What's all this nonsense about learning Chinese?

[The Lone Gunman]

well I think the main reason people learn French is because there are many French teachers and not Chinese... coz nobody has learnt Chinese.... it's a kind of self-perpetuating thing.... even if France was blown off the map tomorrow (one can dream ;-) and no French people left, people would still leanr French at school because of a full supply of French teachers and lack of teachers of other languages!

There is however, one good reason to learn French: while Chinese people will all learn English, what with them wanting their economy to go global and all that, the French will not learn English. So the only way to communicate with French people is in French - whereas one can communicate with the Chinese / Japanese /etc in English

That is a very good reason NOT to learn French. Isolate them globally. They are a small factor in Global markets.

[wendigo100]

That is a very good reason NOT to learn French. Isolate them globally. They are a small factor in Global markets.

According to the world bank, in 1998 they had the fourth largest GNP in the world.

1 USA
2 Japan
3 Germany
4 France
5 UK

[The Lone Gunman]

According to the world bank, in 1998 they had the fourth largest GNP in the world.

1 USA
2 Japan
3 Germany
4 France
5 UK

"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story"

[wendigo100]

"Never let the truth get in the way of a good story"

Actually, I wondered how they got up there myself!

From my point of view, it's such a pity that some of the best countryside in the world is occupied by Frenchmen.

BTW My daughter is over there right now, so her Chinese should come in handy.

[AlfredJPruffock]

Interesting thread.

As I speak French, German, some Spannish and some Russian, this has been an interesting thread.

I have a friend from Scotland who has lived in Japan for several years, speaks Japanese fluently, lives in Tokyo and has done rather nicely.

Tokyo was perhaps the most absorbing city Ive ever had the pleasure of visting.

Overall NSW is quite correct in stating that the language to learn in the past was Japanese and for the future is Chinese.

BTW would be interested to know if anyone has started to learn Mandarin yet?

[BlasterBates]

yes "Loud English"...in which countries is "Loud English" spoken apart from Australia.

It might be good fun to learn it actually; we'd have to go abroad to try it out though.