It is not surprising that many people from different parts of the world are learning languages which are very different from their native tongues. Having knowledge of various languages are proven to be very useful not only for educational and leisure purposes but for business reasons as well.

In Harare, Zimbabwe, Pedzisayi Mashiri, the director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Zimbabwe has called on to the Chinese community to learn local Zimbabwean languages if they want to make more progress with their business ventures in the country. Mashiri has said that it would be proper for Chinese business people to learn the local languages since this could help communicate with the locals easier.

Although Zimbabwe has high literacy levels, there are some locals who cannot speak languages other than their native ones. So, even when the Chinese can speak English, they may find communication difficult in some parts of the country.

“Since we are learning the Chinese language in Zimbabwe, I think to strengthen the inter-cultural communication it would be proper for them to also try to learn local languages such as Shona and Ndebele,” Mashiri said.

The Confucius Institute is a non-profit public institute which aims to propagate and expand the learning of Chinese language and culture and supporting local Chinese teaching internationally through affiliated Confucius Institutes. The Confucius Institute offers demand driven courses for people who are either in business or politics.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Zimbabwe was established in 2007 and is a vehicle for expansion and also strengthens the relationship between China and Zimbabwe. It is the eighty-fifth Confucius Institute in the world and was jointly built by the Office of Chinese Language Council International and the university.

At the moment the relationship of both China and Zimbabwe is excellent and the relationship is secured through a long history in various fields. At present, due to having language as a vehicle for intercultural communication, the relationship between both countries has been consolidated because the institute now receives post graduate scholarships for their students.

Since 2007, the institute has sent seven students from the University of Zimbabwe who are studying for their PhDs in various fields such as linguistics, engineering, psychology, and theater and through that kind of educational program, the relationship between the two countries has strengthened more.

If the Chinese would really want to expand their businesses and cultural interests in other parts of the world, it is essential that they learn the local languages of the places where they want to expand. It is good to know that people are not the only ones learning Chinese but that the Chinese are learning other languages too!

This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 1:39 pm and is filed under Language News, Languages and Medias, Languages and Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.