Future Languages: Chinese vs. JavaScript

Do you want to equip your children with skills that will benefit them all their life? Do you want to learn something new and surprise foreigners? There is nothing easier: learn a cool unfamiliar language. That's all you need to know when you are faced with a choice: what language - Chinese or JavaScript - should you and your little ones do ?

Accessibility

Is it easy to learn a new language? Are you a child? If yes, you have nothing to worry about. If not, good luck.
But do not despair! The situation with javascript is somewhat different. Programming languages ​​are by definition simpler than human. After all, in the end, they are designed to be understood by very simple cars like an alarm clock. Children show better results in learning new coding languages, but this task is also quite feasible for adults. On intensive courses JavaScript declare: the fluency of this art is achieved by the participants for 3-4 months.
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With Chinese, things are a little more complicated. Infants who have not reached 7 months are able to distinguish all possible nuances in the sounds and tones of human dialects, starting with the difference between the German “b” and “v”, and ending with the Chinese “mā”, “má”, “mǎ” and “mà” .

If kids grow up outside a certain language group, they lose the ability to recognize its unique tones. However, children can become carriers of most languages, if up to 12 years they often hear speech in a particular dialect. But if you are already an adult, you will have to devote more time to it. And spend much more strength. The preliminary estimates are as follows: adults will need to spend 3-4 years in China to achieve a free level of language proficiency.

Accessibility : JavaScript +1 point

Carriers

Chinese - the most common of human languages, it speaks up to 1/5 of the population of the Earth. And although most of these carriers live in the East, knowledge of this dialect can be your pass to the Chinese quarters of cities around the world.

JavaScript probably won't be able to catch up with Chinese in the number of people using it in the near future. But you will receive such data if you count only live carriers. But after inclusion in the list of all machines using the code, the situation will change dramatically. Just remember how many appliances you have in your home, including microwaves, alarm clocks, etc. Clear, yes?

Media : Chinese +1 point, JavaScript +1 point

Career Benefits

Let's say you will invest your time in learning Chinese. This skill is often called a significant factor in career development , but is it? Yes, you will have a skill that is unique to the Western world. But at the same time, it can be a disadvantage. American and European companies usually do not indicate in the list of requirements for applicants fluency in Chinese simply because such a person is difficult to find. It is much easier to communicate in English, because most professionals from China speak it well. In fact, to get the most out of possession of Chinese, you first need to be in the labor market of this Asian country.

It is predicted that by 2020 there will be a shortage of 900 thousand IT specialists in Europe. And in the United States in the next decade, the shortage of professionals in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics will reach 1 million people. In the United Kingdom and Finland, the study of coding has already been made mandatory in all primary schools, soon other countries will join this initiative.

In the future, knowledge of JavaScript will cease to be a specific skill, unlike owning a Chinese dialect. On the contrary, it will turn into a necessary skill. If in the future coding skills will be required for work, and the new generation will possess them, you should take care not to stay behind.

Career Benefits : Chinese +0.5 points, JavaScript +1 point

Spiritual values

What could be more “spiritual" than knowing a language that is not suitable for communicating with 95% of compatriots, such as mastering Chinese for a Westerner? Well, really!

As for JavaScript, learning a programming language will force you to return to the most basic level of understanding available, for example, to your microwave. There is no social context, you just have to give absolutely correct instructions to make the car do what you want to achieve from it.

To solve this problem, you need to think deeper than during normal communication, and therefore there is a training of logic, creativity, problem solving ability, accuracy, and work planning skills. To summarize, using the words of Steve Jobs: "Everyone should learn how to program a computer, because it will show you how to think."

Spiritual values : Chinese +1 point, JavaScript +1 point

Fun

Imagine the scene. You fly for the weekend to China and stand in line at the landing. In front of you is a blond-haired couple with a small child in summer clothes. Stewards are talking to each other in Chinese. Suddenly the child answers them! In Chinese!!! Stewards, like most people in line, are shocked. The family and the aircraft staff begin to laugh, talk vividly about something, well, it is clear that you do not understand what. Will you be hurt? You will be very disappointed.

Fun: Chinese +2 points

Well, we should not forget about the joy that JavaScript can give. You will be able to create games, create websites, develop applications - in fact, give free rein to your creative nature . The process of creating code is often evaluated by programmers as a rest, almost immersion in a trance. Also note that mastering a coding language - if you are at least 7 months old - will be a much more fun process than learning Chinese.

Fun: javascript +1.5 points

A look into the future

And what do you say about this: JavaScript is really the best programming language to learn?
What about Python, Ruby or C?

Anyone who knows Dutch can easily learn German. Portuguese is able to read Spanish. And programming languages ​​make up their own language group. If you are familiar with the basic grammar rules and concepts that are repeated in each code, for example, with cycles or conditions, you can apply them in any programming language.

Final score:

• Chinese 4.5 points;
• JavaScript 5.5 points.

Conclusion: Learn JavaScript. Or even better: master the basic concepts of programming languages.

PS We recommend another article on the topic - 8 steps to success from the most successful people .

Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult .