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Archive for August, 2011

When conducting international business, multilingualism is an invaluable asset. As companies expand and trade overseas, so the need for cultural awareness increases. Speaking the local lingo can be a useful tool in business negotiations. With this in mind, forward-thinking professionals are likely to question which languages will be most useful to them in the future. The answer to this question will, of course, vary according to the needs of the individual, their mother tongue and future career plans. There are, however, general trends that suggest some languages will increase, while others will decline, in popularity as languages of international business.

Mandarin

Mandarin Chinese encompasses a group of Chinese dialects traditionally spoken in northern China. It is an officially recognised language variety in the country, and it continues to grow in popularity. With 845 million speakers, Mandarin has a greater number of native users than any other language. China is commonly considered to be the world’s next great superpower, and it already holds a predominant place with international exports in such fields as the automotive industry. The recent growth of Mandarin classes in UK schools supports the claim that, while Chinese characters can be notoriously difficult to master, the language may be beneficial to businesses in upcoming decades.

Spanish

Spanish has 329 million native speakers in Europe, South America and the United States. Knowledge of Spanish, one of the romance languages, will help learners who go on to study French, Italian or Portuguese. Since Spanish has the second largest number of native speakers, it continues to be an important language of international business, especially in the United States.

English

Perhaps the most widely used lingua franca of international business, English has 328 million native speakers. English is taught around the world as a secondary language. While there continues to be controversy over the future of the English language, for the foreseeable future English is likely to remain a predominant medium of international communication. Students from overseas continue to study in the UK at colleges such as the Malvern House language school, proving that confidence in English as a useful language has not fallen. Indeed, through courses in Business English London language schools promote the notion of English being used in business and trade overseas.

Arabic

The Middle East is home to a number of growing economies, with extreme wealth accumulating in such nations as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Because of the status of such nations in the business world, Arabic is considered a language with many applications. Though Arabic is liturgical (being the language of the Qur’an) and some native speakers choose not to use it for business negotiations, a knowledge of the language can prove advantageous in building international relations.

Japanese

With 122 million native speakers, Japanese is notoriously difficult to learn fluently as a second language due to pitch and emphasis subtleties, as well as three written scripts. Compared with other languages, Japanese is spoken almost exclusively in the country of origin. However, in 2010 Japan was the world’s third largest national economy. The subsequent recession, earthquake and tsunami caused economic turbulence, though future regrowth is expected. While it can be useful to learn Japanese for international business, the culture must also be studied in detail so that customs and traditions may be observed. This respectful approach is the most effective method of building international relations.

The air conditioning unit means a lot for me. It just can be said that I depend on its sophistication to create the comfortable working area. That is why I will directly call the technician when I find problem with the AC unit. But this decision needs to be made carefully. Let me share you a story.

I have learned from my last experience in using a Port Arthur air conditioning company service. One day, I found something wrong on my air conditioning unit. It did not work well as usual. Without thinking longer, I called up a local air conditioning company. The technician came and directly did his work. I did not think anything bad about what the technician did toward the AC. I just knew that he did his work and I got my AC unit work well as usual. But the repair bill he gave to me just shocked me. I just found out that the repair fee was very expensive.

This experience just thought me to be more careful in relying on an air conditioning company.  It is important to find out the estimation fee. The discussion is needed before the technician does his work. A professional technician from reliable company will give needed information and offer the best decision to take.