The global market, the East, and learning languages

[Nicholas]

As I believe I've mentioned before, I dabble at learning both Japanese and Chinese. I've worked with Japanese the most, as it's easier to self-teach, since there isn't as much of an issue with tonal variations changing the meaning of a word.

While I would like to visit both countries, I doubt I'd want to actually live in either of them for an extended period of time. However, I wouldn't mind my growing linguistic skills being an asset in my career paths in life. I've been going back and forth with which one to pursue a higher level of fluency in... Mandarin Chinese (which is considered "standard" Chinese in their growing push to ehance the literacy in China) or Japanese.

In terms of the international marketplace, a lot of technology obviously gets refined in Japan. On the other hand, I haven't heard much of outsourcing going to Japan as opposed to China. I learned at a Society for Technical Communication meeting last week that even manuals for American products are being written by low-cost workers in China.... which is why you see instructions like my favorite from an MP3 player:

"Be careful not to be dropping product, as this may cause a hurt or damage to the product."

Ahh.... Engrish.

So, the thing I'm wondering is if anyone has any thoughts on the continued presence of Japan in the global market and the emerging presence of China. Obviously, I won't base my decision of which one to pursue more from simple thoughts in an online forum.. but, since we have people from other countries here, I welcome thoughts that might give me food for thought in deciding which language to become stronger in.

The other, though, I'd still pursue a basic conversational level of speaking... you know, the survival skills of "Where is the bathroom?" "How much does this cost?" "Do you have a boyfriend?... Do you want one?"

[Dovydas]

Are you thinking in terms of career or simple personal interest?

From a personal angle, I would go with whichever culture you are interested in the most. As for career, well that's more complicated because you have to take into account all sorts of factors! Rolling Eyes

Why limit the choice to Chinese or Japanese? There are many interesting languages out there to get to grips with!