Is Chinese worth learning?

BEIJING - The question of whether to learn Chinese, and invest the incredible amount of time required in this task, is a big decision.  When I moved to China in 2004, I spent a lot of time trying to learn the basics: things like giving directions to the taxi driver and ordering your favourite meal in a restaurant.  I’ve always wanted to delve deeper into Chinese learning because I actually thoroughly enjoy it, and I’ve associated Chinese proficiency with better career opportunities.  But I’m starting to wonder if this is true.

In my previous position with a local PR firm, I was responsible for interviewing potential employees.  One of the requirements was proficiency in Chinese, and I was originally shocked at the number of resumes that crossed my desk which fulfilled this criterion.  There are a lot of foreigners in China who can speak Chinese now, and it seems a bare minimum in business.

That is, until you read this post from Jack Perkowski, the author of the book Managing the Dragon and the blog by the same name (h/t to Danwei).  He believes that not only is learning Chinese not a requirement for business, it’s not even a prerequisite to learning the culture:

Maybe this is all one big rationalization for not having taken the time to learn the language. That’s part of it: languages have never been my thing. But I do believe that too much emphasis is put on the language, and not enough emphasis is put on gaining a more substantive understanding of China and how it works. There’s this sense that if you don’t speak the language you can’t possibly understand China; there’s also the equally wrong notion that anybody who speaks the language does understand China. I’ve seen plenty of instances where this isn’t the case.

When I was working at a local PR firm, I was attending Tsinghua University in the mornings to study Chinese.  When I left the firm, I mentioned that I wanted to dedicate myself to learning the language and that it was important that I become proficient.  My manager said, and I’m paraphrasing, “Cam, learning to speak Chinese takes a lot of time.  And really, all companies have translators anyway.  Do what you’re good at, and don’t worry about the language.”

The more I think about it, the more I’m inclined to agree.  I know many talented Chinese speakers who have little work experience or other education because they have invested so many years in becoming proficient in the language.  I am not saying this is a bad decision, but I am saying it’s near impossible to obtain strong business qualifications and Chinese ability, both at a young age. When one looks at it this way, the decision becomes much more difficult.

I am ashamed of my level of Chinese, and often blush with embarrassment when people ask how long I’ve been in China.  Honestly, my Chinese should be at a much higher level considering I’ve been here for 3.5 years.  I also genuinely enjoy learning the language.  If I was independently wealthy, I would enrol full-time and do an intensive course for the two years Perkowski believes it takes to become fluent at a business level.  In fact, having lived in Guangzhou, I’d dive into Cantonese too, which I found to be a fascinating language.  Unfortunately, I’m not independently wealthy (yet).

While I’m inclined to believe Chinese proficiency is not necessary in business, I also believe that it’s becoming increasingly more so.  There are now thousands of foreigners in China who have a good level of Chinese; these people will now build their business resumes and slowly edge out their unilingual competitors.  Also, contrary to Perkowski’s assertion, I believe that learning the language does help one understand the culture.  The slang, the double-entendres, and the Chinese sayings provide fascinating insight into the way people think.

While I believe there is no problem doing business in China without Chinese, that’s no reason not to learn it.