China – Palate and Tongue

Event report

Around 15 members and guests assembled at the New China restaurant in the heart of London’s Chinatown for an evening entitled “China – Palate and Tongue”.  We settled in an atmospheric cellar room at 6pm to hear Rodney Mantle give a fascinating illustrated talk about his experiences during his periods working in China.  Not only did he teach Chinese students English, but also French and even Latin!  Rodney included a number of Chinese language insights, among them a number of puns.  We were also initiated into some of the delights of Chinglish – sometimes hilarious English language signs, brought about generally by literally translating Chinese characters into English, e.g. “like play myself”!  After the talk, the restaurant provided an excellent Chinese banquet, with dishes ranging from “fry green beans” to steamed sea bass!  Several of the dishes were definitely not what one would get at the local Chinese takeaway.  Many thanks are due to Rodney for a fascinating evening and to Ivan Hon for organizing the venue and meal.   

Programme

6:00pm-9:00pm

Former member of Council Rodney Mantle FCIL will speak about his extensive knowledge and experiences of teaching foreign languages in China, with a focus on China's linguistic challenges.

After a career in broadcasting with the BBC and teaching at tertiary and secondary levels, Rodney retired to work for ten years in China. There he taught at universities, factories and commercial colleges in Dalian (English and French), Shanghai (English, French, Spanish and Latin) and Shenzhen (English).

The event will include a traditional Chinese banquet with a variety of set dishes at a reputable restaurant in London's Chinatown.

Participants of the event are also welcome to partake in karaoke during the dinner.

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