Why Study Mandarin?| 3 min read
The world’s most widely spoken language and yet travel to most countries outside of Asia and you wouldn’t know it. The US and UK have recently made Mandarin an optional subject at most schools along with German, French, Russian and Spanish that have been the usual choices for foreign language studies. Mandarin is becoming more and more useful and the reasons are all very different as to why people study it, here are just some reasons to make Mandarin the next language that you learn…
‘Mandarin is absolutely the ideal language to learn – 1.3 billion native speakers and practically no grammar! Well, granted, if you want to learn the 56,000 characters you’re in for a challenge, but once they’re down, you’ll be able to read, not one, but 12 languages! So go right ahead – it’s easier than French, more useful than Spanish and it even provides a free cultural shock as a bonus. Zou ba!’ Christian Føhrby, TTC intern (Hengshui) from Denmark
‘Sure you can get by with mime when shopping or ordering at a restaurant but if you want to have real conversations and relationships with locals then it’s important that you speak their language. Mandarin is difficult to master in fact I’m still trying to grasps the basics, but the smile you receive from the locals when you give it a go makes the effort all worth it!’ Sasha Peakall, i-to-i intern (Shaoxing) from Australia
‘Mandarin is getting really popular nowadays, there are large amount of people speaking it all over the world. Learning mandarin can also help you to better understand the unique Chinese culture’ June Yue, Cross-Culture Communication student, Sydney University (Australia) from China
‘Different people could have different reasons for this, personal interest, traveling, getting a good job. Mandarin is the world’s most spoken language and china is developing so fast.’ Rice Li, TTC Placement Partner (Shenyang) from China
‘I feel Mandarin will give me a competitive advantage in the job market. With English and Chinese I can communicate with over half the world and this will open many doors in the business world!’ Ally Atha, i-to-i intern (Shanghai) from Scotland
‘Do in China as the Chinese do, to be a “Chinese person”, the first thing to learn is the language. So you will know Chinese people and culture more and better enjoy your stay in China.’ Coco Tan, ImmerQi staff (Beijing) from China
‘Language is the most important communication tool for carrying information. The use of Mandarin as a common language is very helpful to overcome language barriers and to promote social interaction. The use of Mandarin is of importance to in the development of the social, economic, political and cultural aspects of China.’ Vincent Lyot, PHD student at North East University (Shenyang) from China‘Apart from the very obvious reason that it will give you huge advantages in the future of business globally, but for the very same reason as why you would learn any other language. China is also known for its long history, genuinely interesting culture and the friendliness of the people; something that knowledge of Mandarin will give you an ”all access” key to.’ Fiona Boyle, Business Management student, UIBE (Beijing) from England
‘Mandarin is simply the language of the economic future’ Muhammed Ashraf, i-to-i intern (Zunyi) from England
