<p>definitely mandarin chinese</p>
<p>mandarin chinese... but only in china i think?</p>
<p>i think the most important languages to learn will be for those in developing, but growing regions - mainly china (or asia in general) and south america</p>
<p>following that:</p>
<p>1) mandarin</p>
<p>2) spanish</p>
<p>but ask yourself where you'd like to do international business. for me its in asia, so i'm studying japanese, will study mandarin, and already know vietnamese</p>
<p>Japanese English ranges from fantastic to pitiful. Kind of like American Spanish.</p>
<p>Yes, most Japanese will learn it from middle school (or even elementary school) through high school. Very few will retain much of it past secondary school. However, it's not because of any inherent "closed-mindedness" per se, but instead the lack of real world use. </p>
<p>Discounting Japan, as alero86 did, is somewhat foolish. Japan remains, to this day, the second largest economy in the world. Furthermore, their finance sector is growing fairly rapidly relative to other countries, and what was once a barely nascent financial sector is starting to take off. However, whether or not the banking reforms do allow private firms to really leverage the Japanese economy like the American financial firms leverage the American economy remains to be seen.</p>
<p>Still, it's a language spoken by 100 million of the world's richest people, and that's not changing anytime soon.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Ideally you'd learn Mandarin and Japanese, but those are difficult for people whose native language is Romance or Germanic based. And even if you acquire them, there will be nearly 2 billion people in the world who already speak them, and they're way better than you. And just knowing the language of those countries isn't nearly enough to really understand how business works there. Your understanding of Oriental culture will always lag far behind the native people there.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>There are today 1.2 billion or so Chinese, of which approximately 900 million speak Mandarin. There are, at best, MAYBE 130 million Japanese speakers, if you include nikkei living in Latin America and the US. </p>
<p>And "Oriental" is for objects. Like rugs. Asian is a much better and less abusive word for people and their culture.</p>
<p>First, China's population is standing at 1.413 billion currently--your stats were probably from the 2005 bidecial census. Second, I will assume that the 300 million Chinese (the number you for some reason discredited) refer to those who don't know Mandarin but speak their local dialects. But guess what? They might as well be included in the population of Mandarin speakers, because once you are fluent in Mandarin you can easily understand the other dialects (mostly spoken by ethnic Chinese who make up 8% of the population). And if you plan to do business in China, chances are you're not going to be dealing with the ethnic Chinese who predominantly work in agriculture and ranching, in the much poorer western provinces like Tibet. Third, your stats on 130 million Japanese speakers is just WRONG, and grossly underestimated. My original sum of a total of nearly 2 billion speakers of Mandarin or Japanese is accurate to within a hundred million at most.</p>
<p>About using "Asian" instead of "oriental" as a convention, I've never heard of that nuance in its usage (objects? rugs? Likely you're confusing the word with "ornamental") Oriental is a convenient label for the triculture in East Asia. You don't just take your own interpretation of a word and call it convention. "Asian" would include the whole peoples of Asia-- in that case YOU are being insensitive to the non-Orientals in Asia by excluding them from identifying with the continent they live on.</p>
<p>SergioValencia,</p>
<p>Even if the Chinese population is 1.4 billion (and you are correct, it is), there are still about 800-850 million native speakers of the language. Yes, that's a lot, and I'm not discounting that.</p>
<p>However, your argument that understanding Mandarin means understanding other dialects is false. Ask any Mandarin speaker how good their Cantonese is. Most will shake their heads and say, "I don't understand it." Thankfully, all Hong Kong residents (the most likely suspect for someone interested in finance outside of the mainland) learn Mandarin. Nonetheless, to say that you can "easily " understand other dialects is just NOT true. Cantonese and Mandarin, in their spoken forms, are very much phonologically different languages.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Third, your stats on 130 million Japanese speakers is just WRONG, and grossly underestimated.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>No</a>, it's almost perfect.</p>
<p>For one, I'm a Japanese speaker and have a pretty good idea of what goes on with the language. However, 130 million is also the official number published by a number of sources, including the Japanese government itself. Now, feel free to argue, but I'd like to see a source that shows a significantly larger number.</p>
<p>However, what I was arguing was not necessarily the usefulness of either language. I was arguing your 2 billion "Mandarin and Japanese" speaker figure.</p>
<p>There are about 850 or so million native Mandarin speakers, and maybe around 150 million or so speaking it as a second language (think Hong Kong and Macau) and about 130 or so million Japanese speakers. That does not add up anywhere near to 2 billion. </p>
<p>And no, I'm not confusing the word "Oriental" with "ornamental." I'm a tad bit more capable than that. Oriental is, at least in North America, generally considered highly offensive. I taught a class here at UCSD on East Asian history, and the general consensus, at least amongst scholars in the US, is that the word is simply not to be used.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=183%5B/url%5D">http://www.modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=183</a>
