Hanyu 汉语 Hànyǔ

Learning Mandarin is becoming popular in South American countries like Chile.

When I first read Jonathan Zimmerman’s Christian Science Monitor op/ed Beware China’s role in US Chinese classes, I wondered if Canadians would react as he did. Jonathan, a Professor of Education and History at New York University attempted to draw parallels between the funding of Mandarin classes in the US by the Chinese Government and attempts by Mussolini’s pre-WWII Fascist government to promote political propaganda through the financing of Italian language schools.

Two years after Jonathan’s piece we find a similar case in BC where Mandarin courses are being 100% funded by the Hanban. The courses will also be available online for free to BC residents. Dennis Pilon, Political Science professor at University of Victoria, believes it is “undemocratic” to accept or solicit money from foreign governments and that the “BC government was putting itself in a position of conflict”.

Click here for a Chinese version of the story.

Dennis Pilon makes an important point. So what about the ideological implications? What sort of curriculum might be expect from the Hanban? Presumably a modern version of what China has been successfully teaching to foreign students from around the world for over 40 years.

Mussolini and Fascism? I doubt it. How about Sunzi in Neo-liberal clothing - ie soft power? Is the Hanban really so different from the British Council?

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Français, English, 中文? - the trilingual ATM of a major Canadian bank blinked at me. Back from Asia after a 12 year absence, I was impressed. No need to wait until 2020 after all. 全球汉语 - Global Hànyǔ (Mandarin) had arrived in Canada’s largest city. 汉语热, eh?

But is Global Hànyǔ really on the rise? Why wouldn’t we find hanzi on our ATM in the world’s most linguistically and culturally diverse city? Indeed, some banks give “Italiano” as a linguistic choice.

And, no surprise, the Economist is not convinced, either. Hànyǔ is so, er, so “unEuropean”. All those nasty tones and difficult and disagreeable characters are not worth the time and trouble for those forging a career path in that competitive global marketplace.

Right. Why learn Mandarin Chinese? English is THE global language. By 2025 China will have more English speakers than the rest of the world. Speak English, and you can go anywhere, including China (after 2025).

Nevertheless, something’s happening beyond 汉字 on your ATM. And playing the numbers game of how many people speak X or Y is only part of the story.

Predictions are English will soon be just A - not THE - global language. English may share that new role with Hànyǔ. According to TimeAsia, Hànyǔ looks poised to be a global language. TimeAsia’s not alone. Tom Foremski’s review of GlobalEnglish - “the leading Web portal for learning English”, raises similar questions.

Hanyu may be big business. Just think. Adventurous entrepreneurs could open a Global Hanyu language centre franchise. Who knows, a mere USD $350,000 - $500,000 investment in Chinese language education might have big payoffs. Your own franchise - CrazyHànyǔ ? Hànyǔ First? Smith’s (or Wang’s) School of Hànyǔ ? HànyǔNow!? Or even McHànyǔ . The possibilities are endless…But, until then, there’s always the Confucius Institute.

Our society and the global multi-billion dollar language industry - where “language” usually means “English” - could be transformed overnight, too. Imagine:

• TESOL coexisting with TCSOL. CELTA with CCLTA. The British Council with the Hanban.

• Bookstores with aisles full of textbooks aimed at helping 老外 acquire communicative competence in Mandarin. (How else can we compete in the global marketplace?)

• Teacher training courses to help alleviate the shortage of Mandarin teachers. Psst! An online TCSOL certificate, anyone?

• An influx of young globe-trotting native speakers financing their travels by teaching their mother tongue (sound familiar?). Oh no! Better watch out for the pedophiles and lock up your daughters.

• Cries from the elite to make Mandarin an official language. Mandarin lessons for your fetus. Calls to emulate the progressive policies of Panama, Zimbabwe, and the UK before we fall behind. And, of course, custom tongue jobs to help with those difficult retroflex sounds.

The academic arm of our emergent Global Mandarin (World Hànyǔs?) industry might eventually have to deal with issues already faced by Global English (or World Englishes). But I’ll leave that for a future article.

Mark Glaser’s question: English Today, Mandarin by 2020?, is a timely one - especially when monolingualism is increasingly seen as an ideology.

So, while you’re contemplating the answer to Mark’s question, don’t forget to revise for your HSK— also known as 中国的TOEFL. And your offspring had better start that great toddle towards the future now. The word is out - “parents are teaching their infants Chinese to compete in the global economy“!

Looks like the 汉字 are on the wall. Better wake up and smell the 豆浆.