Skills / English vs Mandarin: What is the language of the future?

China’s clout is growing in South East Asia, becoming the region’s top trading partner.

But to say that Mandarin will rival English is a “bit of a stretch”, says Manoj Vohra, Asia director at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Even companies in China, who prefer to operate in Chinese, are looking for managers who speak both Mandarin and English if they want to expand abroad, he says.

“They tend to act as their bridges.”

So the future of English is not a question of whether it will be overtaken by Mandarin, but whether it will co-exist with Chinese, says Vohra.

He believes bilingualism will triumph in South East Asia.

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via BBC News – Is English or Mandarin the language of the future?.