<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/words/language/avoid_guide.html#race%5B/url%5D">http://www.randomhouse.com/words/language/avoid_guide.html#race</a></p>
<p>Oriental is today seen as being something akin to saying "colored" or "negro." But this may be my North American lens creeping in. Perhaps you are not from North America, and that may explain it...</p>
<p>You definitely shouldn't call Koreans, Japanese, or Chinese "Oriental's". ^ Is right; that term is reserved strictly for objects.</p>
<p>As far as language is concerned, I'm gonna say study the language of the region you'd like to work in most.</p>
<p>You are obviously under the impression that only people living in CHINA have Mandarin as their native tongue--an ignorant assumption. Mandarin is also the official language of Singapore, Taiwan (even though Taiwan is by all legal means a province of China, many census records calculate its population separately), and it is the second most spoken language in Malaysia, Burma, Laos, and North Korea. Then there are the overseas Chinese, of which there are more in number than from any other nationality, mostly in Western Europe, Canada and the US. </p>
<p>Let's estimate the total now: 850 million native Mandarin speakers in CHINA (out of the 1.41 billion population) + 130 million Japanese speakers (I'll give you this one) + 400 million Mandarin speakers in Singapore and other Chinese satellites + 100 million Mandarin speakers overseas (this is a rough estimate) = almost 2 billion. QED</p>
<p>SergioValencia,</p>
<p>Again, this is not true. That, and I never said that only "only people living in CHINA have Mandarin as their native tongue." You put words in my mouth. </p>
<p>I decided to research this a bit, and here are the best figures I've found (from a government source):</p>
<p>"Mandarin is the most widely spoken of all Chinese languages. It is used by 867 million people as a first language in a vast Beijingarea of northern and southwestern mainland China. It is also spoken in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mongolia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA, and Viet Nam. The total number of first-language speakers of Mandarin world-wide is estimated to be around 873 million. In addition, it is used as a second language by another 178 million people"</p>
<p>Even if we count the users of Chinese as a second language, that means that there are about 1.2 billion or so combined speakers of Japanese and Chinese.</p>
<p>Then again, this is assuming that they are somehow mutually beneficial languages to learn, which they may not be-- Japanese is a very different language from Mandarin. With the exception of writing, which is also fairly distinct, they're as different from one another as Korean and Thai.</p>
<p>What about Swedish and Italian? </p>
<p>Sweden has a great standard of living and a bustling economy with opportunity for growth. Clients may look favorably on Swedish speakers than those who rely on translators. </p>
<p>Italy is a major player in export. They do well in high end industries. I can picture maneuvering well with manufacturing and design sectors. </p>
<p>German is also good, though rough to the ears.</p>
<p><<sweden has="" a="" great="" standard="" of="" living="" and="" bustling="" economy="" with="" opportunity="" for="" growth.="" clients="" may="" look="" favorably="" on="" swedish="" speakers="" than="" those="" who="" rely="" translators.="">></sweden></p>
<p>The Scandanavian economies, with their highly socialized welfare states have been growing at a very slow clip since the late 1980s, which some might call "stagnant". Their economy is not nearly as dynamic as many others. And you're forgetting that Sweden has a very small population, and a very small number of native speakers. In addition, the vast majority of Swedes learn English since early childhood, and most Swedes you come in contact with speak English at or near a fluent level, particularly those in international professions. If you were an American doing business with the Swedes, your Swedish counterparts/clients would most likely speak English anyway. </p>
<p>Italian is a beautiful language, with a rich history in culture, the arts, etc, but it is not all that useful for international business, being that it is only spoken in Italy, and Italy's financial sector is very small compared to other European competitors like Germany and the U.K. </p>
<p>GLOBAL languages are the most important. Think, which countries had global, multi-continental empires? Which languages are spoken in several countries? Which countries have large financial industries? </p>
<p>English
French
Spanish</p>
<p>Also, when considering learning a foreign language, one should think about how many native speakers it has. With that criteria, something like Mandarin comes to mind, with over 800 million native speakers, along with German at 100+ native speakers, etc. Hindi would not be included as most professionals in India learn English anyway. </p>
<p>Brazil will soon be an influential player on the world stage, with over 200 million people. Perhaps Portuguese is a good choice with an eye to the future.</p>
<p>Look at your country's largest trading partners. This will help also.</p>
<p>Indeed, UCLAri, Japanese and Mandarin are entirely different languages. Some mandarin-speakers seem to understand or interpret Kanji more easily, but I think that even this will no more be an advantage since more and more people in China are being taught the standardized modern writing system.</p>
<p>You say that Japan's financial markets will stay around for a long time?
