Is Chinese very important?
Following the global trend of foreign-language learning, Chinese has become a new rising star next to English, French, Spanish and German. The glamour of the culture and history behind Chinese is definitely attractive to non-Chinese speakers, just like French literature and German philosophy. However, the promising economic future and new job opportunities in China are in fact the biggest motivation for most of the non-Chinese speakers learning Mandarin in the current "global-except-China" economic downtown.
A rising language
What is the similarity between the United States, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Germany, Sweden and Singapore? They all have various branches of the Confucius Institute in their territories.
And what do the Confucius Institute, Alliance Française, Goethe- Institut, British Council and Instituto Cervantes have in common? They are all governmental or non-governmental institutions established to promote their own language and culture worldwide and to build mutually beneficial relationships with the rest of the world.
According to the Confucius Institute Online, as of April 2009, there were 328 Confucius Institutes in 82 countries and regions. There are roughly 40 Confucius Institutes in the United States, taking 12 percent of the total worldwide. The US is also the country with the largest number of Confucius Institutes.
Besides the Confucius Institute, whose headquarters is in Beijing, there are many other Chinese-learning programs organized by local non-profit public institutes or native Chinese speakers in the US, such as the Asia Society and a privately owned school called Fast Learning Chinese in the New York metropolitan area.
"It's damn difficult to learn Chinese after a full 8-hour working and a bit of supplemental study on the side," says Michael McClurg, a full-time employee in a media company in New York City. "I sometimes sit in my language class half asleep." Learning something new after a busy working day is always demanding, while learning Chinese turns out to be extremely demanding.
As well as for adults with full-time jobs, Chinese learning is no piece of cake for school kids either. "I'm enrolled in a Mandarin program in my university this semester, partly due to my parents' persuasion," said Sally Lou, an American-born Chinese girl in her sophomore year. "They tell me that I'll have a better chance to find a good job after graduation with my bilingual ability, but now I'm still struggling with the four tones and the picture-related characters." When asked whether she is really interested in learning Chinese, she said yes and that being able to speak and write Chinese is cool.
Enough time plus a strong interest and perseverance are crucial in Chinese learning, especially in the first year. Despite good intentions, many beginners whose languages are the permutation and combination of letters still feel they are easily intimidated by the special way that Chinese characters are "drawn."
Even though there are approximately 40 million people learning Chinese globally, the number of non- Chinese speakers who can survive the first couple of tough years is, without doubt, much smaller.
Key to new business world
Mastering Chinese only at an intermediate level is more than enough for ordinary learners, since people's Chinese skills usually cannot achieve a level as high as they would if they spent the same amount of time and energy learning Spanish. But if you can only speak some very simple Chinese, Chinese people will be very appreciative and will be very pleased to work with you.
Let's look at what some of the Chinese-learning commercials in New York say. "China currently has the third-largest economy in the world. To take advantage of this huge economic shift and opportunities, learning to speak Chinese is a great way to give your children an advantage in the increasingly competitive business world," and, "Between equal foreign competitors courting a Chinese company, who will the company choose to associate with, a Chinese-speaking foreigner or a foreigner with a translator?"
Part of cultural movement
Reading between the lines, I can see a mixed feeling of admiration and fear among Westerners.
In the protest against US President Barack Obama's healthcare and education policy this summer in Washington, DC, a man held up a placard that said: "Stop spending money on Chinese learning!" Usually, during difficult economic times, Americans will be more conservative than in economically flourishing days. The ignorance in public opinion in America may partly prevent the country from pursuing new opportunities in the new market in order to alleviate the pain of the economic trauma.
The promotion of language and culture is usually associated with the spread or export of a country's soft power. It is true with Alliance Française, the Goethe-Institut and the British Council. When it comes to the Confucius Institute, there is actually no need to fear a "motive" behind it.
It is what it is. The rise of Mandarin learning is just part of the dynamic of the world's cultural movement. It is of course important that people cherish and maintain their own language and culture, but when time allows a preference for certain regions, there is no harm in following the opportunity.
Compared with the opportunities offered by humanity, ideological differences seem too trivial to pay attention to.
Source: Global Times
