While learning Mandarin is only catching on now in the United States, around the world its popularity has been and is still growing. In addition to being the primary language of a large proportion of Chinese residents, it is also spoken by more than 100 million people who are not of Chinese descent.
In absolute terms, Mandarin is spoken by the largest number of people around the globe; some estimating it to be roughly 1.1 billion and growing. Not only that, but the Chinese economy has been showing signs of explosive growth in recent years. According to the International Monetary Fund, China is poised to pass the US in output within the next 5 years.
With these figures in mind, it would seem that the benefits of learning Mandarin are also growing exponentially. Business between China and the rest of the world will multiply over the next 5-10 years, and it seems all the more likely that a healthy fluency of Mandarin could help you land a higher paying job or close coveted, international deals.
The American educational system seems eager to keep up and has been taking steps to implement Mandarin into it’s everyday curriculum. Speaking Mandarin has also grown as a hot ticket item on college applications as well as a bonus when considering executive placement. With all this in mind what conclusions can we draw?
Is Mandarin THE language of the future? It may be just a bit too early to tell if Mandarin will become THE language of the future. However looking at the business trends, number of people speaking Mandarin in the world today, and the growth the language has seen and continues to see, I think it is fare to say that it’s far more than just a linguistic fad.
What do you think? Share your thoughts below: Language of the Future or Linguistic Fad?