarti, one of the city’s historic Italian restaurants, an arts writer, and a co-author of Hong Kong Art Deco Architecture: Unveiling the Hidden Heritage. I have worked in international relations in Rome, rare book trading and community outreach in Hong Kong.
What languages have you learned?
Cantonese is my first language. I started learning English, my second language, in kindergarten and continued with it throughout my formative years. As an extracurricular activity, I studied German at the Goethe-Institut Hongkong. In my undergrad years, I learned French alongside my degree in English and Hong Kong Studies. Then COVID happened, and I took online courses in Urdu and Latin. I thought I might as well learn Italian and studied it at a community college. Now with the ‘green owl’, I am casually learning Swedish and Scottish Gaelic. I have passed exams certifying my CEFR levels of C1 in German, B1 in French, and A2 in Italian.
How have any language skills helped you in your work?
My language skills have always been useful, no matter where I work, be it in my past office roles or current jobs that require me to stand and think on my feet! In Rome, I gave a heritage show-and-tell to school children in Italian about a typical day in Hong Kong. At the cathedral, I often thank visitors in their languages when they return their audio guide devices.
What benefits do you think language skills bring?
Many! I have met new people thanks to language-related activities like screenings and language exchanges. Language skills encourage you to observe different people’s ways of living from various perspectives. Once you start engaging with a language, you are not engaging with a writing or pronunciation system. You are learning about users of the language in different parts of the world and how they use, maintain, challenge, and change the language, and how these changes are shaping their everyday lives.
Do you have any advice for anyone considering learning a language?
Learning a language, more importantly, sustaining your interest, often requires more than one practical consideration. I have always wanted to work in the arts and cultural sector, and French and German are always valued. However, I also know these languages are beneficial as they give me access to primary sources about my interests in early twentieth-century art and architectural history. Perhaps you could think about a book, a song, or your location’s twinned cities and towns, and start your exploration from there. Take a short course if you are exploring your options. Very quirky, I like reading multilingual packaging and labels whenever I come across imported groceries.
Any tips on how best to approach communicating in a language you have little knowledge of?
Gestures are useful. One time, a Spanish-speaking tourist pointed at some souvenirs and shook his fist. Somehow, I got the cue that he might have meant something about a souvenir bell, so I uttered the sound ‘lan-lan-lan?’ He nodded, but I told him we did not sell it. He still smiled, thanked me with ‘¡Gracias!’ I said the same, and it was nice that he felt understood. This kind of joint effort, backed by creativity, improvisation, and open-mindedness, is very helpful in softening linguistic barriers. Doing a quick sketch also helps!
In your experience, would you say cultural awareness is important?
Very often, many assume that people from a certain place can only speak the corresponding official language(s). I have many lived experiences, like being given an English menu while travelling in Paris. Why did the host think I could not read a French menu? I do enjoy being a sort of counter-argument, a ‘wildcard’! Many of my friendships are not built on English, but on other languages. I often think of a friend who fled to Germany and could only speak her mother tongue and a bit of German at the time. Our friendship began because we were both trying to make a foreign language our common language. In reality, there are many languages and their varieties in use. Some do not speak English but are able to express themselves fluently in other languages. Some do not use verbal communication either. Having cultural awareness helps us be more empathetic and patient when meeting people from all walks of life.
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