The Discipline

Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world, with speakers in China, Taiwan, Singapore, and overseas communities throughout the world. With China’s rise as a world economic and political power, those who know Chinese enjoy a comparative advantage as they seek jobs in business, government, law, the health sciences, and education. Students can take three years of language study that build and then sharpen their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. In addition, Chinese majors enroll in courses in advanced reading and writing in Chinese, linguistics, and classical and modern language and literature. We offer elective courses on culture, film, philosophy, Business Chinese, Cantonese, and Chinese language instruction. As a humanities discipline, we integrate the teaching of critical thinking, public speaking, and persuasive writing into our curriculum. All majors complete a senior capstone course requiring original research using their Chinese language skills. The section offers study abroad, internship, and mentored learning experiences to help students take their study of Chinese language and culture beyond the classroom. The Chinese major experience at BYU aims to build linguistic and cultural literacy that will continue to develop after graduation.

The study of Chinese accesses the literature, thought, culture, and society of the world’s largest population with the longest cultural continuum; moreover, since the civilizations of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam are founded on traditional Chinese Confucianism, a major in Chinese opens up much of the wider world of modern Asia. You will communicate in spoken and written Mandarin, gain skills in analyzing and appreciating both traditional and modern literature, acquire effective research strategies, and learn to write clearly and persuasively. All the personal enrichment and interpersonal understanding that results from a liberal arts education in the humanities is offered through the study of Chinese.