China is one of the world’s oldest and richest continuous cultures, over 5,000 years old.
China is the most populous nation in the world, with 1.28 billion people.
One-fifth of the planet speaks Chinese. Mandarin Chinese is the mother tongue of over 873 million people, making it the most widely spoken first language in the world.
In addition to the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, Mandarin Chinese is also spoken in the important and influential Chinese communities of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Mongolia.
China is the second largest economy in the world.
China is one of largest trading partners of the United States.
Many US companies do business in China and have long-term investments there.
China has become the factory of the world and is moving up the technology food chain.
Some Surprising Facts
Chinese has a relatively uncomplicated grammar. Unlike French, German or English, Chinese has no verb conjugation (no need to memorize verb tenses!) and no noun declension (e.g., gender and number distinctions).
For example, while someone learning English has to learn different verb forms like “see/saw/seen,” all you need to do in Chinese is just to remember one word: kan. While in English you have to distinguish between “cat” and “cats,” in Chinese there is only one form: mao. (Chinese conveys these distinctions of tense and number in other ways, of course.)
The basic word order of Chinese is subject — verb — object, exactly as in English. A large number of the key terms of Mandarin Chinese (such as the terms for state, health, science, party, inflation, and even literature) have been formed as translations of English concepts. You are entering a different culture, but the content of many of the modern key concepts is familiar.
Remember these two facts
Currently Mandarin Chinese is spoken by over 1 billion people around the world, about one fifth of the global population.
Each year more and more students around the world whose mother tongue is not Mandarin are studying it with enthusiasm and success. If they all can learn it, so can you!
Chinese is important for your career!
International businesses prefer to hire people who speak more than one language. China has become a huge market, and business leaders are looking for people who can speak Chinese and operate successfully in a Chinese cultural context.
Knowing Chinese may give you an edge when competing for an important position.
China will play a major role in world affairs in the future. As China now has opened up to the West, there are opportunities for employment in all areas.
China is a wonderful country in which to teach English while developing your language and cultural skills. The experience is great, and it’s something you will never forget.
Where is Chinese spoken?
Image credit: "New-Map-Sinophone World" by ASDFGHJ - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons
Ready to start?
Contact us by E-mail or by calling (502) 893-0933
What does Chinese look like?
What does Chinese sound like?
Did you know these words come from Chinese?
Brainwashing - A direct translation from Chinese (where 洗 literally means "wash", while 脑 means "brain", hence brainwash)
Chi or "qi", energy of an object or person, from Chinese Mandarin (air or spirit)
Chop chop from Cantonese chuk chuk, lit. hurry, urgent
Confucianism from Confucius, Latinized form of (kǒng fūzǐ) 'Master Kong'
Feng shui from feng, wind and shui, water; (slang) Denotes an object or scene is aesthetically balanced (generally used in construction or design)
Ginseng from Mandarin (renshen), name of the plant. Some say the word came via Japanese (same kanji), although now means 'carrot' in Japanese; ginseng is ('Korean carrot').
Ketchup possibly from Cantonese or Amoy, lit. tomato sauce/juice
Kung fu the English term to collectively describe Chinese martial arts; from Cantonese (Gongfu), lit. efforts Nunchaku Okinawan Japanese, from Min (Taiwan/Fujian), lit. double jointed sticks
Ramen Japanese, gairaigo, from Chinese (Lamian) lit. pulled noodle. Ramen refers to a particular style flavored to Japanese taste and is somewhat different from Chinese lamian.
Shih Tzu from Mandarin, lit. Chinese lion dog
Silk possibly from 'si', lit. silk
Soy from Japanese shoyu, Chinese, (Mandarin jiàngyóu).
Tai Chi from Mandarin
Tea from the Amoy dialect for tea, which is pronounced "tey".
Tycoon via Japanese, lit. high official; or lit. great nobleman
Yin Yang from Mandarin 'Yin' meaning feminine, dark and 'Yang' meaning masculine and bright
Do you want to learn in a group dynamic? Be part of one of our FLEXGROUPS and join the community!
Would you prefer to work with an instructor that is totally invested in your objectives and success? Let us pair you with a Private Instructor.
Contact us to get more information, find a language learning group, or get paired with a private instructor!
