The US Open women’s singles champion, 18-year-old Briton Emma Raducanu — the “British Rainie Yang” (楊丞琳) — has gained a huge fan following, not just for her impressive tennis skills, but for her looks, too. In the immediate aftermath of her US Open victory, Raducanu’s star soared, and she has become the best spokesperson for British multiculturalism.
During interviews, the new US Open champion spoke in fluent Mandarin, thanking the Chinese-speaking world for its support. Perhaps even more surprisingly, she also said that she loved watching Taiwanese television programs, attracting attention to her interest in the culture.
In these interviews, spoken in Mandarin and English, the world became aware of the cultural diversity that she represents. It is clear that she shall be the focus of much attention in both the UK and the Chinese-speaking world.
In this globalized environment, multilingualism has long been a necessary skill. Nowadays, in the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, it is becoming increasingly common at the end of each match for the host to interview the winner on court in front of the spectators.
They talk about how they performed, sometimes in their mother tongue, but primarily using English.
When the audio and visuals of tennis players are broadcast around the world, it is not just their tennis skills and their match performance that is on display — the players also become a symbol and a representative of the values of their country and their culture.
Raducanu’s success is perhaps a testament to the value of pushing ahead with a bilingual country policy. She has shown that the ability to transcend culture and language is a potent weapon for competitiveness, and having this capacity opens up many kinds of possibilities for exposure and influence.
Tao Yi-che is a teacher at Affiliated High School of National Chengchi University.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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