suni51 wrote:

The ever increasing number of Chinese people learning English will soon out number all English speaking people in the world. Maybe that is the reason Americans are trying to beat Chinese at their own game. 

 

Chinese are now eager to learn English. Yet for the time being, they are not so conversant in English. That is why Americans need to learn Chinese   I don't think there is any game in this. If it were so, they would try to beat Indians also in the game. 

Language bridges the gap between the people. I don't see any wrong in learning a language of another country.

Gulshan Kumar Ajmani wrote:

suni51 wrote:

The ever increasing number of Chinese people learning English will soon out number all English speaking people in the world. Maybe that is the reason Americans are trying to beat Chinese at their own game. 

 

Chinese are now eager to learn English. Yet for the time being, they are not so conversant in English. That is why Americans need to learn Chinese   I don't think there is any game in this. If it were so, they would try to beat Indians also in the game. 

 

No sir, Indians are no way in competition with Americans like Chinese are beating Americans in all fields.

 

suni51 wrote:

The ever increasing number of Chinese people learning English will soon out number all English speaking people in the world. Maybe that is the reason Americans are trying to beat Chinese at their own game. 

 

This response seems to have raised a valid point. I agree this could be a major reason why American students are opting to learn Chinese. Americans don't wish to lag behind in any respect.

There is indeed a positive correlation between the political and economic muscle of a particular language-speaking country and its popularity. Centuries back when India was Muslim dominance of Persian and Arabic languages was a phenomenon. It goes to the colonising genius of the English that primarily accounts for development of English language as the veritable lingual franca of the world. Even UK's stunted and truncated status as a political and economic entity has not prevented English from being dominant as an international language because one of her former colonies has risen to the dizzy heights of a super power. As for Americans growing interest in mastering Chinese I shall only repeat what the former prez once famously said:"It's all economics,stupid!".

Totally totally true!!! Tomorrow, if Pakistanis start ruling the economics world, Americans would start learning their language very quickly! After all, its economics! LOL

And now to the conclusion of the poster's point why Americans are not learning Indian languages?

Who the hack is interested in learning the languages which are not being given importance by Indians themselves. Give respect to your own languages before expecting others to do the same.

True, true, true......I am sure you must have met several Indians who go abroad only for a few months and come back with an attitude towards their mother tongue, be it Hindi, Marathi or Telugu or whatever, and hear them speak their own language with foreign accent! he he he