I want to learn Mandarin Chinese. Is it worth the time investment?

[BurnoutBinLaden]

There are three main reasons why I want to learn the language:

1. The 21st century will belong to China. My parents used to tell me, as a teenager, that I ought to learn Mandarin. Even Hong Kong is moving away from Cantonese, with business being done in Mandarin. But my wide eyed wonder of China's rise is tempered by Japan's rise and fall in the 80s-back then, everyone and their inu was learning Japanese and preparing for Nihon to take over the world...then the property bubble burst.

2. I am actually interested in the language. I love looking up the etymology of characters, learning how they were formed. I learn a bit about Chinese history in the process as well.

3. The large Chinese community in Vancouver means I will have no problems practising the language...although I hear more Chinese in Vancouver speak Canto than Mandarin.

I'm at Douglas and have heard of Ralph Lake but don't want to spend any money yet. I would prefer to get some tapes and books from the library to cover reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension, and augment my learning by finding people to converse with and consuming Chinese language media-once I become more advanced I want to tune into local media such as Fairchild Radio or the various TV shows on Omni or Shaw Multicultural Channel. Although I'm not sure if it's more Canto or Mandarin.

Thoughts, ideas, opinions?

Edit: I feel like I should expand on the economic aspect of learning Mandarin. I am black, specifically Ethiopian, and I was watching BBC World one day and there was a program about Africans doing business in China. China has invested bazillions into my parents' homeland. Yes, business is converging to English, but it is my firm belief that learning Mandarin will give me that crucial edge.

Edit 2: To clear up any misconceptions-I would like some tips on how to learn. There are a boatload of methods for RWSL, I just thought of a more traditional self-taught approach mixed with immersion (another idea I had was to join a meetup.com Mandarin speaking group, but they might be discriminatory or elitist and I don't play that shit. Side note-I've heard of horror stories about SFU Mandarin based clubs that shut themselves off to foreigners who join, speaking entirely in Mandarin and leaving the unfortunate newcomer out of the circle)

[StylinRed]

no you should learn greek they're goin places


3. no more speak mandarin these days

Ralph Lake at Douglas College friend and gf etc took classes from him and they ended up speaking rapidly it's worth it imo and you get credits

[BurnoutBinLaden]

Originally Posted by StylinRed

no you should learn greek they're goin places

I don't live in Kits anymore so Greek won't help me much

Besides my economic opportunities will probably shrink just by virtue of knowing the language

[Marco911]

If there's a global language the world is converging to, it's going to be English, not Chinese.

[bcedhk]

Find a job at pricemart in richmond, you'll be fluent in mandarin within a year
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[twitchyzero]

a great way to learn a new language I find is to watch TV with subtitles.
where to find chinese tv with english subtitles readily available...that i dont know.

[saiko]

None of you guys have so far answered his question... He didn't ask how or where to learn, but is it worthwhile?

My opinion, YES. It is worthwhile to learn the language, only if you have intentions of working in China in the foreseeable future. Though, it is not a necessity, as business in China lately, are shifting to be conducted in English as well, you should actually spend some time in China learning it's culture (the good and bad of China.)

Many common misconceptions, some are true and some are wildly false. Decide what type of lifestyle you want in life before thinking, "If I go to China and do business, I will be very rich and happy".

[Razor Ramon HG]

Worthwhile, but I find Chinese a hard language to speak due to the various tones.

There is also no alphabet system, so you will actually have to learn how to read and write each and every word.

[noventa]

you should learn it because learning is fun. Don't view it as a chore, but as a challenge! Good luck!

[freakshow]

Yes, it's worthwhile to learn mandarin.

The only way you'll progress with it (like any language) is to use it as frequently as possible. Which means, in addition to taking classes, you need to find people to talk to.

[xilley]

I wish I didnt understand them c-lais at the supermarkets, So HERE have mine !

[VRYALT3R3D]

English is still considered to be the international business language. I doubt Mandarin will surpass English, and definitely not in Canada.

Learning a new language is always good though, do it. But only because YOU want to.

[rsx]

It depends if you have plans to do business involving any of the chinese speaking nations.

[Glove]

so instead of forcing the chinese to learn english,

we are considering learning chinese?



its happening...

[noventa]

^
WHAT?? is that english? chinese? gibberish?

