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Why has Mandarin still been an unpopular language?

apocalypse   Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:27 pm GMT

Holy shit. Those images are the closest to Hell On Earth I've seen. I guess apocalypse already has arrived in some parts of the world... Chinese, no thanks...

Jesus   Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:13 am GMT

because China has no colonies, it's easy to answer.

Brainy   Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:26 am GMT

Because Chinese is simply too difficult for those with insufficient brain development. That's why period.

Brainy   Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:34 am GMT

How do you know if your brains are insufficiently developed? If you happen to find Chinese ugly or think that it's difficult to learn, then you're probably one of them. When your brains are insufficiently developed, the things you see usually get distorted. And if you find English or other European languages beautiful, then that's further confirmation that you are suffering from insufficient brain development.

Baldewin   Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:35 am GMT

Chinese are great at copying stuff, but the real innovations come from NATO countries. For this time, that's still the case. Don't forget that Jews are still generally smarter than East Asians.

Kevin Nadolny   Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:17 am GMT

Guest Fri Oct 30, 2009 11:06 am GMT It is the difficulty of Chinese. Students around the World have, for example, 4 major languages to study: English, Spanish, French and Chinese. Almost all people choose English, and the second one is almost always Spanish or French because they are relatively similar to English. ———————————————————————————— May I ask, do you think it's a better use of your time to study a language that so many people already know and where you will face stiff competition or to study a language that not many people are attempting? If you want to learn French or Spanish instead of Chinese, then you better become perfectly fluent or else how will you differentiate yourself from the millions of others who have the same skill as you? As for Chinese, if you speak enough to get by in China then the country becomes unbelievably accommodating. Becoming fluent in the language will afford many unique opportunities. Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ARE very similar. People who say they are not are usually nationalistic and don't like to give proper credit to their roots. People do choose to study Chinese. I am one. And many more people learn Japanese, a language maybe even harder than Chinese. Having learned Chinese already is helping me learn Japanese dramatically. Why do more people study Japanese because of Chinese? I would have to say that you can come to Japan and have an awesome life. The pollution in China is going to hurt the country for some time to come. I agree with that. But have us westerners forgot about our similar growing pains throughout our development? Once your own country is rich, it's easy to look down on other countries who are too poor to offer their citizens the same quality of life we have. Don't worry, China doesn't not plan to be like it is now forever. And please, don't let your "Chinese is ugly" tendencies hold you back from embracing a truly amazing culture. Kevin www.capturingchinese.com

Futurologist   Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:57 am GMT

It's risky to learn Chinese, it could be very good or could mean your death. That is, if you speak Chinese you'll have a better chance of surviving under occupation or you could get recruited by the government or intelligence agency for a cushy job rather than get sent to the front line as human meat. At the same time, however, you could be seen as a sympathiser or a spy and end up summarily executed.