>Adding a language like Mandarin, for example, provides very similar mental utility as some dying tongue, but additionally gives the child a useful communicatio

>Adding a language like Mandarin, for example, provides very similar mental utility as some dying tongue, but additionally gives the child a useful communication tool later in life Really? How, exactly? Will a significant number of these countries be doing business directly with Chinese counterparts ...who don't already speak English? As someone who learned Mandarin, I can promise that the vast majority of its benefits I've had to go out of my way to enjoy. Why should the small number of people who will find any use at all out of Chinese be valued more than maintaining a language that is significant to their heritage?