How would you compare them to the Chinese/HK boom, though?</p>
<p>wallstreetjosh, I would like to add that many Eastern Europeans I encounter everyday speak German either as a second language or know some of it because they have some kind of family ties. Russian is also a kind of lingua franca in some of the ex-UdSSR countries.
And Eastern Europe seems to have an interesting future...</p>
<p>Italian? I really don't know. As in most other [western] european countries, students start mastering English quite early on. I admit that Italy lags a bit in this process, but anyone in the overall business environment understands English.</p>
<p><<wallstreetjosh, i="" would="" like="" to="" add="" that="" many="" eastern="" europeans="" encounter="" everyday="" speak="" german="" either="" as="" a="" second="" language="" or="" know="" some="" of="" it="" because="" they="" have="" kind="" family="" ties.="" russian="" is="" also="" lingua="" franca="" in="" the="" ex-udssr="" countries.="" and="" europe="" seems="" an="" interesting="" future...="">></wallstreetjosh,></p>
<p>True, High German (as opposed to "Low German") has been a lingua franca in Central Europe for centuries, and most Eastern Europeans who learned foreign langauges traditionally learned either German or French, as these were the two dominant langauges on the continent. Since then, English has replaced them, although German is still very important, and many Poles learn German. </p>
<p>Russian is certainly the most important of the Slavic languages, and so long as Russia remains somewhat democratic, with a less than authoritarian regulation of its economy, it will continue to have much investment potential, so that learning Russian might be beneficial. </p>
<p>Note though that Russian does not use the Latin alphabet, so learning to read and write Russian can be very difficult. It's also a Slavic language, meaning that it is about as different from English as Persian is, which is actually not related to Arabic btw, but is an Indo-European language. </p>
<p>Iran - (Aryan) - Indo-European. That's where the etymology of "Iran" comes from.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Indeed, UCLAri, Japanese and Mandarin are entirely different languages. Some mandarin-speakers seem to understand or interpret Kanji more easily, but I think that even this will no more be an advantage since more and more people in China are being taught the standardized modern writing system.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I find that Chinese and Japanese speakers can usually read a fair amount of the other's language. However, Japanese use kanji in unique and oftentimes confusing ways from the perspective of the Chinese-- especially when dealing with Japanese words written in Kanji.</p>
<p>Japan's financial markets aren't going anywhere, but my gut tells me that HK's are more robust and probably a better place to work. Unregulated markets and a comparative advantage tell us that HK will be the better place for now (at least.)</p>
<p>Is Eastern Europe really all that promising? I think it's up-and-coming. The entrance of its countries into the EU is a hopeful move. Yet, Eastern Europe seems to be at a crossroads, where the ball can travel both ways. I don't know if countries that are still developing in terms of establishing secure governments and stable economies will be a right move in the future, at least in the near future. Eastern Europe may be a niche market, but I don't think it will blossom soon enough for all the opportunities it may have. </p>
<p>What do you guys think? I'm pretty ignorant in the matter. </p>
<p>Also, I've researched that learning Russian may not be advantageous to minorities, because there is a noticeable sentiment of xenophobia in particularly Russia and some surrounding countries, and that the politics are just plain crooked. What are your understandings?</p>
<p>Thanks UCLAri.</p>
<p>wallstreetjosh, indeed, especially many Poles, Czechs and Hungarians are actually fluent at German, mainly due to common features in geopolitical history.</p>
<p>Come on, cyrillic isn't so different from the Latin alphabet, and at least it's an alphabet as opposed to some other writing systems :D
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/reference/img/cyrillic-alphabet.gif%5B/url%5D">http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/reference/img/cyrillic-alphabet.gif</a>
(BTW Cyrillic is also used in other slavic languages.)</p>
<p>Private_Joker, I think that at least from an EU point of view there can be many advantages in being able to communicate at a deeper level with Eastern Europe. Currently, most of the "newcomer" countries are to "western" Europe like India is to the Silicon Valley in USA.
I can also imagine that there could be advantages to the rest of the world. I can virtually think of any business, trade and opportunities.</p>
<p>With regards to language and historical sensitivities towards Russian, I believe the situation is somewhat analogous to the ex-colonies of the British Empire towards English; just look at a few Bollywood films and how they depict the historical Englishmen.
Nonetheless, many still speak the language; and at a practical/everyday life level, nobody seems to have time to care about historical rivalries. They normally interact with each other, especially those who are now young adults and teenagers; the future colleagues at work.
(this is actually not statistics but from my personal experience and interactions with them, and we have a great flow of foreign, exchange and MBA students from all over the slavic and baltic realms)</p>
<p>I recalled that I recently read something about developments in Islamic Finance. Furthermore, Dubai, the Gulf, Oman, Qatar are nice words to the ears of luxury and services industry.
Ever considered MSA (modern standard arabic)?</p>