Daniela Perez/ Staff Writer
Anyone familiar with economic terms can resonate with a popular headline: “If China sneezes, the world catches a cold.” As business and economic interests begin to broaden their horizons, the Chinese are introducing a new language to their curriculum: the language of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and our cafecito distributors — Spanish.
As Spanish becomes a popular language in China, job opportunities become just as demanding. On Aug. 3, Gillian Daley, a contributing writer for PantherNOW, wrote an article regarding a Spanish program in Qingdao University.
The goal is to “break the language barrier between China and Latin America” and “bring together two powerful regions,” Daley wrote.
With the demanding and ever competitive job search, this provides a window of opportunity for FIU students — particularly students seeking internships and jobs in the language field — to study Spanish in China.
FIU takes Spanish very seriously. In the 2010 Census, Miami Demographics showed that Hispanics made up 70 percent of the population. The fact that China is requesting our second language deserves a pat on the back. After all, Spanish has been the backbone of our city.
Sara Custer, a writer for Pie News, wrote that the “demand” for the Spanish language in China “has increased 30 fold over the past 14 years.”
While cultural and world ties seek new markets, Latin America seems to be reaching a higher step on the ladder. Daniel Valentin, a sophomore majoring in international relations, thinks that this is a big and successful leap for the Spanish language.
It’s “interesting and eye opening highlighting the rise of Spanish [Latin American] culture in the global stage. No longer is it a western or U.S. idea to learn Spanish,” Valentin said.
Another student, Zachery Blaise, a junior majoring in hospitality and economics, thinks that the induction of Spanish in China proves that the language is growing and becoming more important.
“English isn’t the only language that needs to be learned throughout. Spanish is becoming more popular, and I’m here for that,” he said.
The world remains vigilant on China’s economic health all year long. However, Latin America is prepared with Vick’s Vaporub and Vitamin C tablets for strengthened immunity if China does ever sneeze.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Photo taken from Flickr.
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