你会不会说中文？
If you can't answer that question above in Chinese, then I can answer it for you: You don't know how to speak Chinese. Well, though I have spent 1 and a half years of fairly intensive study in Mandarin, I am far from gaining fluency in the immensely challenging language.
Think about globalization and the role that United States plays in our global society. Now think about China and the role they play. Pretty big responsibilities for these two nations, huh? Well there is a problem: language barrier. If diplomacy is going to be effective, we need to be able to communicate with them effectively. That being said, China has already started to learn English. Now, America needs to make an effort to improve relations with one of the globe's most influential countries if not the most influential in relation to the global economy. Our national strategy for strategic communication is thankfully realizing the need for promoting outreach programs for China and Chinese language teaching for Americans. I for one am convincing my friends here in Hong Kong to start learning as I have because it just makes sense to know Mandarin when you think about the number of speakers. In our flat world it is just so useful. If you are considering to learn a foreign language because you only speak English and feel that you are at a disadvantage (which you are) then please take my advice and start learning Mandarin - also known as Putonghua 普通话; meaning "the popular language". So be cool, 学中文！
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