Old 09-17-2008, 19:57   #1
Atomsk
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Learning Chinese

(I searched before I created this topic, but nothing answered my questions.)

I plan on enlisting with the 18X option a few years after I graduate, and eventually becoming a SF soldier. Now I might be getting ahead of myself here, and like i've read here on the boards, I should "concentrate on the 25m target". On top of that I know that just because I know a language; it dosen't mean i'll get the placement that I want, because my preferences take second place to the needs of the Regiment.

So my question to the soldiers in 1st Group is this:

I'm currently a university student, and i've been studying chinese for about 2 semesters now. My question is, apart from the credit i'm getting for the classes, would learning chinese be of any use to me in the near future? I know that China is quickly becoming a world power, and I figured learning the language would be a good idea regardless of whether i'm a civilian or a soldier.

Since the people here have more experience on the subject than I do, any input would help.
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Old 09-18-2008, 05:40   #2
Jack Moroney (RIP)
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[QUOTE=Atomsk; My question is, apart from the credit i'm getting for the classes, would learning chinese be of any use to me in the near future? /QUOTE]

Apart from the fact that learning a language, even Latin, is never a waste of time and may serve you well sometime down the road, there is no guarantee that you will be assigned to the 1st even with a Chinese language skill. The bottom line is that you will be assigned based on a whole series of considerations and the needs of the service. As you point out, China is expanding its influence world wide and I could foresee someone with a Chinese language ability being of value to any of the teams working parts of Africa and some other selected parts of the planet not within the 1st Group's normal areas of interest. While SF is supposed to be area oriented they will go were they are needed regardless of language for some missions. Look at who has sent folks to SWA whose language skills and area of orientation do not come close to their normally assigned areas of orientation. I have found that folks that are gifted enough to pick up any language, and I mean by that think in that language and not just memorize phrases, are also capable of learning another. As far as Chinese, with the number of dialects and local bastardizations of that language, what you pick up in college may not even be useable in its current form for some areas to which you may be assigned even in the 1st Group.
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Old 09-18-2008, 20:40   #3
Atomsk
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Thanks for your input, i'll keep studying and i'll see where that leads to, I might even learn a bit more arabic. To be honest it'd be a lot easier to practice if there was a china town in Fayetteville, but that's just wishful thinking.
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Old 09-19-2008, 05:09   #4
Jack Moroney (RIP)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Atomsk View Post
To be honest it'd be a lot easier to practice if there was a china town in Fayetteville, but that's just wishful thinking.
So you think Tung Sing's is a music school? There are any number of Chinese establishments in Fayetteville, why not see if someone there might be able to help with your efforts?
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Old 09-19-2008, 05:46   #5
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A lot of the Chinese restaurants around Ft Bragg speak Mandarin. Different dialects... you'll hear a lot of the lazy "z", "c", "s", slang.... Be careful, tho, broaching the "I speak Chinese" barrier.. a lot of them will clam up
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Old 09-02-2009, 17:53   #6
P36
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Check out this website, I find it useful

www.melnyks.com

You'll have to pay for the transcripts, but the Podcasts are free. I actually like this better than most of the professional books/cds I have.
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