When the Host Ramped Up English, Chinese Mathematicians Collective Counterattack in Chinese! 當主持人狂飆英文，中國數學家集體用中文反擊！

👉 Surreal Scene: The “Talking Past Each Other” Moment Between an English-Speaking Host and Chinese Acceptance Speeches

January 3, 2026, Shanghai International Convention Center. During the awards ceremony of the 10th World Chinese Mathematicians Congress, the host announced everything in English, while rows of scholars with yellow skin and black hair sat in silence below. When the spotlight hit the stage, a dramatic scene unfolded:

· The first senior professor ignored the English introduction, took the microphone, and directly delivered his acceptance speech in Chinese, without glancing at the host once.
· The second and third award winners seamlessly followed suit, with their Chinese expressions of gratitude echoing through the venue, forming a jarring duet with the host’s mechanically repeated English.
· Netizens quipped: “Thought I’d stumbled onto a Hollywood set, only to realize it was a scene of collective uprising by Chinese scholars!”

This farce, dubbed the “language war,” exposed the distorted understanding of “international flair” at certain academic events—using English as a performance on Chinese turf is like embroidering English labels onto a dragon robe.

👉 The Battle for Linguistic Dignity: From “Catering to the West” to “Cultural Awakening”

① The Misplaced “International Standard”

· At the conference, 95% of attendees were Chinese, with foreign guests making up less than 5%. Yet the host insisted on English announcements, criticized by scholars as a “lingering colonial mindset.”
· A stark contrast: Fields Medalist Andrey Okounkov (of Russian descent) gave a presentation using Chinese slides and simultaneous translation, showing respect for the host culture.

② The Mother-Tongue Confidence of the New Generation of Scholars

· Gold Prize winners Wang Hong, Deng Yu, and other mathematicians under 45 delivered speeches in Chinese with rigorous logic and vibrant energy, a stark contrast to their restrained demeanor during English interviews.
· University of Chicago professor Deng Yu stated plainly: “Mathematical ideas require the most natural expression, and for me, that’s my mother tongue, Chinese.”

③ Shing-Tung Yau’s “Silent Protest”
As the congress chair, Shing-Tung Yau delivered all his speeches in Chinese and emphasized in an exclusive interview: “My efforts for Chinese mathematics have never been about pleasing anyone.” His stance subtly distanced itself from the host’s “linguistic performance.”

👉 The Cost of Pseudo-Internationalization: Academic Farce Fueled by Cultural Inferiority

① The Vicious Cycle of Formalism

· A university professor revealed: International conferences often require “full English papers + English presentations,” even when the audience is entirely Chinese, leading scholars to spend 40% of their energy polishing language rather than content.
· The consequences are evident: Over the past three years, citations of Chinese mathematical papers in top journals have dropped by 12%, with some scholars opting out of conferences due to language barriers.

② The Cognitive Trap of Western-Centrism

· When the host read out the “Lin Chia-Chiao Award” (honoring the Chinese American mathematical master) in English, unaware that Lin Chia-Chiao had once lamented, “Why don’t Chinese scholars think in Chinese?” the absurdity peaked.
· A netizen’s sharp remark: “Using Shakespeare’s language to praise the descendants of Zu Chongzhi is a 21st-century cultural spectacle.”

👉魔幻現場：英文主持撞上中文感言的“雞同鴨講”

2026年1月3日，上海國際會議中心。第十屆世界華人數學家大會頒獎環節，主持人全程英文報幕，台下清一色黃皮膚黑頭髮的學者靜默無聲。當聚光燈打向領獎台，戲劇性一幕上演：

• 首位老教授無視英文引言，接過話筒直接開講中文感言，全程未瞥主持人一眼；
• 第二、第三位獲獎者默契接力，中文致謝響徹會場，與主持人機械重複的英文形成刺耳二重奏；
• 網友辣評：“以為誤入好萊塢片場，結果發現是華人學者集體起義現場！”

這場被戲稱為“語言戰爭”的鬧劇，暴露了某些學術活動對“國際范”的畸形理解——在華人主場用英文表演，恰似給龍袍綉上英文標籤。

👉語言尊嚴之戰：從“迎合西方”到“文化覺醒”

① 被錯置的“國際標準”

• 大會現場95%參會者為華人，外賓佔比不足5%，主持人卻堅持英文串場，被學者斥為“殖民思維殘留”；
• 對比鮮明：菲爾茲獎得主安德烈·奧昆科夫（俄裔）作報告時，主動使用中文PPT並配同聲傳譯，尊重東道主文化。

② 新生代學者的母語自信

• 金獎得主王虹、鄧煜等45歲以下數學家，中文演講時邏輯縝密、神采飛揚，與英文採訪時的拘謹判若兩人；
• 芝加哥大學教授鄧煜直言：“數學思想需要最自如的表達，對我而言就是中文母語。”

③ 丘成桐的“無聲抗議”

作為大會主席，丘成桐全程中文致辭，並在專訪中強調：“我幫中國數學，從來不是為了討好誰。” 其態度與主持人的“語言表演”形成微妙切割。

👉偽國際化的代價：文化自卑催生的學術鬧劇

① 形式主義的惡性循環

• 某高校教授透露：國際會議常要求“全英文論文+英文匯報”，哪怕聽眾全是中國人，導致學者用40%精力打磨語言而非內容；
• 後果顯現：近三年中國數學頂刊論文被引量下降12%，部分學者因語言壁壘放棄參會。

② 西方中心的認知陷阱

• 當主持人用英文念出“林家翹獎”（紀念華裔數學大師），卻不知林家翹生前痛斥“中國學者為何不用中文思考”時，荒誕感達到頂峰；
• 網友銳評：“用莎士比亞的語言讚美祖沖之的後人，堪稱21世紀文化奇觀。”