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Learning Mandarin: False Eastern Promise | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Vlad Trilingual Super Polyglot Senior Member Czechoslovakia foreverastudent.com Joined 6584 days ago 443 posts - 576 votes  2 sounds Speaks: Czech*, Slovak*, Hungarian*, Mandarin, EnglishC2, GermanC2, ItalianC1, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Serbian, French Studies: Persian, Taiwanese, Romanian, Portuguese | Message 9 of 33 10 February 2008 at 6:59am | IP Logged | ||
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But come one.. you cannot compare a medical degree with a business degree.
What is more difficult to learn? how to do business or Mandarin?? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7156 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 10 of 33 10 February 2008 at 11:21am | IP Logged | ||
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It really depends. In my experience, doing business is harder than learning a language.
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| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7156 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 11 of 33 10 February 2008 at 12:02pm | IP Logged | ||
I would refine your point. Knowing Mandarin may make that powerful uncle take notice of you, but if you know little more than speaking flawlessly and have little technical knowledge, you won't last long. In any case, not everyone has family connections to something, so they'd have to achieve their goals through hard work and learning other skills in addition to foreign languages (if they desire). I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think that what some of us lingophiles and people in the humanities forget is that knowing a foreign language isn't an instant ticket to success in international business. If you don't have the skills to win business in your native language, you'll be going to the poorhouse in a hurry. I agree with lady skywalker's point that knowing a foreign language is valuable in conjunction with technical skills but on its own it doesn't go very far unless you already have a translator's/interpreter's job lined up. As much as a business diploma is a piece of paper, so is a language proficiency certificate. What matters is how all of your qualifications and experience fit, not just your skill in languages. I don't disagree that knowing a foreign language is an asset. Hell, I'm still working on them and probably will until the day I die. Despite my capitalist leanings, I'm quite skeptical about learning a language just to chase the next trend or supposed profit opportunity. The only people who win with these language fads are marketers of language courses and language teachers. I couldn't be happier studying languages that interest me, and couldn't care less that the languages that I study are used in countries which aren't economic powerhouses. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| kewms Senior Member United States Joined 6187 days ago 160 posts - 159 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 12 of 33 10 February 2008 at 12:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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The problem with learning a language for business reasons is the opportunity cost. Figure 2-3 years minimum to become fluent in Mandarin, with studying taking a significant chunk of your discretionary time over that period.
That's time that could have been spent developing contacts, taking courses in a technical specialty, or studying the history and business culture of China (in English). All of which are more likely to yield measurable benefits. Put another way, who makes more money? Translators and interpreters, or the CEOs who hire them? If learning languages were the road to business success, more people would do it. Which is not to say that learning languages isn't valuable. Knowledge is power, and someone who speaks the local language will have a much easier time collecting local knowledge and building local relationships than someone who doesn't. The key, though, is that language is one tool among many, not necessarily an end in itself. Katherine 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| solidsnake Diglot Senior Member China Joined 7041 days ago 469 posts - 488 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 13 of 33 10 February 2008 at 1:52pm | IP Logged | ||
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What Katherine said.
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| LilleOSC Senior Member United States lille.theoffside.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6691 days ago 545 posts - 546 votes 4 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 14 of 33 10 February 2008 at 2:08pm | IP Logged | ||
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Well I could see that learning Mandarin could put someone at an advantage over someone else right after college in
the U.S. Later this year, I will graduate high school and start my first year in college. One of the schools that I am looking at offers Italian, French, Spanish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Japanese, German and Mandarin. I'm pretty sure studying Japanese or Mandarin looks better than taking French or Spanish. That could help woo employers after they graduate. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Vlad Trilingual Super Polyglot Senior Member Czechoslovakia foreverastudent.com Joined 6584 days ago 443 posts - 576 votes 2 sounds Speaks: Czech*, Slovak*, Hungarian*, Mandarin, EnglishC2, GermanC2, ItalianC1, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Serbian, French Studies: Persian, Taiwanese, Romanian, Portuguese | Message 15 of 33 10 February 2008 at 3:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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Chung,
I agree with what you say. Languages without other skills are not much..but as I said.. how many people are like that? I mean.. how many know ONLY languages and nothing else? Most people have other skills as well and languages are a bonus. I also still think that gaining business skills is a lot less challenging and takes a lot less time than learning Mandarin. kewms: I know an IBM CEO for Europe personally and he speaks 5 languages fluently.. Another German director of a bank in Madrid who speaks 5 aswell. I never said I wanted to be a translator and knowlege of a language and being a CEO does not exclude one another. Also.. why should learning Mandarin keep me from gaining other skills during that time? Prevent me from gaining contacts? :-) I don't understand. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| kewms Senior Member United States Joined 6187 days ago 160 posts - 159 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese | Message 16 of 33 10 February 2008 at 5:54pm | IP Logged | ||
Say you spend an hour a day working through your Mandarin SRS. That's an hour a day that you're not spending gaining other skills. Katherine 1 person has voted this message useful |
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