百闻不如一见。 (bǎi wén bùrú yī jiàn) “Hearing a hundred times doesn’t compare to seeing once.”
Chinese Proverb (yànyŭ)
With more than a billion speakers worldwide, Chinese is the most spoken group of languages on Earth.
English is the most spoken language worldwide with 1.4 billion native and learned speakers. Mandarin comes in second with 1.1 billion.
But when you only consider native speakers, Mandarin far outshines English with 929 million versus 372.9 million, respectively.
Clearly, learning Mandarin is popular and useful in this global day and age. You never know when an opportunity will pop up that requires Mandarin!
And, to be clear, Mandarin is only one of the languages in China. The other prominent one is Cantonese, but there are at least seven other recognized regional languages and dialects all over the country. Mandarin is the most widely-known language in Asia.
Here are the 10 best reasons to learn Mandarin.
1. Read Without Dyslexic Transpositions
Many people with dyslexia have trouble with letters and words appearing to switch places and move around the page. This can make it difficult for people with dyslexia to read and learn, or at the very least, slows them down.
One such person with manageable dyslexia in English noticed that when learning Mandarin in Hanzi or Taiwanese bopomofo (Zhuyin Fu Hao 注音符號 pinyin: zhùyīn fúhào), they were able to read with much more ease than in English. They even began to read faster than some of their other Mandarin-learning classmates!
The reason is that the characters in Hanzi and bopomofo are spaced out and very different from one another, so the brain can’t transpose them very easily.
However, this student still had trouble learning pinyin, since it uses Roman letters just like English.
2. Strengthen the Brain
Mandarin is a tonal language that engages both hemispheres of the brain. Speakers are able to develop their creative faculties and improve their memory.
There have been several studies that show bilingualism staves off the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and certain types of dementia for a few years, though doesn’t eliminate the occurrence of the disease entirely.
The key is that learning a complex new skill and utilising it throughout your life helps keep the brain functioning more highly. As the phrase goes: Use it or lose it!
3. Prime Your Brain for Other Languages
Learning any new-to-you language helps your brain’s language-learning synapses strengthen and grow. Not only will you learn new words in Mandarin more easily, but other languages will come to you more quickly as well!
Take a look at multilingual people and polyglots who know 5 languages or more. It sounds astounding (and it is still quite a feat!) but when you learn a language, it becomes easier to learn more languages. Your third language will likely be easier for you to learn than your second, and so on.
New concepts that aren’t related to language may also be easier for you to learn as your brain has more experience making connections.
4. Gain Cultural Context
Context enriches one’s experience in everything.
Understanding how other people live and behave due to customs that date back thousands of years is fascinating! Any time you learn about a new culture, you are exposed to ideas you may never have thought about before.
Different perspectives are priceless and can help you make more sense of the world or give you a great idea for something in your own life.
Enjoy Chinese media even more when you understand the cultural contexts being referenced!
You’ll also gain new insight into things like acupuncture, acupressure, moxa, feng shui, kung fu, the Chinese zodiac, theology and mythology, and the multitudes of traditional Chinese festivals and holidays.
5. International Travel
No matter how much you learn about a culture from film, vlogs, books, and talking with people, it can’t replace the experience of actually being immersed in culture.
Mandarin is widely spoken in China, of course, but also Taiwan, where it’s an official language. Additionally, it’s a common tongue in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
You’ll recall that Mandarin has over 1 billion speakers, so you can find many places where Mandarin is widely spoken, even if it’s not an official language, like South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
Furthermore, there are pockets of Mandarin-speaking Chinese people all over the world! Take a trip to Chinatown in any major city like Los Angeles, London, Melbourne, Montreal, or Manila, and feel more comfortable navigating the streets and haggling prices with shopkeepers.
All this is to say that you can confidently travel to a wide swath of countries with confidence if you have a firm grasp of Mandarin! Experience various cultures, see unique festivals and events, try amazing foods, and view the wonders of the world!
6. Never Caught Off-Guard
Remember how there are approximately 46 million Chinese people living all over the world? The Chinese diaspora refers to native Chinese people who moved abroad and their descendants. Many Chinese people (especially men) emigrated in search of work between 1850 and 1950-ish due to widespread violence, instability, and poverty in China.
Now, there are large numbers of people with Chinese heritage living all over the world. And since many Chinese families banded together back in the day, the culture lives on in places like Chinatowns and is largely passed on from parents to their children.
Why does this concern you?
Well, if you know Mandarin, you will be prepared for the day you run into a group of Mandarin speakers in France, Russia, Tanzania, Brazil, or even Australia and New Zealand!
7. Impressive Language Skills!
What’s one of the reasons people love learning languages, but never want to admit it?
It’s because knowing another language is really cool.
Impress people in your life with your intelligence and je ne sais quoi when you demonstrate your amazing knowledge
8. Utilise Chinese Media
When you know any new language, a whole new world of media is unlocked for you.
Books, poems, TV, movies, songs, news articles, blogs and vlogs, YouTube videos, podcasts, websites… all become available for your consumption! Additionally, you will be able to appreciate Chinese opera, wuxia, and chengyu.
9. Make New Friends Worldwide
While China has many sites and apps that are widely available elsewhere blocked, you may still be able to connect with people living in China via WeChat, QQ, WeCom, Weibo, Snow, and some blogs around the web.
If someone in China is using a VPN, they may also be able to use apps more common around the world, like Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook, and so on.
And, once again, Mandarin speakers live all over the world!
You can make new connections with people from anywhere when you know their language, and it’s a great way to expand your friend group and talk with interesting people.
10. Improve Your Applications
Having Mandarin in your skillset can really help you stand out in university or job applications.
Some industries require or strongly prefer a second language - especially Mandarin - meaning that your language skills have a lot of value.
If you want to study abroad in China, having a solid foundation in Mandarin will give you a highly competitive edge. While some exchange programs or universities in China will offer language courses, if you already know the language it means you can spend less time and money on that language class.
Many jobs in New Zealand may have connections with China. Having the ability to think with the cultural and linguistic perspective that comes with knowing Mandarin is crucial if you want to be in any leadership role in that kind of work.
You also become a valuable asset in other countries. Look for jobs in China, other parts of Asia, Europe, or the Americas! Even Africa is home to many Mandarin speakers.
When you know both English and Mandarin, your world really does expand.
So what are you waiting for? Start learning Mandarin today with a tutor and see your progress improve rapidly. Soon, you’ll be saying “我听得懂普通话 Wǒ tīng dé dǒng pǔtōnghuà” in no time!
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