I am a quiet person, preferring to lay low as opposed to shouting out every opinion. I was the Chinese Australian, Asian student in class who almost always never talked in class. In all honesty, I don't mind being the quietest amongl a group of people.

我是一个安静的人，宁愿保持低调，也不愿意大声说出我的意见。我是班里的华裔澳大利亚学生，在课堂上几乎从不说话。老实说，我也不介意在一群人中做最安静的那个。

In a stereotypical Chinese family, it's regarded as respectful when you listen. It's respectful to listen to your elders and don't speak up against seniority -challenging them is seen as rude and out of place. The traditional Asian mentality is 'listen first, speak later' but if you don't speak up at all, that's perfectly okay - you're seen as keenly learning by listening.

在一个典型的中国家庭里，倾听是一种尊重。听长辈的话是尊重长辈的表现，不要反对长辈的意见——挑战他们会被认为是粗鲁和不合时宜的。亚洲人的传统思维是“先听后说”，但如果你根本不说话最好，说明你是正在倾听中敏锐地学习呢。

Growing up it was considered a sin if I spoke up or interrupted my dad. It was absolute horror if I disagreed with what he or elder Asian men thought. While some might be scared and scarred of piping up because of these experiences, back then I thought it was common-sense to kept my thoughts to myself and not start a fight.

在我的成长过程中，如果我大声说话或打断我父亲的话，就会被认为是一种罪过。如果我不同意他或年长的亚洲男人的想法，那绝对是可怕的。虽然有些人可能会因为这些经历而害怕甚至伤痕累累，但当时我认为把自己的想法藏在心里，不起冲突是常识。


The focus on listening to the teacher and more specifically rote learning in the Asian classroom can encourage quietness. In schools in Singapore and Malaysia, it's common for students to remain quiet as the teacher teaches in front of the class. It's common for students to also remain quiet when the teacher asks if there are any questions at the end of the class.

在亚洲的课堂上，专注于听老师讲课，更具体地说是死记硬背的学习，让人更安静了。在新加坡和马来西亚的学校里，当老师在课堂前讲课时，学生保持安静是很常见的。在课堂结束时，当老师问学生是否有问题时，学生们通常也会保持沉默。

Being quiet in class for over a decade, chances are you might get used to being quiet for a lifetime.

在课堂上保持安静十多年，你可能会习惯安静一辈子。

In Chinese culture, rote learning creates an atmosphere of solitary competition and solitary task completion is fostered. In 2005, a study by the University of Michigan found Asian-American schoolchildren academically outperform their Western counterparts because they try harder - and spend less time with friends. In her book exploring the significance of introverts, writer Susan Cain refers to studies that found Asian students problem-solve better when they remain quiet and argues introverts exhibit 'quiet persistence'.

在中国文化中，死记硬背创造了一种孤独竞争和独自完成任务的氛围。2005年，密歇根大学的一项研究发现，亚裔美国学生在学业上的表现优于西方学生，因为他们更努力，而且花更少的时间和朋友在一起。作家苏珊·凯恩(Susan Cain)在探讨内向者重要性的书中提到，有研究发现，亚洲学生保持安静时解决问题的能力更好，她认为内向者表现出“安静的毅力”。


During secondary school in Singapore, my class (of Chinese, Malay and Indian backgrounds) sat in silence at our own desks practising maths and chemistry formulas over and over every day. We were allowed to go home when we came up with the answers.

在新加坡读中学时，我的班里有华裔、马来人和印度人，每天大家都安静地坐在自己的课桌前，一遍又一遍地练习数学和化学公式。我们想出答案了，才允许我们回家。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


Another reason why some Asians are quiet can be attributed to their sheltered upbringing centred around Confucian morals. In a typical Asian family you are encouraged to spend time developing individualistic skills which means spending time with yourself as opposed to socialising.

一些亚洲人安静的另一个原因可以归结为他们在儒家道德的庇护下成长。在一个典型的亚洲家庭中，他们会鼓励你花时间培养个人技能，这意味着花时间和自己在一起，而不是去社交。

According to lawyer and author Amy Chua, Tiger parents constantly push their children to excel at academic and non-academic achievements. As a mark of filial piety, it's not uncommon for these kids to obediently practice musicall instruments, sports or a craft for hours each day away from the rest of the world.

律师兼作家Amy Chua说，严厉的父母不断地督促他们的孩子在学术和非学术方面取得优异成绩。作为孝道的标志，这些孩子每天远离外界，乖乖地练习乐器、运动或手工，这种情况并不罕见。


At the insistence of my parents, as a kid I practised the piano each day after school.Back then my parents also bought me a Nintendo GameBoy – they rather I stay home and play video games than stay out late. I didn't mind solitary game time at home as this gave me reason to avoid shopping centres. Shopping centres overwhelm me.

