Player not learning language

I have a player in my squad who has been playing in China for the last 7 seasons, yet he doesn't speak Chinese - not even basic! How is this possible?

Where is he from?

I can tell you - if I chose/was forced to moved to China, I wouldn't really put much effort into learning the language anyway. Especially with English being my first language.

Where is he from?

I can tell you - if I chose/was forced to moved to China, I wouldn't really put much effort into learning the language anyway. Especially with English being my first language.

He's from Ivory Coast. He's natural language is French, and he speaks basic English (he spent like half a season in England before moving to China). Anyway, after being 7 years in China, he should be able to speak at least basic Chinese, even if he made no effort to learn it, he's bound to pick something up here and there, I would say. Especially when almost all his teammates and the the backroom staff at his current/previous clubs have been Chinese.

I'm not sure how natural it is for Western Africans to learn Chinese. Not exactly the easiest language in the world, even after seven years.

I'm not sure how natural it is for Western Africans to learn Chinese. Not exactly the easiest language in the world, even after seven years.

I have another African player in my squad, from Democratic Republic Congo. He's on his first season and speaks Chinese fluently...

This might help

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080713103927AAh5li3

This might help

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080713103927AAh5li3

I accept that Chinese may be one of the hardest languages to learn, but does the game actually recognize that some languages can be harder to learn than others. And it still seems completely unrealistic to me than one player hasn't picked up even basic Chinese after 7 seasons, while another is fluent after less than a season.

Has anyone seen other examples of players not even picked up basic of a language after playing in a country for several seasons?

I'm not sure how it works. Perhaps there is a value of 1 to 20 for the languages? Coupled with aspects such as Determination and Adaptability? I'm just speculating.

Either way - there's not a lot you can personally do to make one of your players learn Chinese

I'm not sure how it works. Perhaps there is a value of 1 to 20 for the languages? Coupled with aspects such as Determination and Adaptability? I'm just speculating.

Either way - there's not a lot you can personally do to make one of your players learn Chinese

I know that. Was just wondering if it might be a bug, or if it's deliberately programmed that some players may not learn a language even after 7 years (or more).

Thanks anyway.

I'm not sure how it works. Perhaps there is a value of 1 to 20 for the languages? Coupled with aspects such as Determination and Adaptability? I'm just speculating.

Either way - there's not a lot you can personally do to make one of your players learn Chinese

Adaptability and determination would play a crucial role in whether a player learns a new language. Perhaps 7 years is not enough?

There are players irl in Germany - and not too few - who don't even speak basic German after years of playing and living here. And to any European Chinese is incredibly hard to learn.

It might be very realistic, actually

In England, I can't think of a foreign player who can't at least speak very basic English. But this is because for well over 100 years, English has dominated the international stage as a global language and is really quite easy to learn.

Chinese is a rapdily expanding language that will soon become a global language on par with English, but at the moment it is not. Therefore, foreign players in England feel far more motivated to learn the language and probably felt motivated to learn it before they even came to the country due to its importance. However, players might feel less motivated to learn Chinese.

FM has a value for the language difficulty. Afaik, Chinese has the highest rating possible.

If he is living within the country uninterrupted for seven years, he will/must have picked up some chinese. Period.

edit:some background info; I have a MD in linguistics, and its about your everyday needs/doings. Every morning when hes eating corn-flakes, after 7 years, he WILL know the chinese word for that. Same with the words you use in any conversation, like hello, my name is, Vinny Jones, toilet, soap, gorgeous looking girl, I like you, come here. Actually, when he knows the basic verbs, he can already have a basic concersation. Add that china is one of the countries of the world, where any foreign language knowledge statistically is at the very bottom. Unless theyve been flying him in from his homeland for every game, he must know some basic chinese.

If he is living within the country uninterrupted for seven years, he will/must have picked up some chinese. Period.

True - I live in England and pick up a Chinese every Friday night.

I have a player in my squad who has been playing in China for the last 7 seasons, yet he doesn't speak Chinese - not even basic! How is this possible?

Different languages are naturally harder to learn and also have less status. For instance a player moving to Mongolia, would never really learn Mongolian as its not going to help him in the long run nor is it an easy pick up language. English oth is a global language, so a player living in the UK would be more likely to learn English due its wider appeal - plus it is also a lot easier to learn than Chinese.

FYI: there are people over here in japan who have been here years (yes many of them footballers) who still give interviews through interpreters. *ugh* But yeah, the personal motivation of the player is the main thing. Obviously some people absorb more naturally into the local country than others.

I had a chinese teacher from Zambia in high school. Wasn't the best but he knew the language well!

I've seen something similar, a player (English) who was at R. Madrid for 12 years, was even captain and didn't even know basic Spanish!

But in the editor, Chinese is as hard a language as you get, on par with another, which I can't remember. Also, adaptability, determination and his personality will affect it:thup:

Learning Chinese isnt so hard, just need to get you head around the tones and thats it. At least for speaking anway. There is almost nothing in the way of grammar, no plaural, no tenses, no masculine/feminine version of words, verb endings, multiple pronouns. Basic Chinese understanding would probably take less time than English simply because the English is such an irregular language with such a huge vocabulary. Fluency and being able to read/write to a decent level using proper characters rather than Bopomofo is another thing.

Put it this way in 2 years of not studying any Chinese and just learning by listening I have managed to pick up enough Mandarin and Taiwanese to understand what my students are talking about in the classroom when they should be speaking English and survive on a day to day basis. I cant hold a conversation but can generally work out the idea of what someone is trying to say to me in most situations I find myself in on a day to day basis. Strangely enough I become a lot better when I am drunk.

That's just funny how could you possibly but in a country for nearly 10 years and not know the language? He must have tried his best not to learn it...

This is a bug! dont worry!

Can t blame him...

I've been learning french at school for about 7 years with little luck =P

but i picked up german just from living there for 2 years as a kid (apparently, can't remember all that much now)