每日口說挑戰美國的暗黑史——排華法案（The dark history of the Chinese Exclusion Act - Robert Chang）

“Somebody who was born in this country who visited China would later face difficulty getting back in to the USA. We have to keep in mind that the struggles of the Chinese against these exclusion laws really laid down the foundations of civil rights law.” — Iris Chang

What’s going on Voicetube listeners. Hubert here, with a new episode of the Pronunciation Challenge. I got a little history lesson for you today. If you didn’t grow up in Canada or the United States as an Asian North American, chances are you never heard of this “act” or law set by the government. I’m talking about the Chinese Exclusion Act which controlled the amount of Chinese people entering (usually just banning them altogether) the country. You see, there were a lot of Chinese people who traveled to the United States because of the gold rush (that’s why the older Chinese people refer to San Francisco as “Gold Mountain”) or to work on the railroads. However, even if you spent over 10 years living and working there, the government didn’t want you to stay and would find any excuse to keep you out. This was a really racist time and you’ll see why once you finish this video. Let’s get to the featured sentence first.

Today’s featured sentence:
Politicians and labor leaders denounced them for driving down wages, and violence against Chinese individuals became increasingly common.

I’ll say that again.

Politicians and labor leaders denounced them for driving down wages, and violence against Chinese individuals became increasingly common.

Ok, now time for the Pronunciation Tips.


For the first word, we have
politician
Four syllables.
“Po” has a short O sound. “Li” has a short i sound. “Ti” also has a short i sound and “cian” sounds like any “t i o n” sound. “Shun”. Politician.

Next up, we have
violence
Two syllables
Don’t get thrown off by the spelling of this one. The first syllable is “Vio” which sounds like the word “eye” but with a V in front. “Lence” if spelt out like it’s sounds then it would be something like “lenz”. Violence.

Lastly, we have,
individuals
Five syllables.
“In” has a short i sound. “Di” has a short u sound. “Vi” has a short i sound. “DU” if spelt out like how it sounds, would look something like “joo”. “Als” has a short u sound with a double L sound at the end. “ULL”, like a bull. Individuals.


Moving onto Vocabulary!

The first word is:
1. politician
Definition
a member of a government or law-making organization
Used in a sentence you could say,
“Bob is so good with words that I think he should become a politician.”

Next word,
2. denounce
Definition
to criticize something or someone strongly and publicly
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“I denounce everything this employee said and they do not represent the company’s values at all.”

And lastly,
3. wage
Definition:
a particular amount of money that is paid, usually every week, to an employee, especially one who does work that needs physical skills or strength, rather than a job needing a college education
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“Given all the years you’ve spent at this company, I think you should ask for a higher wage.”

Life must have been tough for all the early Chinese settlers in America. They worked hard, got paid very little, and were then blamed for stealing all the work from the locals. (Locals means the people who lived in a particular area or neighborhood) Chinese people were killed by white people and they weren’t even put in jail for the crime! It was truly a horrible time for Chinese people back in the day.

Here’s something interesting that came from this though. The Chinese Exclusion Act also had a law in which Chinese men were allowed in but not Chinese women. Chinese men weren’t allowed to marry white women as well. What happened next is interesting. All the men started playing volleyball in empty parking lots in the Chinatowns. Nine-man volleyball is sort of like volleyball but with different rules. First off, like the name suggests, you can have nine players on the court at all times instead of the regular six. There’s a bunch of other little rules so you should search it up. It’s really interesting. I have many friends in Toronto who played in these nine-man volleyball tournaments. It still happens to this day! You guys should check out the documentary titled, 9-Man directed by Ursula Liang. It’s a fascinating documentary.

Alright, folks, that’s it for today. Make sure to give me a follow on Instagram at hughtran_ and say hi! Get your recordings in if you haven’t done so already! I’ll see everyone again in the next episode! Bye!

Politicians and labor leaders denounced them for driving down wages, and violence against Chinese individuals became increasingly common.

☺Politicians and labor leaders denounced them for driving down wages, and violence against Chinese individuals became increasingly common.
政客及勞工領袖們譴責他們拉低薪資，同時攻擊華人的暴力事件也越來越常見。
【心得】社會的現實面：當本地人覺得利益被侵犯到時，就會開始排拒外來者了。
■politician [͵pɑləˋtɪʃən] (n.C)從政者、政治家、{貶義}政客
■denounce [dɪˋnaʊns] (vt.) (公開)譴責、痛斥；告發、指控；彈劾[(+as)]；通告廢除(或終止)
■wage [wedʒ] (n.C) (尤指支付給體力勞動者並通常按週計算的)工資、工錢、報酬
(vt.)發動(戰爭)；組織、籌備(活動)；進行、從事[(+on/against)]
(vi.)在開展中、在進行中

But as large number of Chinese immigrants found success, American workers began to see them as a threat. Politicians and labor leaders denounced them for driving down wages, and violence against Chinese individuals became increasingly common. 但是當許多中國移民者越來越成功，美國工人卻開始視他們為一種威脅。政治人物和勞工領導者譴責他們壓低薪資，而且針對華人的暴力事件也越來越常見。
◆ drive (sth) down : 壓低(價格,價值等);沿著…向下開;駕車駛去;沿…行駛
◆ denounce [dɪˋnaʊns] (vt.)指責,譴責;告發,指控,彈劾;通告廢除(或終止)
◆ politician [͵pɑləˋtɪʃən] (n.)從事政治者,政治家;[貶]專搞黨派政治的人,政客;通曉政治的人,政治學家
◆ wage [wedʒ]
(n.)(尤指支付給體力勞動者並通常按週計算的)薪水,報酬
(vt.)進行,從事,發動
(vi.)在開展中,在進行中

politicians and labor leaders denounced them for driving down wages, and violence against Chinese individuals became increasingly common.

Politicians and labor leader denounced them for driving down wages, and violence against Chinese individuals became increasingly common.