It’s very hard to get accurate numbers on how many people speak any one language, but there’s no doubt that Mandarin Chinese is way up at the top. As China becomes an important economic power – surpassing Germany to take the number 3 spot and aiming to overtake Japan and the US by 2015 – Mandarin becomes even more important to business people and scholars trying to understand and do business with the waking giant. Will Mandarin replace English as the new global language? Should foreigners learn Chinese? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Should foreigners learn Chinese? Why?

Yes, of course they should. However, Chinese is not one of the easier languages to know. It's hard to find the time and motivation when you work. Sure, ideally it would be great to take a year off and just study but that isn't always financially possible.
A / US

Photo: gotplaid?

If you’re interested then of course you should study it.
T / China

It depends what you mean by foreigners. If you're referring to the billions of people who live outside the borders of the PRC, then probably not, but it would be nice if at least some of them studied China and its language. If you mean laowai in China, then of course they should learn at least survival conversation Chinese. In the long run it would be ideal if a good percentage of foreigners learnt Chinese to the extent that a lot of Chinese people learn English.
L / UK

Why not learn something about the country you live it through the local language? Wouldn't you encourage foreigners in lets say the US to learn English when they live in the US? If you take the time and effort to learn this difficult language, it says a lot about you, and vice versa. More understanding also will result more exchange and acceptance of, or even tolerance towards other cultures. This might even prevent a war or two. So why not?
D / Holland

Sure, because Chinese is very interesting. And China will be stronger and stronger in the future.
L / China

Photo: artonice

Foreigners should learn Chinese as it is a good mind opener linguistically, especially if they come from Germanic, Cyrillic or Latin based speaking backgrounds.
D / UK

Two obvious issues: first, what do you mean by foreigner, are you talking about China-based expats or everyone in the world? Secondly, what does learning Chinese mean? Is it being able to order in a restaurant of able to have deep discussions about classical poetry or do business deals? My answer: if you’re living or working in China it’s good to learn some so you can be polite but English is still the international language of business and Chinese who have studied English since birth are always going to be better than foreigners that study a year or two in their 20s. However, if you’re from another Asian country like Japan or Korea and maybe don’t speak English then learning Chinese is a lot more important for personal and business life in Asia.　
D / Australia

I think it depends on a person’s interests. Nobody has to learn it if he or she doesn’t want.
X / China

What would Jesus do? Need I say more?
M / US

Foreigners who wish to do business in China should learn, as much as would be expected in any other country. If doing business in any country, I think you should be familiar with the customs and language.

Photo: alexandralee

English is an international language and a leading language for business so that's always an acceptable substitute. However, a country's native language is always welcome in that country and using it assures any business person a better chance at being successful in that country.
R / US

They definitely should...why are these questions all for foreigners?! Anyway, I think foreigners should learn Chinese. I like foreigners who can speak Chinese, they’re cute.
G / China

I don't know whether they should/ought/be forced to learn Chinese as in the same way everyone is told to learn English. However, I believe that learning this language will have huge benefits in the future. Foreigners who learn Chinese have an advantage on their countrymen as almost every country these days wants to improve business ties and diplomatic relations with China. So the individual foreigner should have a better chance of getting a job with their government or a good company.
A / Australia

Yes, they should, to improve communication between countries and benefit the cultural understanding. Also, I am a Chinese language teacher, and I don't want to retire yet!
Q / China

They should. Just like you should be able to run a marathon. But what’s the point? Few non-Chinese will ever speak the language well. If you mean pointing at the picture on the menu and shouting “zhe ge”, then yes, go for it. If you’re talking about spending years and years studying to attain, at best, a low degree of competency, no. It’s not practical. For living in China it’s helpful; for business – Chinese should learn English just like Europeans, Africans, and South Americans do. It’s not necessarily fair, but that’s how it is and foreigners and Chinese alike should get used to it.
S / South Africa

Perspectives seeks to promote dialogue and cross-cultural understanding by featuring Chinese and foreign responses to a single question. Email us to be added to our weekly question mailing list or to suggest questions of your own and feel free to add your perspective in the comments section below.

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