Alternative future world

Guest   Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:59 pm GMT
<<Everybody will speak Chinese in the future. >>
Yes, we are beginning to learn chinese. Kids like a lot. For adults the problem is that it is difficult to learn.

Con cariƱo al pueblo chino:
Amor Oriental (Chinita de Amol)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YteUV341R30
and for your kids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66U7xQZyNLU
Guest   Sun Nov 04, 2007 9:40 pm GMT
In an alternative future world... Antimooners will love Spam
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ITeuaqcpckc
mac   Mon Nov 05, 2007 3:02 am GMT
I think some people expect too much of the Chinese language. Even if China continues to open up, it will be hard to displace English as a dominate language because it is already so entrenched as a native, second and priority foreign language among so many people.

Basically, English, Spanish, French and portuguese had the opportunity to spread their languages around the world, and English ended up coming out on top.

China while opening its market, is still a semi-closed society, underdeveloped in many areas, with a strict authoritative government and lacking many personal freedoms that we enjoy in the west, making China not as appealing as it could be. Until that changes, the influence of the Chinese language and culture will remain restricted to its own area and the markets, but not at the expense of English. Give people the choice between moving to Europe or the US/Canada and moving to China, and the vast majority would not say China. I don't see that changing in the near future either.
Guest   Mon Nov 05, 2007 1:01 pm GMT
I think the general consensus is that Western Civilization will decline (relatively speaking, at least) in the next several decades. Along with this decline, the European languages (like English) will decline in importance.

The assumption is that China will replace the West as the main political and economic power. Hence, the Chinese language ought to become dominant by 2100 or so, despite its immense difficulty.

However, in two centuries, I don't think anybody can tell what things will be like. Will China stick to its borders, succumb to political correctness, "get tired", and then start declining? Will they be replaced by some more dynamic, self-confident culture, which is not ashamed of dominating/enslaving everyone else? Or, while they had the chance, will the Chinese have killed off most non-Chinese on the planet in a quest for "living room"? If so, does that mean that some variant of Chinese will still be the main language?

My crystal ball is cloudy, but surely the dominant world language will belong to whoever has the most powerful economy, military, and technology.