New Browser-Based MMO Teaches Mandarin Chinese

Have you ever wanted to learn Mandarin Chinese? (Yeah, me neither.) However, if you suddenly feel the urge to learn how to welcome your new Chinese overlords, researchers supported by Michigan State University and the Office of the Chinese Language Council International have a game for you. "Zon" is a browser-based virtual world, currently in beta-testing, that helps users to learn the Mandarin Chinese language.

Comments

Dialects...

[SomeJoel]

I suppose if you don't like the dialect you're learning, you can always reroll.

Yes, you want, too.

[Hankapobe]

Have you ever wanted to learn Mandarin Chinese?

An acquaintance of mine went to China an she found something rather interesting. Young folks right out of college would go to China for a couple of years to teach English or whatever, the Chinese Government pays them and gives them a stipend (more $$$ if you can speak Chinese too!). They just bank their pay and when they come home, they have enough money to put a sizable down payment on a house and start their lives. And they had an adventure that they'll remember fir the rest of their life.

Considering that the US will be China's bitch in a few years, I suggest you do in fact learn Chinese!

Re:Yes, you want, too.

[Eudial]

Considering that the US will be China's bitch in a few years, I suggest you do in fact learn Chinese!

Back in the 80's they told us that the US would be Japan's bitch and we should all learn to speak Japanese. Heck, maybe we'll be Mexico's bitch and we should learn Spanish? With such confusion as to who was going to be our new overlords, no wonder Esperanto was big.

Re:Yes, you want, too.

[soren100]

You dipshits don't actually think a copy of a passport is worth anything do you?

At one of the western embassy's, yes. To a local cop, nope. That's not true.

  I had a French cop stop me on the streeet ask me for ID (there was some kind of local fraudster that was panhandling, and the cop saw that person talking to me) The French cop said he wanted to see my passport (all I had was my driver's license). When I told him I had left my passport in the hotel room, he wanted to know why I did not make a copy of it and take it with me. He said that it was important that I do this. So yes, copies of passports are important to local cops. Sure, they can be easily altered, but they provide a starting point to prove your nationality and identity.

Re:Yes, you want, too.

[religious freak]

This is for real. China is on the rise. Japan couldn't do it because no matter how productive they were, they still had 1) limited land area/natural resources and 2) limited population, relative to ours

It is a logical fallicy to assume that because this has been predicted before, it is not real this time. The best hope we have of countering a strong Chinese influence is India. So next time you speak to your friendly Indian "code factory" worker, blow them a kiss and wish them good luck.

China has a number of things which makes me think it'll be top dog for only a few decades, but their capacity to beat us is much more potent than Japan's. Believe it.

Re:Yes, you want, too.

[zapakh]

Ho! Konsiderante ke la Usono estos la hundinac^o de Esperantujo en la venontaj kelkaj jaroj, mi sugestas ke vi fakte lernu Esperanton! Mi, por unu, bonvenigus niajn Esperantistajn majstrojn!

Yah, but

[Anonymous Coward]

But, half an hour later, you just want to learn another new language.

Yes, it is.

[The Iso]

Your passport does not confer the right travel, your nationality does. Your passport is proof of nationality, and you can still prove your nationality by other means. Having your passport's number and expiration date helps. If you have an American passport, turn to page 6. You will notice that the State Department recommends making two photocopies of your passport data page.