Mandarin Chinese Is Fast Becoming A New Language of Luxury

Wealthy Chinese tourists travelling to the United States are being treated to private shopping opportunities for luxury brands. According to a consulting firm, Chinese tourists spend more on luxury goods overseas than they do in their own country as these goods tend to be cheaper for them to buy overseas. European luxury brand stores have been capitalising on this for many years and US stores have only recently joined the race for wealthy Chinese custom. Many retailers have been learning the Mandarin Chinese language and also bringing in Mandarin-speaking staff to assist the wealthy tourists during their shopping trips to the US.

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Boom in Taiwan for Banned Chinese Language Books

Taiwan has seen a boom in the trade of Chinese language books in recent years. Imported and published books banned by the Chinese government in China for containing what it deems to be, sensitive subjects, can be easily bought in Taiwan. Chinese tourists and students go to Taiwan and freely buy the banned books in the Taiwanese bookshops or book exhibitions.

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Teach Yourself Business Mandarin Chinese

Do you want to win more business in China?
Do you want to serve your Mandarin Chinese-speaking customers better?
Do you want to work more effectively with your international business partners?

Teach Yourself Business Mandarin Chinese is a three-hour, all-audio, straightforward course that will help you to acquire essential up-to-date business language to use in China. Read more

‘Chinglish’ – A New York Comedy Explores Cultural Barriers

A recently opened comedy in New York’s Broadway called ‘Chinglish’, is causing a stir for all the right reasons. The play opens up conversation about the communication gap between the English-speaking world and China, but in a light-hearted way. It makes light of the cultural barriers which can happen when an English-speaking person tries to communicate or do business with a Chinese-speaking person. The play is in English and Mandarin Chinese.

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Mandarin Chinese – A Language On The Rise

China is sending over 5000 Chinese language teachers abroad in a bid to increase the number of students learning Mandarin Chinese. It is already becoming a popular language to learn around the world. Even developing nations such as Pakistan is to make studying Mandarin Chinese compulsory in their schools.

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Tibetan Students Protest over Language Reforms

Tibetan students in Beijing and Tongren have recently demonstrated against planned education reforms in the Qinghai Province.  The reforms threaten to limit the use of the Tibetan language in schools and many believe the region’s Tibetan population will have to study in Mandarin Chinese in the future, which they see as an erosion of their own language and culture. Read more

China Preserves World’s Only Women’s Language

Nu Shu, or Nüshu, meaning ‘female writing’, is believed to be the only language in the world used exclusively by women and is at risk of extinction.  In a bid to preserve it, China set up the Nüshu Culture Research Center, a special protection zone and museum in the Hunan province of the country.

Linguists believe that it is one of the oldest languages in the world, and that it was passed down from mothers to daughters in remote rural areas.   Read more