Why bother?
Reasons for studying Chinese are many and varied. Are you a student facing finding a career in the 21st century? Are you interested in Chinese culture? Do you want to travel or live in China? Do you want an interesting hobby? Here, Chinese refers to Standard Mandarin, the official spoken language of the People's Republic of China and the official language of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
There is already considerable information and discussion on the web concerning both learning the Chinese language and reasons for doing so. Enter "why study Chinese" or "why learn Chinese" in a search engine such as Google and you will find results as numerous as they are varied. Overwhelmingly these results suggest that the idea, once widespread in English speaking countries, that since "everyone speaks English" learning a foreign language isn't necessary has no place in either the 21st century or the 2nd millennium.
The links below to sites exploring reasons for learning Chinese suggest this paradigm has shifted, and that while English remains without peer in its number of non-native speakers and the extent of its use in the global community, the inability to speak other languages will be a serious limitation and detriment. Even knowing a little of the local language will elicit respect from those you speak it with, showing that you have taken an interest in and value communicating with them.
- Connecticut College
- http://www.conncoll.edu/academics/departments/eastasian/facts.html
- Christian Science Monitor
- http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1108/p02s01-ussc.html
- Union College
- http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/MOLNDEPT/Chinese/why.html
- University of New England (Australia)
- http://www.une.edu.au/lcl/asianlang/chinese/
- Exploring Abroad
- http://www.exploringabroad.com/reasons-for-chinese.htm
- The Guardian (UK)
- http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1828418,00.html
- Time Magazine
- http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501060626/story.html
- 2008 Olympics
- Beijing 2008 Olympics
Please make your own search and draw your own conclusions. If you find other web sites you feel are useful, feel free to let us know.
While most of these articles focus on career and professional opportunities, there are other, equally valid reasons for learning the Chinese language which are explored on our web site and can be accessed at links below or to the right under the category, "Why learn Chinese?"