The language of global economy is changing. It is becoming even more important for the up and coming corporate employee to know international languages. Mandarin Chinese is one of these.

In today’s global marketplace, speaking a foreign language is no longer just an advantage, but a necessity. Our success depends on our ability to communicate, cutting across barriers of language and culture. According to a recent report by the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) and International Studies in the Schools, a fifth of U.S manufacturing jobs already connected to global trade and foreign investment is responsible for an increasing share of jobs in the private sector.

As a global language for communication, Chinese is gaining higher visibility in the business world and greater focus in educational institutions. Prominent newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and other regional papers have published feature articles on the growing trend of older and younger learners of the Chinese language.

The interest in learning Mandarin goes beyond the casual traveler who visits the Orient. Due to the need in trade relationships, more and more companies are seeking translation and interpreting services to complement technical and business communication that range from marketing presentations, conference meetings, engineering contracts, to legal documentations. In this milieu of global communications, a host of language translation agencies have mushroomed in the market place. Many well-qualified freelance professional translators can also be found through directories of national and regional translation associations. Therefore, while dealing with the Mandarin language, some basic level of understanding can steer one towards the correct direction and facilitate the process in an efficient manner.

Although Mandarin Chinese, the official spoken language of The People’s Republic of China, is widely spoken, it is certainly one of the most difficult languages to learn. In addition, the fact that qualified teachers of Mandarin Chinese are few and far between and the gravity of the situation glares back at you like a wild creature’s eyes in the night.

Language and culture are deeply intertwined. Besides linguistic proficiency, learners of foreign languages acquire a cultural understanding difficult to achieve by other means. This tolerance is necessary for building a solid economic and diplomatic relationship necessary to combat terrorism.

The top five most widely spoken languages in world include (apart from English): Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic. Let’s see about what is Mandarin Chinese and something about Cantonese as well.

Some people intertwine these two as different languages in writing. Actually these are languages spoken by the Chinese people. While Cantonese is a popular dialect spoken among the people in Canton (or spelled as Guangdong) and Hong Kong, Mandarin Chinese is the official language used by a vast majority of the Chinese population in Mainland China, Taiwan, as well as the overseas Chinese across the globe.

Mandarin Chinese is also referred to as Putong Hua (meaning common language) or Zhongguo Hua (meaning Chinese language).

There are a lot of other Chinese dialects such as Sichuan Hua, Shanghai Hua, Taiwan Hua, etc. Although Mandarin Chinese sounds very different from these local dialects such as Cantonese or Taiwanese, they all share the same written script. This is a blessing since the same written word enables Chinese people from diverse geographical regions to communicate with each other in writing even if they cannot comprehend each other through speaking.

In recent years, China began to adopt a modified script which reduces the number of strokes in a large set of Chinese characters to facilitate easier writing. This system is referred to as the Simplified Chinese script. Most of the newspapers and publications from China use the simplified Chinese characters.

For people who use the computer to type Chinese words, there are separate input channels for the traditional and the simplified Chinese scripts. For people who are eager to learn the written Mandarin Chinese, the good news is that some form of commonality exists between the traditional and the simplified script. This means that there are still a lot of characters which look alike in both the script systems. Besides, basic root components called radicals exist in every Chinese character. These radicals also hint at the meaning of a word.

In a nutshell, a written Mandarin Chinese document can be produced in traditional or simplified characters. A verbal expression in Chinese can be spoken either in Mandarin Chinese or regional dialects such as Cantonese, Taiwanese, etc. But the same written language is used for all these spoken languages with the choice of traditional or simplified script. Understanding the target group is the first step towards making out the right choice.

Choosing a language school will make the difference in your education. One of the best ways to learn Mandarin Chinese is to learn at Berlitz - Language School Singapore since learning to speak Mandarin is easier when a student works with staff possessing linguistic skills and a flair to educate a student who shows genuine interest in learning the language rather than just learning.

Learning the world’s most widely spoken language Mandrin at Berlitz - Mandarin Language School Singapore will open up exciting new career and business opportunities for students and business people, travel, and cultural enrichment. Berlitz Singapore offers various languages, based your language learning goals, we can provide the instruction you need. Our most popular languages include English, Arabic, Mandarin Spanish, German, French, Italian and Japanese.

The real beauty of the language is revealed when you listen to the classes taken for the students enrolled here. With the right kind of motivation and other supporting skills required to get fluency you learn the correct pronunciation in an easy and efficient manner.

Contact Berlitz - Mandarin Language School in Singapore for Quality Education and learn Mandarin quickly and effectively!

* The content of this article are for information purposes only & Berlitz Singapore bears no responsibilities for the article content.