Why study Chinese? Part 2

Reasons to study Chinese

Many people want to learn Chinese so the first question to ask is: Why study Chinese? The answers could vary enormously based on your particular interests, but you will find a few tentative suggestions here. Chinese is the largest single ethnic group in the world, so a form of Chinese is spoken by more people than any other language.  The Chinese language is part of the Sino-Tibetan language group; this means that, in structure, logic, and vocabulary, Chinese is radically unlike any Indo-European language. Chinese is also the oldest language of the world; its written records stretch back about 3500 years. It is surely a very good reason for more people to study it. 

Chinese language

Most people imagine Chinese as the most difficult language to study. However, this perception is wrong. After shedding some of the possible preconceptions about language that one may have, one could find that spoken Chinese is not as difficult as people first thought.  Chinese language can be one of the easiest languages to speak for English speakers. The written language is a different kettle of fish entirely, being made up of individual characters that do have to be memorized, but you can find many useful websites and books on the internet that can help you with this task. You also can learn Chinese online while you look for the Chinese characters you need. 

Chinese culture

Chinese culture and China’s philosophical heritage are enormous, a rich storehouse of knowledge and wisdom waiting to be tapped and although it would be foolish to pretend that by working through your learning experience you will have access to very much of it in the original, it will, at very least, have given you the possibility of seeing little into that inscrutable Oriental mind and of making interesting and valuable comparisons with you own culture and way of thinking. Most people found these reasons stimulating enough to go on studying Chinese.

Knowledge of Chinese

Knowledge of Chinese language provides access to the knowledge of Chinese grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.  By studying Chinese, one gains entry into a library of cultural information a thousand times larger than any that exists in English or any other western language. One gets the ability to communicate with Chinese people in their own language and to share their knowledge and experience. Ultimately, one gets the ability to think in the language that has been used by generations of Chinese philosophers and scholars to record their thoughts and considerations about the world. 

Considerations for studying Chinese

If you still want to know why study Chinese? These last considerations will help you to take this decision:

• Studying Chinese can open a big new world to you.
• It can help you build friendships with Chinese people all over the world.
• China is a leading country. One out of every five people in the world is Chinese. Throughout the world 1.5 billion people speak Chinese. 
• Studying Chinese lets you see the world through fresh eyes. 
• Chinese will help you find a good job in China. You will be able to work from bank offices to a factory.  

You may notice you have powerful reasons to learn the Chinese language, so why do you wait to study Chinese?