Primero Hay Que Aprender Español. Ranhou Zai Xue Zhongwen.

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A quiz: If a person who speaks three languages is trilingual, and one who speaks four languages is quadrilingual, what is someone called who speaks no foreign languages at all?

Answer: an American.

Yet these days, we’re seeing Americans engaged in a headlong and ambitious rush to learn Chinese — or, more precisely, to get their kids to learn Chinese. Everywhere I turn, people are asking me the best way for their children to learn Chinese.

Partly that’s because Chinese classes have replaced violin classes as the latest in competitive parenting, and partly because my wife and I speak Chinese and I have tortured our three kids by trying to raise them bilingual. Chinese is still far less common in schools or universities than Spanish or French, but it is surging and has the “cool factor” behind it — so public and private schools alike are hastening to add Chinese to the curriculum.

In New York City alone, about 80 schools offer Chinese, with some programs beginning in kindergarten. And let’s be frank: If your child hasn’t started Mandarin classes by third grade, he or she will never amount to anything.

Just kidding. In fact, I think the rush to Chinese is missing something closer to home: the paramount importance for our children of learning Spanish.

Look, I’m a fervent believer in more American kids learning Chinese. But the language that will be essential for Americans and has far more day-to-day applications is Spanish. Every child in the United States should learn Spanish, beginning in elementary school; Chinese makes a terrific addition to Spanish, but not a substitute.

Spanish may not be as prestigious as Mandarin, but it’s an everyday presence in the United States — and will become even more so. Hispanics made up 16 percent of America’s population in 2009, but that is forecast to surge to 29 percent by 2050, according to estimates by the Pew Research Center.

As the United States increasingly integrates economically with Latin America, Spanish will become more crucial in our lives. More Americans will take vacations in Latin America, do business in Spanish, and eventually move south to retire in countries where the cost of living is far cheaper.

We’re already seeing growing numbers of Americans retire in Costa Rica, drawn by weather and lifestyle as well as low costs and good health care. We’ll also see more and more little bits of Florida that just happen to be located in Mexico, Panama or Dominican Republic.

Another reason to bet on Spanish is that Latin America is, finally, getting its act together. Of all regions of the world, it was arguably Latin America that rode the recent economic crisis most comfortably. That means that Spanish study does more than facilitate piña coladas on the beach at Cozumel. It’ll be a language of business opportunity in the coming decades. We need to turn our competitive minds not only east, but also south.

Moreover, Spanish is easy enough that kids really can emerge from high school with a very useful command of the language that they will retain for life, while Mandarin takes about four times as long to make the same progress. Chinese has negligible grammar — no singular or plural, no verb conjugations, no pesky masculine and feminine nouns — but there are thousands of characters to memorize as well as the landmines of any tonal language.

The standard way to ask somebody a question in Chinese is “qing wen,” with the “wen” in a falling tone. That means roughly: May I ask something? But ask the same “qing wen” with the “wen” first falling and then rising, and it means roughly: May I have a kiss?

That’s probably why trade relations are so strained between our countries. Our negotiators think they’re asking questions about tariffs, and the Chinese respond indignantly that kissing would be inappropriate. Leaving both sides confused.

In effect, Chinese is typically a career. Spanish is a practical add-on to your daily life, meshing with whatever career you choose. If you become a mechanic, you’ll be able to communicate better with some customers. If you’re the president, you’ll campaign more effectively in Texas and Florida.

China will probably be the world’s largest economy within our children’s lifetimes and a monumental force in every dimension of life. Studying Chinese gives you insight into one of the world’s great civilizations and creates a wealth of opportunities — plus, it’ll be a godsend if you’re ever called upon to pronounce a name like, say, Qin Qiuxue.

So, by all means, have your kids dive into the glamorous world of Mandarin. But don’t forget the language that will likely be far more important in their lives: el idioma más importante es Español!

(In case you were wondering, that headline says: First learn Spanish. Then study Chinese.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/opinion/30kristof.html

[Danno 1,228]

I speak a little Chinese.

Ya, gimme No. 13, sweet and sour pork w/ white rice.

[웃 910]

The standard way to ask somebody a question in Chinese is "qing wen," with the "wen" in a falling tone. That means roughly: May I ask something? But ask the same "qing wen" with the "wen" first falling and then rising, and it means roughly: May I have a kiss?

That's probably why trade relations are so strained between our countries. Our negotiators think they're asking questions about tariffs, and the Chinese respond indignantly that kissing would be inappropriate. Leaving both sides confused.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

English is spoken everywhere VISA is accepted.

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English is spoken everywhere VISA is accepted.

But for how long? Here is an (IMO pie in the sky) argument in favor of the position that the days of English as lingua franca are coming to an end.

English will fade as a lingua-franca, Mr Ostler argues, but not because some other language will take its place ... English will have no successor because none will be needed. Technology, Mr Ostler believes, will fill the need.

This argument relies on huge advances in computer translation and speech recognition. Mr Ostler acknowledges that so far such software is a disappointment even after 50 years of intense research, and an explosion in the power of computers. But half a century, though aeons in computer time, is an instant in the sweep of language history ... If he is right about the technology ... future generations will come to see English as something like calligraphy or Latin: prestigious and traditional, but increasingly dispensable.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

But for how long? Here is an (IMO pie in the sky) argument in favor of the position that the days of English as lingua franca are coming to an end.