在父母的坚持下，小时候我每天放学后都练习钢琴。那时候，我父母还给我买了一个任天堂游戏机——他们宁愿我呆在家里玩电子游戏，也不愿我在外面玩到很晚。我不介意独自在家玩游戏，因为这给了我避开去购物中心的理由。购物中心让我受不了。

At university, my international student Asian friends sat together in tutorials and during lunch every day. I joined them as I found it hard to get a word in conversation around my usually louder Western classmates. I guess to non-Asians, we seem quiet and keep to ourselves.

在大学里，我的亚洲留学生朋友们每天在辅导课和午餐时都坐在一起。我也加入了他们的行列，因为我发现在我那些通常比较吵闹的西方同学周围，我很难开口说话。我想对非亚洲人来说，我们似乎很安静，也不跟别人交往。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


Also, international students might keep to themselves in Australia because they aren't confident speaking English as their first language. And perhaps they are quiet because they want time to themselves to study (maybe maintain face and pride of working hard too).

此外，国际学生在澳大利亚可能会保持自我，因为他们没有信心说英语作为他们的第一语言。也许他们安静是因为他们想要自己学习的时间(也可能是为了保持努力工作的面子和自豪感)。


There's also no forgetting that sometimes when you speak up as an Asian person, you'll be on the receiving end of racism. The fear of facing discrimination is indeed a reason why some Asians choose to be silent on occasions.

也不要忘记，有时当你作为一个亚洲人说话时，会成为种族主义的受害者。害怕受到歧视确实是一些亚洲人选择在某些场合保持沉默的一个原因。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


Many times here in Australia l'll walk into a clothes shop, drift past a silent white salesperson staring me down. I'll then hear them greet someone behind me. I'll glance around and see a white person walking in, the white salesperson all smiles. I'd drift to the exit, their small talk ringing in my ears. Sometimes I wonder what response l'd get when I open my mouth in front of people who are so different from me.

在澳大利亚，有很多次我走进一家服装店，路过白人售货员，他就盯着我看也不说话。然后我会听到他们跟我身后的人打招呼。我环顾四周，看到一个白人走进来，白人销售员满脸笑容。我一边走向出口，一边在耳边回响着他们的寒暄。我也很想知道，要是我和这些与我如此不同的人开口说话，会得到什么样的回应。

Based upon Carl Jung's writings on introversion and extroversion, author Susan Dembling argues introverts gain energy in solitude and quiet, whereas extroverts gain energy in social situations with interaction

.根据卡尔·荣格关于内向和外向的著作，作者苏珊·登布林认为，内向的人在独处和安静中获得能量，而外向的人在社交场合通过互动获得能量。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


That describes me perfectly. Being an introvert never bothered me. My ideal weekend involves having alone time. As an introvert, it's natural for me to keep quiet, remain silent in the background and reflect on what's going on.

这正好描述了我，作为一个内向的人，我从来没有烦恼过。我理想的周末包括独处的时间。作为一个内向的人，对我来说，保持安静是很自然的，在自然中保持沉默，反思正在发生的事情。


Not all Asians are quiet, silent and introverted. Some are more outgoing than others or extroverted during particular moments that matter or excite. For instance loud karaoke is a common pastime in Japan. Typical Chinese wedding receptions involve a good number of roofrattling toasts. Chinese people are no stranger to heated bargaining matches at markets in South East Asia.

并不是所有的亚洲人都安静、沉默、内向。有些人比其他人更外向，或者在重要或激动的特定时刻更外向。例如，大声的卡拉ok在日本是一种常见的消遣，典型的中国婚宴包括很多高声祝酒词，中国人对东南亚市场上激烈的讨价还价也并不陌生。

In a world where the confidently loud and outspoken dominate the spotlight and discriminationis part of society, it can be hard for quiet people and introverts to share their voice. That said,there are introverts who excel as public speakers from practice and researching their audience.

在一个自信、大声、直言不讳的人主宰着聚光灯和歧视的世界里，另一部分安静的人和内向的人很难分享他们的声音。有些内向的人要通过练习和研究听众而成为出色的公众演说家。

Today it's encouraging to see more Asian Australian faces in Australian media speaking up against racism and pursuing their ambitions underneath a bamboo glass ceiling. But presumably some of us prefer to stay in the background and live our lives as they are.

今天，在澳大利亚媒体上看到越来越多的亚裔澳大利亚人站出来反对种族主义，在竹制的玻璃天花板下追求自己的抱负，这是令人鼓舞的。但大概我们中的一些人更喜欢待在幕后，过自己本来的生活。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


Being a quiet Asian person doesn't mean you don't ever want to speak up, meet new people and make friends. We just take the quieter approach, getting to know each other over time through quiet moments.

作为一个安静的亚洲人，并不意味着你不想说话，不想认识新朋友，不想交朋友。我们只是采取更安静的方式，通过安静的时刻慢慢了解彼此。

It may be nice meeting someone extroverted eager to get to know and finding out you click right away. But it's something special when you slowly connect with others over silence.

遇到一个外向的人，渴望了解你，并发现你马上就合得来，这可能是件好事。但你在沉默中慢慢与他人建立联系，也是一件特别的事情。