In the West, Mandarin Chinese is one of the hottest new languages to learn. As China’s importance in the world economy increases and interest in Chinese culture grows, more and more people are discovering the relevance of learning Mandarin Chinese.
Business and Commerce
As China is the second largest economy in the world, a fast-growing market and a great export country, learning Mandarin Chinese may open up a number of financial and commercial opportunities for you.
China is one the United States’ major trading partners and many Western companies have found success by finding Chinese trade partners, shifting their manufacturing operations to China and/or expanding their enterprises to the Chinese market. As a result, many international companies–as well as government bodies–consider the ability to speak Mandarin Chinese a great asset. Learning Chinese could give you just the edge you need to land an important international job.
Most Native Speakers
Mandarin Chinese is the language with the greatest number of native speakers in the world – 836 million people worldwide. This high number is due to China’s large population and the presence of many Chinese emigrant communities around the world. Therefore learning Mandarin Chinese would help you communicate with almost one-fifth of the world’s population and gain access to the ideas of the second biggest group of Internet users after English speakers.
Travel to China
China is a fascinating country and one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Visitors to China marvel at sights like the Great Wall of China, the Silk Road, Beijing’s Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven, Suzhou’s Classical Gardens and Xian’s Qin Terracotta Army. Learning Mandarin Chinese would facilitate your travels and help you to better communicate with and understand the people you will encounter there.
Relatively Easy Grammar
Many people think that learning Mandarin Chinese will be difficult. In fact, Mandarin Chinese’s use of tones and a writing system composed of characters instead of an alphabet can be off-putting. However, what many people do not know is that Mandarin Chinese has a relatively easy grammar system.
There are no verb conjugations in Mandarin Chinese, no cases, no distinctions for number and gender and, for English speakers, no new word-order combination to learn. For anyone who has wrestled with Russian or Finnish grammar, this can be a welcome revelation.
Rewards
With the rise of China’s economy and the growing popularity of the Chinese language, learning Mandarin Chinese may not be as difficult as you once thought and may bring with it a number of rewards.
Sarah E. Rogers - Sarah E. Rogers is a freelance writer and translator based in Madrid, Spain. She currently writes for NileGuide as their Local Expert in ...