[urrh]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

a great way to learn a new language I find is to watch TV with subtitles.
where to find chinese tv with english subtitles readily available...that i dont know.

tv stops being a good way to learn a language after you're about 5 years old. i only know a handful of japanese phrases from all the anime i used to watch, definitely not enough to hold a conversation. adults have to actively utilize a language for it to stick.

[Valour]

I say no. Prioritize your education towards engineering or law. That career path can lead you to a worthwhile global career including china. You can learn Chinese on the side as a Hobby
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Also, just be prepared, Chinese are pretty racist towards black people...

[FerrariEnzo]

Unless you do business in China, i dont see a point...

[BurnoutBinLaden]

I've been doing some background research, and came across a thread on The Straight Dope. The basic points made in that thread are:

-Most business between Chinese and Westerners is done in English, because English is the main business language.
-Chinese businessmen who work internationally will be better at English than I will ever be in Mandarin, and in a pinch translators can be hired.

However, I still feel as though Mandarin will be useful for me, because it will help me understand Chinese culture. And that is extremely important for guanxi-people respect you more if you make the effort to speak in their language. Also, as I have said before, I find the language inherently fascinating.

[dasani604]

Originally Posted by BurnoutBinLaden

I've been doing some background research, and came across a thread on The Straight Dope. The basic points made in that thread are:

-Most business between Chinese and Westerners is done in English, because English is the main business language.
-Chinese businessmen who work internationally will be better at English than I will ever be in Mandarin, and in a pinch translators can be hired.

However, I still feel as though Mandarin will be useful for me, because it will help me understand Chinese culture. And that is extremely important for guanxi-people respect you more if you make the effort to speak in their language. Also, as I have said before, I find the language inherently fascinating.

If you have a personal interest, then by all means do it. Learn the language.

If you need to obtain clients for some kind of sales of a service/product or, in general, customers for your business, catering to the customer's cultural language usually works as a plus. Vancouver is a good example of this. Ignore the Asian languages, even Spanish clients prefer to speaking to someone who can speak Spanish. It's a concept of human interaction. Therefore, it doesn't matter if you're going to go to China or not for business.

The point is, learning additional languages can only benefit you. Do it on the side and practice with people who can speak Mandarin. You never know when knowing the language may come in handy.

[Verdasco]

do it because of the movie looper, did u not see shanghai in the future......? hot hookers everywhere

[MelonBoy]

Coming from someone who speaks canto

I would say learn mando.. apparently its easier to learn then canto.
Mando is considered china's "main" language, also from what i've notice.. most canto speakers can speak english anyways! its usually the mando chinese speakers I find either know little english or none.. (thats just person experience though..)

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

MANDARIN SPEAKING GIRLFRIEND.

i don't care what classes you take or where you move. your chinese will exponentially sky rocket if you get a girl that speaks mandarin better than english.

just find one you like a lot, you'll put in more effort into learning this shit than you do on youporn trying to find the right video to get you off.

trust me on this one. being cbc, i went to chinese school for 10 fucking years, mandarin speaking (sorta) at home. man my mandarin sucked.

then came the mandarin speaking girls... i swear it's like those 10 years compressed into 1.

the more girls the better. the better your mandarin, the more sly and clever you can be, and that leads to bargaining skills (you'll need this for business for sure) and romping. so it will help you in more than one way. romp away buddy, romp away.

[prelude_prince]

I am Canto, and I do business in HK and Southern parts of China.

Mandarin is an absolute necessity for me. My clients/customers here do NOT speak english nor do they even attempt to try to learn the language even when doing business with westerners. In my experience, even Westerners bring someone along in advance to translate for them. One guy here said it best, "catering to the customer's cultural language usually works as a plus". When Obama visited China and met Hu Jin Tao, I believe they communicated through translator, and Obama even said "nihao" to him in a friendly gesture. Chinese eat it up when westerners speak canto/mandarin, because they think it's a form of respect that you took the lengths to learn their language, and also because it's rare, compared to let's say an English speaking Asian. If you are black and speak good Mandarin. You'll be a god.

So in short. If you want to work in China, I would think Mandarin is crucial. Other then that, it's just another language/skill you want to keep.

[Kidnapman]

Bro, it's kool ya just gotta go wit da flow n shit. Noma sayin my 那个?