English will fade as a lingua-franca, Mr Ostler argues, but not because some other language will take its place ... English will have no successor because none will be needed. Technology, Mr Ostler believes, will fill the need.

This argument relies on huge advances in computer translation and speech recognition. Mr Ostler acknowledges that so far such software is a disappointment even after 50 years of intense research, and an explosion in the power of computers. But half a century, though aeons in computer time, is an instant in the sweep of language history ... If he is right about the technology ... future generations will come to see English as something like calligraphy or Latin: prestigious and traditional, but increasingly dispensable.

As long as almost every third worlder dreams living the life portrayed in American films, I think English will be the second language most taught in foreign schools. At least in the Western Pacific, however, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean seem to be catching up as possible alternatives to English for the upwardly mobile Southeast Asian.

[^_^ 5,021]

As long as almost every third worlder dreams living the life portrayed in American films, I think English will be the second language most taught in foreign schools. At least in the Western Pacific, however, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean seem to be catching up as possible alternatives to English for the upwardly mobile Southeast Asian.

That is also true in India. An "English-medium education" continues to be a status symbol among the middle class there and I don't see that changing anytime soon. They certainly won't be learning Chinese as the Chinese are not well regarded at all there.

[Jenn! 918]

Chinese will have to wait - I'm having a hard enough time getting my husband to speak Arabic to our son.

[SMR 368]

But for how long? Here is an (IMO pie in the sky) argument in favor of the position that the days of English as lingua franca are coming to an end.

English will fade as a lingua-franca, Mr Ostler argues, but not because some other language will take its place ... English will have no successor because none will be needed. Technology, Mr Ostler believes, will fill the need.

This argument relies on huge advances in computer translation and speech recognition. Mr Ostler acknowledges that so far such software is a disappointment even after 50 years of intense research, and an explosion in the power of computers. But half a century, though aeons in computer time, is an instant in the sweep of language history ... If he is right about the technology ... future generations will come to see English as something like calligraphy or Latin: prestigious and traditional, but increasingly dispensable.

I've done some research on the application of machine translation combined with speech recognition. It's cool. But all the same, I don't think it will ever replace foreign language study.

As far as why English will not be replaced, like Mr Ostler said, there is no clear candidate to replace it. And in the favor of English, it's used in many situations where no one speaks it as a first language. So even if America fades in economic power, it will stay simply because the it can be used as a common language everywhere. And Chinese will make a terrible replacement for a number of reasons including the fact that the huge alphabet makes it unwieldy for computers and the internet.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

That is also true in India. An "English-medium education" continues to be a status symbol among the middle class there and I don't see that changing anytime soon. They certainly won't be learning Chinese as the Chinese are not well regarded at all there.

Yes but they are learning the wrong English lol.

[justashooter 430]

spoken "chinese" will never become an important language until it is ONE language. in china there are so many different spoken dialects that business meetings are often held in english just so people from one province can understand those from another. even though mandarin (putonghua) has been the official language since 1949 fewer than 20% of the country's 1.5 million can speak it effectively. far more speak a variation of gunadonghua (cantonese).

the very structure of the language makes it difficult to universalise even within china. there are fewer than 80 dsitinct sounds in spoken chinese, and these sounds can be intonated, even by the most fluent, in only 800 different manners. each sound (meaning) is a single syllable, and each sound can represent up to 50 different concepts even when spoken with exactly the same intonation. these different concepts can be simple, or complex, and the listener must infer from the context which is actually intended by the speaker.

imagine having an english that was all synonyms, (too, to, two). it is just not adequate for a 21st century culture. such a language was fine for chinese 3000 years ago, but is terribly confusing even for chinese today. moreso for anyone trying to learn the language.

my spoken chinese is a mix of putonghua and henanhua, and is understandble to people who know me and who grew up in henan, but is unintelligeable to 90% of chinese people, just like mandarin is unintelligeable to 80% of chinese people.

even the written language is problematic, being pictograph based but requiring memorization of specific variation. there are 16 different base characters in written simplified character, each being amplified with added strokes into variable meaning. with over 400,000 characters being available in traditional character, the average person is only familiar with the meanings of 2000-2500.

confusing the issue are adaptations of foreign words to the language. the term "motorcycle" is spoken in mandarin as mo-to-sha-ka, and written with 4 totally unrelated characters that have the same sounds, but wildly different meanings. to interpret the specific characters literally is chaos in it's purest form.

in contrast, our latin based language allows for interpolation of unknown words based on etymological examination. even if the specific meaning of a word is not known, whether spoken or written, it's meaning may be derived from consideration of words with similar roots. in spoken chinese this is impossible, and in written chinese problematic, at best.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I just wish more people spoke Sindarin so I would have someone to talk to.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I just wish more people spoke Sindarin so I would have someone to talk to.

Lord of the Rings ?

[spookyturtle 9,465]

There are quite a few people around that don't speak any language. At least none know to mankind.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Lord of the Rings ?

lol yeah - elvish