Forbes – Li Jin
“The economies in the U.S. and China are increasingly intertwined and they now might accurately be called the two true military superpowers of the globe. Chinese foreign direct investment in the U.S. is expected to exceed $10 billion this year and it remains our number-one trade partner. The governments have pledged collaboration on various global issues such as climate change, pollution, and international terrorism. But suspicion persists and misunderstandings are certain. Some of this can be blamed on the linguistic divide, and the widespread practice of doing business through translators is not helpful. Yes, it is true that English is the lingua franca in the business world and many Chinese speak English skillfully. However, “if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head,” said Nelson Mandela. “If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” This idea has a long history in a society fixated on its own long history. Traditional Chinese society accepted foreigner traders in proportion to their respect for Chinese culture and observance of rituals. This means the ability to communicate – even imperfectly — in Mandarin Chinese is particularly instrumental to building trust and winning hearts, regardless of in a business, political, or street encounter Chinese sounds so strange, Westerners complain. It is true that the varying tones may confuse the listener. But just as the new piano student may struggle at first with scales and keys, the language begins to click nicely after the first sonic hurdles. The language is actually easier to acquire than romance tongues like Spanish or French because Mandarin Chinese shares a similar grammatical system with fewer commonly-used words. There is no conjugation in whatever form.”(more)