Who do you consider a native speaker? Does one have to be English, Australian, American etc..? I don't think it's fair if that's the native speaker demand. Personally, I can't even apply since I don't have the Chinese skills yet, but I know I have the English skills, since I'm from Sweden and we are always surrounded by English and therefore most of us speak perfectly, though with an accent, and the same goes for a few other European countries. Since we are learning Chinese and not English, that accent shouldn't be relevant, right? (Being understood that the accent is not so pronounced it's difficult to understand.) I get that one needs to be able to compare different expressions and words between Chinese and English in a very natural way, but one doesn't have to be born in a country where English is the first language to do that. A simple interview would tell if the person is qualified enough.
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June 11, 2013 at 6:40 PMWho do you consider a native speaker? Does one have to be English, Australian, American etc..? I don't think it's fair if that's the native speaker demand. Personally, I can't even apply since I don't have the Chinese skills yet, but I know I have the English skills, since I'm from Sweden and we are always surrounded by English and therefore most of us speak perfectly, though with an accent, and the same goes for a few other European countries. Since we are learning Chinese and not English, that accent shouldn't be relevant, right? (Being understood that the accent is not so pronounced it's difficult to understand.) I get that one needs to be able to compare different expressions and words between Chinese and English in a very natural way, but one doesn't have to be born in a country where English is the first language to do that. A simple interview would tell if the person is qualified enough.