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Why fewer university students are studying Mandarin

https://www.economist.com/china/2023/08/24/why-fewer-university-students-are-studying-mandarin

Learning the difficult language does not seem as worthwhile as it once did

Archive link here: https://archive.ph/4Glyj

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I do think the geopolitical angle they are going with is a bit overplayed. It looks like Mandarin is only a bit below the trend for foreign languages in general. Personally, I think part of that is just people realising over time that studying Mandarin won't necessarily lead to business or career success.