Don't understand the obsession about wanting to learn Chinese (Mandarin) (school, scholarship)
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I think this is the problem. have you seen those vacancy ads that says " must know how to speak _______ "
when the Japanese built their car factories here, did they require employees to learn Nippongo or did they favor prospective employees who know a little Nippongo?
Nope, a Chinese owned factory does not care you know Chinese or not. It would be nice if you could speak the language of the management team in order to negotiate better but nowhere it says you have to learn Chinese or Japanese.
I think it's very hard for Americans to learn an Asian language but it's much easier the other way around. People who are native Spanish speakers can learn Asian languages quicker because similarities in grammar and speed. English is a very slow pace language compare to Asian languages that are fast pace.
Nope, a Chinese owned factory does not care you know Chinese or not. It would be nice if you could speak the language of the management team in order to negotiate better but nowhere it says you have to learn Chinese or Japanese.
I think it's very hard for Americans to learn an Asian language but it's much easier the other way around. People who are native Spanish speakers can learn Asian languages quicker because similarities in grammar and speed. English is a very slow pace language compare to Asian languages that are fast pace.
Spanish is similar to Asian languages?
What Asian languages are similar to Spanish? I would like to know if that's the case.
I know Indonesian has pretty straight forward grammar like Western European languages but other than that?
I see a lot of people nowadays who want to learn Chinese or want to teach their kids Chinese.
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.
This happens with immigrant families that move to any country. It's not in and of itself a reason not to learn Chinese.
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Originally Posted by monkeyjobs
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.
Fact - Businesses want to tap into the buying power of the growing Chinese middle class. What gives them a competitive edge? Having Chinese speaking employees. This doesn't even include the enterprise market where speaking the country's language is essential to winning any business contract.
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyjobs
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).
Americans as a general population are far behind other countries in knowing multiple languages. There are many factors for this. But know that being fluent in multiple languages is a competitive advantage in the job market!
In any case, Chinese is relatively easy to learn compared to other Asian languages...think Japanese, Korean.
There are a lot of misconceptions about ease of language learning in this thread.
Chinese grammar - fundamentally, similar to English. There are nuances that I won't go into.
Japanese, Korean - not similar to English at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeyjobs
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.
I'd like for my children to learn Chinese and Spanish.
There is absolutely no downside to learning a language especially if you do it when young.
It doesn't matter if jobs are asking if you speak another language, if you can make a connection/network with a person who speaks Chinese and/or if you are familiar with the culture, you're already one step ahead of some one who isn't. If all things are equal; meaning skills, resume, tactfulness, I'd bet 99% of the time they'd consider the person who knows your language than doesn't.
And even if you don't use the language to get a high powered job, you've still learned and appreciated another culture and made your synapses fire in places they might not have otherwise. Learning languages while young is very good for the brain.
China is constantly in transition, they are still heavy in manufacturing, however they are now starting to produce things of quality, such as the aforementioned Huawei phones and devices. They are starting and will transition to better environmental standards and that will take years, and there will be people needed to bridge those cultural gaps.
This happens with immigrant families that move to any country. It's not in and of itself a reason not to learn Chinese.
Fact - Businesses want to tap into the buying power of the growing Chinese middle class. What gives them a competitive edge? Having Chinese speaking employees. This doesn't even include the enterprise market where speaking the country's language is essential to winning any business contract.
Americans as a general population are far behind other countries in knowing multiple languages. There are many factors for this. But know that being fluent in multiple languages is a competitive advantage in the job market!
In any case, Chinese is relatively easy to learn compared to other Asian languages...think Japanese, Korean.
I wouldn't put $5 on a bet like this...
Chinese is not relatively easy to learn compared to Japanese and Korean. Where did you hear that?
They are all about the same difficulty level. To learn basic, Chinese is lot more difficult than JApanese and Korean.
Also, considering how long it took for English to become a global language, there's no chance in hell that Chinese will surpass English in our lifetime. Also keep in mind how simple English basic is to learn.
Learning Mandarin basic can take few years.
I'm just saying that some people seem to be scared of having to know Chinese, which they shouldn't.
I have a sibling who is a Mandarin linguist, the job opportunities have been excellent but mostly with government.
It is interesting to note that only about half of China's population even knows Mandarin. Cantonese is the language spoken most often in Hong Kong where much of Chinese business is located.
I have a sibling who is a Mandarin linguist, the job opportunities have been excellent but mostly with government.
It is interesting to note that only about half of China's population even knows Mandarin. Cantonese is the language spoken most often in Hong Kong where much of Chinese business is located.
I'm pretty sure more than half of China can speak Mandarin.
People in the west, non-Han Chinese, probably don't speak Mandarin that much.
I'm pretty sure more than half of China can speak Mandarin.
People in the west, non-Han Chinese, probably don't speak Mandarin that much.
53% according to actual surveys. Although the government says its closer to 70%, if you believe the Chinese government. My sibling mentioned above lived in China for several years and says many people do not speak Mandarin and very few read and write it.
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.
Again, this is your own opinion which affects only you.
How do you know everyone who attempts to learn Mandarin will fail miserably?
The answer is you don't and it is not your job to save anyone but yourself time.
My recommendation is to quit discouraging learning of any kind and tend to your time and energy only.
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