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I see a lot of people nowadays who want to learn Chinese or want to teach their kids Chinese.
I don't understand the obsession.
Yes China has 1.5 billion people, but the languages is very focused mostly on China and not widespread like Spanish and French.
Also, the kids who have Chinese parents in America, most of them don't speak Mandarin fluently and almost none of them can write. The languages is so difficult that even many people from China cannot write that well.
And I don't think people really should worry about businesses with China because English will be just fine, just like businesses with any other countries.
The chances are, no matter how much you put your effort to learn Chinese, the Chinese people will probably speak English better than you speaking Mandarin.
I've seen many people who tried to learn Chinese and they all gave up relatively quick. All gave up on basic level. Only person I have seen who learned was my teacher from college (She studied for long years in Taiwan and China).
My opinion is that unless you are 100% sure that you will go all the way with Chinese, don't even bother learning it. Better to use that time on something else.
So yeah, many people seem to be very afraid of China's economy, but there's just no way in hell that Chinese will surpass English and it would just take too much time to even learn a little that it probably does not even worth trying it.
OP, if you do not want to learn Mandarin then don't but why attempt to discourage others who want to?
It is their choice to learn what they wish as it is your choice to do the same and someone else's choice is not your concern.
Personally I would like to be able to speak Mandarin however our daughter in law is Chinese.
Learning Japanese was supposed to be the wave of the future, back in the 80's, "so you can get a good job". Japan's economy has been a shambles for decades and nobody talks about learning Japanese anymore.
But if learning Mandarin can help to get your takeout order filled faster, go for it!
The "humanities" help us learn about the human experience and gain understanding and appreciation for others. Learning multiple languages often results in better understanding of one's primary language and higher scores on reading tests.
Why the concern over others wanting to earn it? The language(s) they choose to learn should not matter in the least to you.
I'm not a hater of Chinese language or anything like that.
The language is so difficult that it just is not realistic to learn it unless you are willing to put insane amount of work for long years.
And everyone I've seen around me gave up. All of them.
At the same time I've seen many people who learned Spanish or French.
I'm just trying to be realistic.
Mandarin is so difficult and even if you manage to learn it, there may be little to no reward for learning it.
And like I said before, even if you manage to learn some, Chinese people will still talk to you in English unless you can speak fluent Mandarin.
My recommendation is that if you want to learn Chinese, try learning Western European languages like Spanish or French first. If you can't even handle Spanish or French, then there's just no way in hell you can learn Chinese.
If you study Mandarin for few years and just give up, it's a waste. If you learn Spanish or French for few years, then you can actually be good at it and even if you stop there, it won't be a waste. See the difference?
Again, not a hater. I'm saying it from my life experience J and just trying to be realistic and want to save people from wasting their time.
Let's look at it form an uncommon angle. Learning Chinese makes lots of sense for those men want a Chinese wife. No pain, no gain. ☺😁
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