‘TikTok Refugees’ are studying Mandari...

In a number of days, TikTok might be banned within the US, rendering the app unusable and eradicating it from app shops. As a substitute of constructing do with Instagram Reels, individuals appeared for a more in-depth various and located Chinese language social media app “RedNote” or Xiaohongshu, which interprets to “little pink e book.” It shot to the highest of the Apple App Retailer obtain listing, and in response to Reuters, greater than 700,000 customers joined the service inside simply a few days. Apparently, although, RedNote is not the one app that has benefited from TikTok’s looming ban. The language studying app Duolingo has revealed that it has seen a “216 p.c progress in new Chinese language (Mandarin) learners within the US in comparison with this time final yr.”

Whereas RedNote has an English interface, most of its content material is in Chinese language, and American customers are in all probability hoping to have the ability to work together with extra movies. As TechCrunch notes, the graph Duolingo posted clearly reveals an enormous uptick in new learners on the identical time RedNote shot up in reputation. On TikTok, Duolingo posted movies with the hashtags #rednote and #tiktokban. In a single video, somebody sporting a masks of the app’s inexperienced owl mascot is instructing Mandarin Chinese language for newcomers, beginning with “Welcome, TikTok refugees.”

In the meantime, RedNote’s authentic Chinese language customers are getting language classes from the app’s American imports. They’re now apparently getting schooled on gen Alpha American slang and TikTok traits, like “my shayla” and “Uncooked. Subsequent query.” Chinese language customers are additionally having enjoyable with the brand new customers, telling them that they are their “Chinese language spy” and jokingly asking for his or her information to offer to China’s authorities.

TikTok’s proprietor, ByteDance, solely has till January 19 to promote the app’s US property to stop a shutdown.