Chinese language to dominate the internet?
How to Learn Chinese Effectively?
The language of the internet has shifted from predominantly English to multilingual. But the internet seemingly reinforces a few main languages, putting the majority of others at risk of exclusion. Chinese Mandarin is quickly becoming one of the dominant languages of the internet at the expense of others.
If as Bill Gates says, the internet is a town square, then you need to learn Mandarin in order to have a voice in the digital village of the future.
There are 10 languages that represent 75% of all web traffic. English and Mandarin are neck and neck as the most common languages with the most web traffic. Nearly 50% of global traffic.
The primary English speaking nations (US and UK) have a combined population of about 400 million well below China’s 1.2 billion people. Of the Chinese population, 480 million are not online yet.
Put plainly, populations that represent 15% of the global population see their local languages dominate 50% of web traffic.
Based on these data points, it appears that the internet is leading to a contraction of the languages in use.
Why You Need to Learn Mandarin
In the digital age, information is capital and influence is power.
The ability to create and curate unique digital information assets is like creating and accumulating potential power. As the languages of the internet contract to be dominated by a few, the cultural ideas reinforced by these dominant languages will be evangelized in developing communities.
Influence is gained by leveraging the network effects of the internet to connect large groups of people. As more people join the network, it’s value grows and the internet converges on a few languages and the east/west divide.
Moving forward, being a monolinguist will prove to be a significant opportunity cost as it represents a disadvantage in controlling the global ideological narrative.
As China’s geopolitical strategy plays out over the coming decades the adoption of Mandarin can be expected to continuously grow in Africa and the developing world. Therefore, it makes sense for individuals that want to be relevant in an increasingly connected world to speak the 2 most dominant languages.
Learning Mandarin will empower internet users to tap into a large and growing body of unique internet content. An amalgamation of divergent processes, unique thoughts, and ideologies.
The future of the internet will be characteristic of a multilingual global society where the utility of polyglots becomes significant. By learning Mandarin, you open yourself up to a wider world of opportunities, positioning yourself to maximize the value of the internet's network effects.
With other languages starting to outpace English, it's important to prepare for the future. They can start learning today with our Chinese Learning program.
