| Will Chinese become a "lingua franca"? | |
|---|---|
| Oct 12, 2007 09:44 | #11   |
 | Mr Paul, I see it just as you do. Only one thing, I will say “one” of the most powerful nations and not “the” most powerful nation. I know how your feelings are about this, this is my vision. #1 USA #2 China #3 EU (as a block) #4 Russia or India? #5 ? #6 ? I see this five as the most powerful and influential nations of the future. China and the USA, as the closest partners ever, not China nor USA can survive the future, without each other. In many fields China and The USA will be equal. Yes, we will be speaking a lot of Chinese in the USA as a second language, but English will always be the world language. |
| Oct 14, 2007 01:15 | #12 |
| Paul and JCNILE123 , Quote: Nothing is going to replace English as the major international language (excepting extreme situations where a Chinese government dominates the world and demands it) as English is already entrenched and spoken by businessmen, sportsmen and travellers. Given the difficulty of learning Chinese it just won't surpass English. Of course the situation would be a little different if China chooses to give up its character writing (like Korea and Vietnam have done) and switch to pinyin....but that won't happen. It seems that you two have enough confidence in the dominant status of English Language in the world. I don't want to argue with you on this point. However, you seem to hold that the major obstacle for Chinese going international is the complexity of writing characters. Well, from the first paragraph of Apault's reply, a country's economic power or political influence plays an important role in deciding whether its language will become a " lingua franca". Do you think which is more important? I do believe that economic and political influence are more important than the complexity of character writing. |
| Oct 17, 2007 18:57 | #13 |
| People who are learning a new language are usually encouraged to learn to write and speak the language at the same time. For a person who would like to learn to speak Chinese, would you say that learning to read its characters is important? |
| Oct 23, 2007 22:51 | #14 |
| Canadaguy, I agree with you on that "people who are learning a new language are usually encouraged to learn to write and speak the language at the same time." Yes, speaking and writing is very important. However, learning to read its characters is essential for learning Chinese. If you want to have a good command of Chinese language, learning to read its characters is absolutely important. |
| Oct 24, 2007 17:25 | #15 |
| >>If you want to have a good command of Chinese language, learning to read its characters is absolutely important. << Thanks Iceblue! It took a week to get a reply, but it was worth the wait. :) |
| Oct 24, 2007 21:47 | #16 |
| Canadaguy, Judging from your name, you are from Canada, right? I wonder if you can speak French since there are two official languages in Canada ( French and English). Do you think which language is more difficult to learn, French or Chinese? Sorry, I am not sure whether you are learning Chinese or not. For me, French seems to be more difficult than English. (La masculine, La feminine, c'est tres difficile pour moi) |
| Oct 25, 2007 00:18 | #17 |
| Hi Leonardo, yes I can speak French, although not fluently. I was born and raised in Montreal the largest French-speaking city in Canada and we had to study French as early in Gd. 3 in our schools. Without a question, Chinese is a much more difficult language to learn compared to French, especially for someone who has already mastered English or a Romance language. Currently I am toying with the idea of learning Chinese, but my first task will be to teach my girlfriend English at the appropriate time. Many people actually find French to be easier to learn than English, but overall it's not too difficult to pick up. Salut! |
| Oct 26, 2007 01:40 | #18 |
| Hi Canadaguy, "Many people actually find French to be easier to learn than English, but overall it's not too difficult to pick up." Wow, you say French is not difficult to learn. When I learned French, I found it was more difficult than English. You are teaching your girlfriend English.So she must be a Chinese? Why don't you try to learn some Chinese? It wiould be better for you to communicate with your gal. By the way, what is your view on the topic( will Chinese become a lingua franca?), I wonder? |
| Oct 27, 2007 21:01 | #19 |
| >>You are teaching your girlfriend English.So she must be a Chinese? Why don't you try to learn some Chinese? It wiould be better for you to communicate with your gal.<< Yes she is Chinese. I will certainly try to learn Chinese but I know it will be quite a challenge. The good thing is that I'm a musician so I have a good ear and this helps in learning a language. >>By the way, what is your view on the topic( will Chinese become a lingua franca?), I wonder?<< I don't believe so. Unless China starts to flex its muscle power and takes over parts of the world, (which I certainly hope it doesn't) I can't see the language dominating beyond the country of China. Although there are Chinese people all over the world now, there aren't great concentrations large enough to influence world trade/commerce as there is in China. Despite this, China may still pull the purse strings in the coming decades. |
| Oct 30, 2007 22:25 | #20 |
| Canadaguy, "The good thing is that I'm a musician so I have a good ear and this helps in learning a language." Great, you are a musician. What kind of musical instrument are you good at playing? Did you compose music or write lyrics? Your good ear will definitely facilitate your Chinese-learning. "Although there are Chinese people all over the world now, there aren't great concentrations large enough to influence world trade/commerce as there is in China." Perhaps, you are right.There aren't great concentrations of Chinese in other parts of the world. Overseas Chinese are too scattered. Hopefully, you will find much fun in your Chinese-learning process. |
Post a Reply to: Will Chinese become a "lingua franca"?
Copyright © 1998-2024 All rights reserved.