Originally posted by oxford mushroom:
Have you ever worked in China before? I have business dealings with the Chinese and in my experience, I have the advantage because I speak Mandarin. Unlike my western colleagues, I can read their legal contracts myself and I can email them in Chinese on a Sunday morning.
That gives me an advantage over western competitors. Western firms see that too: my house mate got a prime job in Beijing because he speaks and writes Chinese. He is Jewish but has a degree in classical Chinese...If anything at all, we should place more emphasis on Chinese in our schools.
There are too many Chinese dialects for one person to master but almost all Chinese business leaders will understand Mandarin...that has been China's education policy for years. As for Malay, sorry..but China is by far the greater economic power..
TOUCHE !
And you must belong to the small minority who are gifted in this area. But for most people, the trade off is against some really important skills in reading 'riting 'n 'rithmatic.