Ni hao, Africa? Mandarin low on list of languages to learn, survey finds
- A poll across 18 countries on the continent found that English, French and Arabic were considered higher study priorities for young people
- Africans’ perceptions of China more positive in countries where China has invested in infrastructure, researcher says
Only a small percentage of Africans see Mandarin as the most important international language for young people to learn despite Beijing’s growing presence on the continent, according to an 18-country survey.
In a poll of about 2,000 people by Afrobarometer, a research network that provides data on Africans’ experiences, only 2 per cent of those surveyed said Mandarin was the most important international language to learn. About 70 per cent said English, 14 per cent said French, 4 per cent said Arabic and the remainder said “other”.
Observers said English was still often the language students used when they studied in China or took part in China-Africa exchange programmes.
Folashadé Soulé, a senior research associate at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, said English still dominated in China-Africa relations.
Yu-Shan Wu, a research associate at Africa-China reporting project, at the University of the Witwatersrand, who moderated the virtual launch of the report last week, agreed, saying exchange programmes between China and Africa often relied on English as the medium of exchange.
“You may have a translator translating for the Chinese in Mandarin to English. So, it becomes the ‘middle’ language,” she said.