[The Godfather]

So, i hear left and right that speaking Chinese will give you a positive edge and everything, but I fail to see who is putting this skill building in their schedule. Maybe it is only a sector of the western demographic who is feeling this pressure.

[Eug]

American Students Learn Their ABC's and Chinese

American Boy Speaks Mandarin Chinese in China

[Tiresias]

Its true that there are more Chinese speakers than English speakers. But only a tiny minority of those Chinese speakers are actually involved in international commerce. Furthermore, those that are invariably speak English.

My experience suggests that, when two people with different native languages need to communicate, they take the line of least resistance. In all but a few cases, this will be English.

[Athens]

If you live in Vancouver it is almost a necessity to speak Chinese to function on a basic level these days in some parts of the city.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

Its true that there are more Chinese speakers than English speakers. But only a tiny minority of those Chinese speakers are actually involved in international commerce. Furthermore, those that are invariably speak English.

My experience suggests that, when two people with different native languages need to communicate, they take the line of least resistance. In all but a few cases, this will be English.

If you're dealing with Chinese business types, having someone on your team that speaks Chinese and understands Chinese business culture makes a big difference.

I have friends that do business in China. Most don't speak fluent Chinese, but some of them do speak a bit, and have business partners that speak Chinese fluently. However, they do understand Chinese business culture, and say it's very different from North American business culture.

Originally Posted by Athens 

If you live in Vancouver it is almost a necessity to speak Chinese to function on a basic level these days in some parts of the city.

No it isn't, unless you're trying to do business with the Chinese community and Chinese ex-pats or something. I've lived in Vancouver.

That said, if someone were to take up residence in Vancouver as a business person, I'd say Chinese would help him more than French, despite the fact French is an official language.

[Athens]

In some parts of the city knowing Chinese is an asset when dealing with employee's who speak little to no English. When I used to build custom computers for people I would bring a long a friend who speaks fluid Chinese to my part suppliers because of the language barrier. Always made things go quicker. When shopping at Oakridge center knowing Chinese is a asset for a good quarter of the mall. While the employees can speak functional English, they are still dumb founded when you attempt to ask about product information, or make requests or changes or general questions. About the only thing they can do is take your payment card, process it and bag your items. Any thing beyond that the language barrier hits you. I can't tell you how many times I have had to go talk to 3 or 4 different people before I could find one that could understand me and I could understand them. And calling these stores, forget it. The worst places are the fast food places. The McDonalds on Main near terminal I did end up calling McDonalds Canada over because the lady just could not understand my order. Even face to face the girl couldn't understand what No Cheese means.

You might have lived here some time in the past but it has changed a whole lot in the last decade. And the scale of change is accelerating.

I have absolutely thought about learning Chinese to make things easier, I just have not committed the time to do so yet. If I lived in San Diego i would imagine learning Mexican would be a asset.

[Eug]

Learning "Mexican"?
I guess that's like learning "Canadian"?

P.S. So you were doing business with the Chinese community. Yes, that I can understand. But just basic functionality for every day activities? Not really. I've never had a big problem ordering at a McDonald's. But then again maybe it's because I don't eat there very often.

[Sealobo]

Chinese is a script.

Mandarin is a dialect, so is Cantonese. The same script can be spoken in many many many many many different dialects. It's kinda amazing.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Learning "Mexican"?
I guess that's like learning "Canadian"?

Not really.

Learning Mexican is like learning Argentinian but with less gayness.
Whereas learning Canadian is like learning American but with more gayness.

[mduell]

Mark Zuckerberg

[Eug]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Mark Zuckerberg

Rumour has it, for her grandma.

[Tiresias]

Mark Zuckerberg.

If I invoke a mental picture of his face, and concentrate my hatred upon it like a ray of sunlight through a magnifying glass, is there any chance that the living man will spontaneously combust?