<p>^^ If you don't mind me asking, where do you get that music? I've looked endlessly, and all I can ever find are Chinese and Japanese traditional music. I'd especially LOVE to get my hands on more Vietnamese music, particularly that which uses the Đ</p>
<p>I got it all on Amazon--- but it was several years ago. well here are the names of my Cds:</p>
<p>"From Saigon to Hanoi" ( Milan entertainment, Inc.)
"Cambodge, Cambodia" ( Air mail music)
"Visions of the Orient Nouthong Phimvilayphone"(Amiata recods)</p>
<p>That's all that's left... those record companies appear to be French.</p>
<p>"Lots of asians (in asia) don't think they are fluent in English-- but it seems to me they are."
It depends on the country. Most Commonwealth citizens (like Singaporeans, Indians, and Malaysians) speak English better than most Europeans do.</p>
<p>"While Chinese and Japanese culture seems cold and dispassionate. (no disrespect)"
I don't think they're cold. They're just way too humble and reserved. They don't hold any ill feelings towards other people. If you learn Japanese you'll know. It's an extremely polite language. A lot of Asians who visit Western countries get a huge culture shock because they're not used to the, erm, explicitness over here.</p>
<p>Chinese of course, if you conquer Chinese, Japanese is much simpler.</p>
<p>^ Not really. I don't think anyone could say one of the languages is undeniably easier than the other. Really it depends on whether the individual has a knack for tonal expression or a knack for grammatical flexibility.</p>
<p>But there seems to be a general consensus among my friends and professors in those departments who say that learning Chinese first makes Japanese easier and not vice versa. Similarly, classics professors recommend Latin before Greek for the same reason.</p>
<p>Sorry to revive this thread.</p>
<p>What about Bengali? I've been to Bangladesh and almost no one speaks English. Actually, most people also can't read in their own language.</p>
<p>I'll do a google search on it tomorrow.. as to weather India or Bangladesh hires foreign teachers. There's obviously a need though, and few people would consider going to Bangladesh once they know how poor it is.</p>
<p>^ Well, you'd have about 230,000,000 potential students, so if you like it, go for it. :)</p>
<p>For Chinese, learning Korean is very easy due to the abundance of native Korean speakers within China and relatively ease of its linguistic system when compare to Japanese.
And since you told me that you are in the army, Chinese is a critical language, top tier, and passing DLPT5 will ensure you a bonus of 400 a month regardless of your MOS.
Japanese culture is nothing compare to Chinese culture. Those people who think that Chinese culture has been vanquished by Cultural revolution underestimated the perseverance of Chinese people and the Chinese cultural system. Besides, Chinese literature is developed and refined. Nothing in Asian can beat the Dream of Red Chambers, and Romance of Three Kingdoms could only be the envy of other Asian countries.</p>