I probably will spend some time on Chinese next year, but there is no hurry: I just want to be able to help my grandchildren when they'll be looking for a job
I understand Chinese is very difficult for one to learn well if one is not exposed to it at a very early age (less than 18 months.) Something about certain consonant sounds becoming indistinguishable to the unprimed ear after that stage of development. I recall years ago reading about a very clever study that demonstrated this effect using children of European ancestry and a Native American language, not Chinese. I also experienced this with Polish. My wife would say a simple word in Polish, and I would try - repeatedly and unsuccessfully - to reproduce the word. I could hear no difference, but she could. Yet, with languages I heard as a child - German, Yiddish, Spanish - I'm told I speak with no noticeable accent.
