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Continue with Mandarin/start japanese/ or do both?

otaku00

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28 Mar 2015
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Hey Guys,
I'm almost finished with my first year of mandarin in HS (already love it however I'm between an A- and B+) , still got 2 more years to go. Afterwards I wanted to continue studying it in College. But my only reason wanting to learn it, is because of job opportunities and the fact that I might want to live in Singapore where more than the half of the citizens speak mandarin.
However I'm in love with the new modern culture of the japanese. I love Animes, jrpgs, and japanese horror movies. So I'm wondering after finishing High School with already 3yrs of experience in Mandarin, if I should continue taking mandarin classes or start with Japanese. Or should I do both at the same time?
I'm afraid that if I do both of them, I won't get the fluency required to do either business or watch animes etc. especially if I'm taking into context that I will have quite a bit of course load if I'm pursuing my economics degree. Also I'm planing to do a semester abroad either in Singapore/Beijing/Taipei or Tokyo. However if I get into ESSEC I could even live in Singapore for 2 years, which would probably help me quite a bit in mandarin. But there's no comparable thing with Tokyo... So what do you guys suggest? I would love to learn both but is it possible?
 
I have a friend who is Japanese who also speaks English and mandarin. I think it all comes down to what you want to do. Many people are multi lingual. What ever you choose to do just do it well. As they say...勉強すればするほど上手になる
 
You're trying to decide right now if you should start learning Japanese two years from now?
 
my only reason wanting to learn it, is because of job opportunities and the fact that I might want to live in Singapore where more than the half of the citizens speak mandarin

Hello Otaku00,
Have you been to Singapore before? I ask because English is the default official language, and any professional intercourse you will have in Singapore will be in English. Don't get me wrong, there are many things to like about Singapore, and I think its an excellent destination to aspire to travel to after graduation. But speaking Mandarin (even fluently) will probably not be the key to opening any doors for you in Singapore. Anyone interested in using Mandarin in business would be better off heading for Shanghai or Beijing, or to points elsewhere if you are a bit more adventurous. There is a similar problem faced by people who live in the center of Tokyo who are trying to learn to speak Japanese. Its not impossible, but the number of local people who can speak your language better than you can speak theirs will produce a fierce, relentless, discouraging headwind. To exercise your Mandarin (or Japanese) ability its better to go someplace where the number of English-speakers is very low.
Again, I don't mean to be a downer, because I think getting an economics degree and then getting some work experience in Asia, regardless of the destination or the functional language, is a great start. Japanese and Mandarin are both good languages to learn. If you have already spent a year studying Mandarin and you like it and are doing well, it would be a shame to ditch that in favor of Japanese. You can always study Japanese as a hobby.
 
I have a student who had started learning Mandarin then picked up Japanese, and he's focusing more on Japanese at the moment. It seems like knowing Mandarin helps understand the Japanese grammar, besides the obvious Kanji. He's one of the really fast learners. I think you'll do very well in learning Japanese indeed.
 
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