Given a chance to learn German, Japanese or Mandarin (ie Chinese) which will u choose?

Question

And why?

Answer 1

CHINESE, definitely. What use would you have with German or even Japanese? With China as the next worldpower (most likely before 2045) , it is the language that really could be very useful for business, and travel. (China has over 5000 years of history! Think of everything you could see, compared to, maybe the US, with only 200 years!) It's economy is the fastest in the world, with a GDP of 9%. Over 1/4 of the world speaks Chinese. A person proficient in two languages, especially Chinese and English, would have far more oppurtunities globally than a person with a Harvard degree.

Although it might not be entirely visible now, but China holds wonderful oppurtunities in the future. So, stand on the shoulders of giants and look out further: Chinese is the next new thing.

Answer 2

I begin majoring in German this Fall; German, definitely.
I do have a Chinese dictionary, though. I haven't read through the whole thing, but I have read the beginning. It is really interesting. I think all languages are interesting. It might be fun to watch Anime in Japanese.

Answer 3

Japanese, definitely, since I am a fifth-generation Japanese-American who doesn't speak Japanese!

But I'd love to read Hesse and Goethe in the original, and (after English) Mandarin is going to be the language of the 21st century.

Answer 4

For business or professional purposes, I would choose Chinese. With China converting to a market-based economy, there are ample opportunities to start a business there, or do business with them.

For cultural purposes, I would choose Japanese. No more needing to have my anime subtitled! :-)

German is just an ugly, guttural language, I can't think of a reason I would want to learn that.

Answer 5

DEFINITELY Chinese. They are the next big superpower, and if you are a student and want a practical choice, choose Chinese. Many major corporations who are in the manufacturing sector work with factories and corporations in China. If you are in high school, by the time you finish college, if you speak or understand Chinese, you will have a MAJOR advantage in the job market.

The economies of both Japan and Germany are in the toilet, worse even than the US. China is the next big thing (it already is - practically everything we own is made there!!).

Answer 6

What should I do with each one of those languages?

- with German, to work at the German embassy.

- with Chinese, to work in Chinese related business.

- with Japanese I could draw those lovely signs with black ink, and copy "haiku", the old unexpected short poems like:

" I have built a grass hut
where no coins are kept.
Having had rice,
ready for a laissure nap!"

Of course Japanese!

Answer 7

German, because there are a lot of similar words to English and the alphabet is pretty much the same.

When I went to Europe I could get by in Germany, Switzerland and Austria with my high school German. Well, part of Switzerland, anyway.

Answer 8

German, it is nice language
and I figure a lot easier to learn
than Japanese or Chinese.

Answer 9

I would definitely choose German. There are certain authors whose works I would love to read in the original language: Hegel, Nietzsche, and Kant to name a few. Furthermore, I enjoy traveling --have you ever been to Luxembourg and stuck at a train station? Well, let me tell ya, German would be really handy to know there. Just because they learn some English in schools overseas, does not mean they are happy to use it to help an American traveler who is lost. and... well, that is just another story. Definitely German.

Answer 10

Japanese.