Why Learn Chinese?   by Ben Pate

in Education    (submitted 2010-12-28)

China is now the dominant manufacturing nation in the world. Many of the products that we use everyday were manufactured or assembled in China. The low cost of labor in China has created an incentive for corporations to move their manufacturing operations to China. For this reason there is a great demand for employees who can Speak Chinese. There are fantastic career opportunities for those who learn Chinese.

Chinese is not just a single language. Actually, Chinese is a group of languages that consists of several versions and many dialects. The most widely spoken is Mandarin. Mandarin is spoken by approximately eight hundred million people. Cantonese is another version of the Chinese language. Standard Mandarin is the official language of the People's Republic of China.

There is a demand for business managers who are fluent in Mandarin Chinese. The amount of international business with China has made this a qualification employers are seeking. Schools and universities are rushing to fill this demand.

Mastering a foreign language always requires hard work. This is particularly true with the Chinese language which is unusually difficult to learn. Chinese does not use a phonetic alphabet. Instead the written language uses picture characters. Chinese has nothing in common with the romance languages such as French, Italian, and Spanish, which have some similarities to one another and with English. Asian languages are a completely different experience to Western students.

Mainland China is a very large country. Most of the Chinese people are in poverty. The country is ruled by a communist dictatorship. Over the past few decades China has become more open in terms of economic development and expansion. Companies all over the world manufacture or assemble their products in China because of the low cost of labor. This has created a demand for business managers who are fluent in the Chinese language. A knowledge of Chinese is a good qualification to have on one's resume. Event though China now has a thriving middle class and has experienced an increase in prosperity, the majority of the people still live in poverty. Most of the population live in the rural areas. These rural areas are undeveloped and should be considered third world. There is a lot of migration from the rural areas to the factory cities. China is definitely a nation in a state of transformation.

In the past only major universities offered classes in the Chinese language. But now, many colleges and universities offer classes in Chinese because of the importance of China in world trade and business. There is a large increase in the number of language institutes and academies that now offer courses in Chinese.

For many years the communist government made it difficult for foreigners to travel to and in China. China is more open now and it is possible to visit China as a tourist. Many scholars and scientist also travel to China for conferences and seminars. Visitors must also be on their best behavior because China is still a totalitarian state despite capitalist economic activity.

About the Author

Many employment and business opportunities arise when you take Chinese language courses. There is a shortage of talented business people who are fluent in the language. There is a great demand for people who can communicate effectively in this language. For the student considering their future profession, your language training will open great opportunities for interesting jobs in international trade.