ECONOMIC VALUE OF LEARNING PORTUGUESE AND CHINESE LANGUAGES ON THE EXPANSION OF CHINA AND BRAZIL`S RELATIONS

Resumo

INTRODUCTION

In this research, we tried to observe the economic value that can be attributed to the Portuguese language (and, consequently, to its learning by foreigners, mainly Chinese ones) in relation to the Chinese language (and, equivalent learning by Brazilians). Although this first stage of the research is a bibliographic verification, the certified data points to a direct relationship between the learning of these languages and the expansion of various types of relations (commercial, cultural, social, technological, etc.) between China and Brazil that affect the economy of both countries.

METHOD

Despite being an exploratory and descriptive research that uses the abstract-deductive and historical-inductive method (developed from a bibliographic perspective), the gathered data can support innovative practices in both microeconomic decisions (price dynamics versus costs - market structure). - profits, etc., orientations in the production process, production planning for consumption, government investments and expenditures, exporting or importing decisions, etc.) as well as their macroeconomic outcomes (inflation, unemployment, cycle and long-term growth trend, surplus or deficit of the trade balance, exchange rate situation, monetary value, etc.).

Along first moment, our reflections will be focused on the concept of “human capital”, based on the definition of the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim who defines it as “the sum of the health, skill, knowledge, experience and habits of a population". Afterwards, knowing that Brazil and China rank 71^st and 44^th in the human capital ranking (the one developed by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, known as “IHME” from the University of Washington and published in the scientific journal The Lancet on September 24^th, 2018), we intend to correlate the degree of investment in health and education systems (key factors in this ranking) and the direct relationship with the economic growth index of these countries respectively.

Secondly, within these aspects of the educational skills and knowledge of a population, we will reflect on how the language policies organized in both countries can benefit or reverse the models of economic growth that are being developed in Brazil and China.

In a third moment, from the verification of the economic value of both Portuguese and Chinese (Mandarin), we intend to point out the importance of more investments (mainly in Brazil) in the implementation of programs in the formation of teachers that can act in both Portuguese as a Foreign Language and Chinese as a Foreign Language.     

FINDINGS

There is a direct relationship between a higher investment in human capital (and, consequently, intellectual capital of a population) and high rates of economic development in countries that have developed this type of investment.

And specifically, as a catalyst for an increase in intellectual capital, it is clear that there is a tendency for foreign language learning becoming an important factor in the development of a population, as pointed out in the document “Languages for the Future. Which languages the UK needs most and why” prepared by the British Council in 2013. In this document, from the 10-factor analysis, a ranking of foreign language learning priority in the UK was developed.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that with the implementation of human capital (specifically, intellectual capital), more investment in foreign language learning (especially in those countries that have been great economic partners - China and Brazil - since the last decade), the use of new technologies in education and the way language policies are constituted, it is possible to boost the economic growth and the human development index (HDI) in both China and Brazil.

REFERENCES

British Council (2013). Languages for the future. Which languages the UK needs most and why.

Costa, Daiane (2018). Brasil é o 71º em capital humano em ranking de 195 países. Jornal O Globo de 24, set. Disponível: https://oglobo.globo.com/economia/brasil-o-71-em-capital-humano-em-ranking-de-195-paises-23094825.

Moreira, Fabiano Greter; Violin, Fábio Luciano; Silva, Luciana Codognoto da (2014). Capital intelectual como vantagem competitiva: um estudo bibliográfico. ReCaPe Revista de Carreiras e Pessoas São Paulo. Volume IV - Número 03 - Set/Out/Nov/Dez. 296-311.

Reto, Luís (coord.) (2012). Potencial económico da língua portuguesa. Lisboa: Texto Editores.

Saavedra, Monica (2009). O português no Mercosul. Cadernos de Letras da UFF, No.39.

Viana, Giomar; Lima, Jandir Ferrera de (2010). Capital humano e crescimento econômico. Interações, Campo Grande, v. 11, n. 2. 137-148.

Xavier, Gildete Rocha (1999). Aquisição do Português Brasileiro por um falante chinês. Campinas, SP: Dissertação de Mestrado do IEL da UNICAMP.