Ideological discourses about learning C hinese in pro‐ E nglish J apan

Identifying magazine articles whose titles, subtitles and texts contain ‘ C hinese language’ the present study explores how J apanese business magazines talk about C hinese language study. The findings suggest that ideological discourses about C hinese study (1) position C hinese on par with E nglish as the two global languages, (2) reassure that learning a language of C hinese characters would be less taxing than E nglish for many businessmen with lackadaisical attitudes toward language study, and (3) are rather independent of the growing political J apan‐ S ino tension. The study provides new insight into masculine ideological discourses about businessmen's studying not only E nglish but also the dominant language of the world's second economy for merit‐based business purposes rather than school‐led intercultural understandings.