The skyrocketing of China’s economy is totally undeniable. Add to that their serious efforts in guarding their territory and maximizing their resources to boost their economy even more. Of course, they also have a billion people as manpower. Being one of the largest economies in the whole world, China is now deemed as the next big thing. Everyone is looking at China as a superpower in almost all aspects these days. They are taking the lead in terms of economy, industry, security, and a lot of other aspects. In fact, according to studies, it may surpass the US by 2020.
With the growing power of China and its potential to be the leading country in the world, should people start learning how to speak the country’s language? Just when the US is on top, the world has learned English as it is the lingua franca in the country. Now that the world is turning on China, is it high time to start learning Mandarin?
An advantage, but not a requirement
Though Mandarin has the most number of native speakers in the world, English is still considered as the international language. With native and non-native speakers combined, English still has the world’s most number of speakers. This trend could go on for a very long time. Besides, the US is not the only English speaking country with a strong economy. The rest of the world still has to deal with English speaking countries with strong economy as well. Therefore, for people to panic and start learning Mandarin is totally uncalled for.
It would be a great advantage though to learn Mandarin just like learning any other languages. This is not only for getting the benefits of learning a foreign language, it will also help those who decide to visit China or make transactions with non-English speaking Chinese people. For businessmen, learning Chinese is always a good thing to do especially if the business targets China as one of its markets. Chinese people are also scattered all around the world. Some of them migrate to other countries, but are not able to speak English or other languages well. Thus, being able to speak Mandarin would allow you to converse with them, make them your clients, or just be friends with them.
Interpreters and translators to the rescue
In the event that China will take over the world in many aspects and that everyone has to understand Mandarin to move forward, interpreters and translators will always be there. They will see to it that documents are understood. They will also make sure that dealing with Chinese in various fields can be done easily. They have studied the language well to translate or interpret it clearly to the desired language.
To top it all, even if the Chinese people are monolingual, a lot of them have started learning English and other languages so they can reach out to the world. After all, if they wish to take over the world economy, they have to make transactions with all non-Mandarin speaking countries.