How did English become the universal language and not Mandarin?

5 Comments

1. Sweet Voltaire says:

   November 18, 2009 at 12:15 am

   Because the British did that whole imperialism deal…

   Tyler (above) is right about the British empire, but wrong about China. China was HIGHLY advanced. It just became so advanced that at a certain point in time, the Chinese stopped bothering with technological advancements. Also, early Chinese philosophy stated that China was at the center of the world. Technically speaking, China WAS at the center of all that the Chinese new. While it was constantly invaded, the Chinese culture was so advanced that its invaders simply ended up adapting the Chinese ways of life. As a whole, the Chinese were so proud of their culture that they never bothered getting on boats to expand their enormous empire overseas. China today covers pretty much the same land that it covered thousands of years ago. The states within China went through huge warring periods, but these periods never eliminated Chinese culture.
2. J.C. says:

   November 18, 2009 at 12:15 am

   While more speak Mandarin, the Chinese are more isolationists while the US, Australia, and England involve themselves in everything.
3. manu says:

   November 18, 2009 at 12:15 am

   Mandarin, whats that:-D
4. Tyler says:

   November 18, 2009 at 12:15 am

   Because for a few centuries the English had a huge empire that was in every part of the globe and while they were all over the world they taught everybody english. The Chinese didn’t have an empire, so mandarin stayed in China for the most part.
5. Nora says:

   November 18, 2009 at 12:15 am

   i do not think english is the universal language.