Opinion | What does the popular language of the day say about the world’s economies?
Our writer previously chose to learn Spanish and Japanese, thinking matching economies would be safe bets against economic collapse. This time he is playing safe and sticking with Mandarin
When I was at school , I chose Spanish as my language option.
Spanish, I was told, was spoken by more countries in the world than any other, was soon to overtake English as the primary language in the United States, and reflected the broader excitement around Latin America’s then soaring economic growth.
After some five years of study – during which I mastered the phrase “¿Dónde está la gasolinera?”, allowing me at least to fill the car with petrol – Spanish and I parted company on not altogether friendly terms, after I completely blew my exams.
Coincidently, the Latin American economies also blew up around the same time following a debt and default binge, the effects of which, arguably, the region still suffers.
Chastened, I went to university and decided instead to learn Japanese. Japan in the 1980s, I was told, was on top of its game and was about to buy the world. It had just bought Australia and Southeast Asia, and was busy buying up large chunks of the US.
