Celebrating Chinese Language Day: 5 advantages to learning Mandarin
With over 1.5 billion speakers worldwide, the Chinese language is the second most commonly spoken language in the world, and there are several advantages to learning it.
April 20, United Nations Chinese Language Day, was designated to commemorate one of the UN’s six official languages.
Speaking at an event celebrating UN Chinese Language Day on April 19 at the Chinese Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Trinidad and Tobago, Fang Qiu, said the power of language can unite countries, cultures and people.
“As China successfully finds a Chinese path to modernisation and enters a stage of high-quality development and high-level opening up, the demand of people from other countries to learn Chinese and understand China is increasing. The Chinese language plays the role of a bridge, connecting China with the world.
“Since the first group of Chinese people set foot on this country more than two hundred years ago, Chinese culture has become an integral part of Trinidad and Tobaog’s diverse culture. The Chinese language has served as a bridge of communication between the two countries.”
Here are five advantages to learning Mandarin:
1. Helps with brain development
According to Language Magazine, a study conducted in the UK found that “people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both temporal lobes of their brain to understand the language.” This is very different from English-language speakers who use only the left temporal lobe. The difference is evident because speakers of Chinese “use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words”.
2. Job opportunities
With a population of over 1.4 billion, China is the world’s second largest economy and presents a myriad of job opportunities which can be enhanced by being able to speak Mandarin, which is the official language of mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore.
The Association for Language Learning says more than three in four British business leaders believe speaking Mandarin will give school leavers a career advantage over their counterparts, according to a survey published by YouGov.
According to GoAbroad.com: “Due to its overwhelming influence and use, yet scarcity among students, Chinese language abilities will not fail to set you apart from and far above competing job candidates.”
3. Opportunities for further education
Learning Mandarin will enable more opportunities for students to enroll at universities in China. There are also many programmes taught in English, however having this linguistic advantage will also benefit students.
4. Travel and sightseeing
While it’s not a problem for English speakers to travel and visit China’s famous sites without speaking Mandarin, being able to speak the language will definitely help with interacting and learning more about Chinese culture.
5. Calligraphy and art
Learning Mandarin can open up one’s world to Chinese art. Learning to write Chinese involves the art of calligraphy, which is the use of iconographic characters. Learning this skill can improve one’s artistic abilities.
Thinking of learning Mandarin?
Mandarin classed are offered at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Centre for Language Learning (CLL) as well as the Confucius Institute, which re-opens this year after being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
