Patricia Ryan: Don't insist on English!

Translator: Elena Armas Reviewer: Adrián Delgado

I know what you're thinking.

Xa sei o que estades a pensar.

You think I've lost my way,

Pensades que me perdín

and somebody's going to come on the stage in a minute

e que alguén vai subir a este escenario agora mesmo

and guide me gently back to my seat.

e levarme ata o meu sitio amablemente.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

I get that all the time in Dubai.

En Dubai, sempre me pasa o mesmo.

"Here on holiday are you, dear?"

"Está aquí de vacacións, non?"

(Laughter)

(Risos)

"Come to visit the children?

"Veu visita-los seus fillos?

How long are you staying?"

Canto tempo vai quedar aquí?"

Well actually, I hope for a while longer yet.

Pois o certo é que espero quedar bastante tempo,

I have been living and teaching in the Gulf

porque vivo e imparto clases no Golfo

for over 30 years.

dende hai máis de 30 anos.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

And in that time, I have seen a lot of changes.

E, en todo este tempo, vin moitos cambios.

Now that statistic

Agora as estatísticas

is quite shocking.

son bastante sorprendentes.

And I want to talk to you today

Hoxe quero falarvos

about language loss

sobre a desaparición das linguas

and the globalization of English.

e a globalización do inglés.

I want to tell you about my friend

Quero falarvos dunha amiga miña

who was teaching English to adults in Abu Dhabi.

que ensinaba inglés para adultos en Abu Dhabi.

And one fine day,

Un bo día,

she decided to take them into the garden

decidiu levalos ao xardín

to teach them some nature vocabulary.

para ensinarlles vocabulario sobre a natureza.

But it was she who ended up learning

Pero foi ela quen terminou aprendendo

all the Arabic words for the local plants,

tódolos nombes árabes das plantas locais,

as well as their uses --

e tamén os seus usos:

medicinal uses, cosmetics,

medicina, cosmética,

cooking, herbal.

cociña, herboristería.

How did those students get all that knowledge?

Como tiñan eses estudantes tantos coñecementos?

Of course, from their grandparents

Por suposto, grazas aos seus pais

and even their great-grandparents.

e incluso aos seus avós.

It's not necessary to tell you how important it is

Non fai falla que vos diga o importante que é

to be able to communicate

a comunicación

across generations.

entre distintas xeracións.

But sadly, today,

Pero, por desgraza, actualmente

languages are dying

as linguas morren

at an unprecedented rate.

a un ritmo sen precedentes.

A language dies every 14 days.

Unha lingua morre cada 14 días.

Now, at the same time,

E, ao mesmo tempo,

English is the undisputed global language.

o inglés é indiscutiblemente a lingua global.

Could there be a connection?

Podería haber algunha relación?

Well I don't know.

Non o sei.

But I do know that I've seen a lot of changes.

Pero o que si sei é que vin moitos cambios.

When I first came out to the Gulf, I came to Kuwait

Cando viñen ao Golfo por primeira vez, viñen a Kuwait,

in the days when it was still a hardship post.

que daquela aínda se consideraba como un lugar complicado.

Actually, not that long ago.

En realidade,

That is a little bit too early.

non foi hai tanto tempo.

But nevertheless,

O caso é que

I was recruited by the British Council,

o British Council contratoume

along with about 25 other teachers.

xunto con outros 25 profesores,

And we were the first non-Muslims

e fomos os primeiros non musulmáns

to teach in the state schools there in Kuwait.

que deron clase nas escolas públicas de Kuwait.

We were brought to teach English

Trouxéronnos aquí para ensinar inglés

because the government wanted to modernize the country

porque o goberno quería modernizar o país

and to empower the citizens through education.

e darlles máis independencia aos cidadáns mediante a educación.

And of course, the U.K. benefited

E, por suposto, o Reino Unido beneficiábase

from some of that lovely oil wealth.

desa marabillosa riqueza petrolífera.

Okay.

Vale.

Now this is the major change that I've seen --

Pois ese é o maior cambio que vin.

how teaching English

Como o ensino do inglés

has morphed

se transformou

from being a mutually beneficial practice

e pasou de ser unha práctica beneficiosa para ambas as partes

to becoming a massive international business that it is today.

a ser o gran negocio internacional que é hoxe.

No longer just a foreign language on the school curriculum,

Xa non é simplemente unha lingua estranxeira que poñer no currículum,

and no longer the sole domain

nin é soamente dominio

of mother England,

da Nai Inglaterra.

it has become a bandwagon

Converteuse nunha moda

for every English-speaking nation on earth.

para tódolos países de fala inglesa do mundo.

And why not?

E por que non?

After all, the best education --

Despois de todo, a mellor educación,

according to the latest World University Rankings --

segundo os últimos ránkings mundias de universidades,

is to be found in the universities

é a que ofrecen as universidades

of the U.K. and the U.S.

do Reino Unido e os Estados Unidos.

So everybody wants to have an English education, naturally.

Así que todo o mundo quere ter unha educación inglesa, naturalmente.

But if you're not a native speaker,

Pero, se non es un falante nativo,

you have to pass a test.

tes que facer un exame.

Now can it be right

Pero está ben

to reject a student

rexeitar a un estudante

on linguistic ability alone?

xulgándoo só polo seu dominio lingüístico?

Perhaps you have a computer scientist

Ao mellor hai un informático

who's a genius.

que é un xenio.

Would he need the same language as a lawyer, for example?

Por exemplo, necesita o mesmo nivel de lingua que un avogado?

Well, I don't think so.

Ben, eu creo que non.

We English teachers reject them all the time.

Nós, os profesores de inglés, rexeitámolos todo o tempo.

We put a stop sign,

Poñemos un sinal de stop

and we stop them in their tracks.

para que se deteñan no camiño.

They can't pursue their dream any longer,

Non poden seguir perseguindo os seus soños

'til they get English.

ata que saiban inglés.

Now let me put it this way:

Permítanme dicilo desta forma:

if I met a monolingual Dutch speaker

se coñecese a un falante monolingüe de neerlandés

who had the cure for cancer,

que tivese a cura para o cancro,

would I stop him from entering my British University?

impediríalle entrar na miña universidade británica?

I don't think so.

Non creo.

But indeed, that is exactly what we do.

Pero o certo é que iso é precisamente o que estamos a facer.

We English teachers are the gatekeepers.

Os profesores de inglés somos os porteiros,

And you have to satisfy us first

e primeiro tedes que convencernos

that your English is good enough.

de que o voso inglés é suficientemente bo.

Now it can be dangerous

E pode ser perigoso

to give too much power

outorgarlle tanto poder

to a narrow segment of society.

a un sector da sociedade tan reducido.

Maybe the barrier would be too universal.

Quizais a barreira sexa moi universal.

Okay.

De acordo.

"But," I hear you say,

Pero óiovos dicir:

"what about the research?

"E que pasa coa investigación?"

It's all in English."

"Está todo en inglés".

So the books are in English,

Os libros están en inglés,

the journals are done in English,

as publicacións edítanse en inglés,

but that is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

pero isto é unha profecía en si mesma.

It feeds the English requirement.

que alimenta os requerimentos de inglés.

And so it goes on.

E así seguen as cousas.

I ask you, what happened to translation?

E eu pregúntovos, que pasou coa tradución?

If you think about the Islamic Golden Age,

Creo que sabedes que na Idade de Ouro do Islam

there was lots of translation then.

facíanse moitas traducións.

They translated from Latin and Greek

Traducíase do latín e o grego

into Arabic, into Persian,

para o árabe e o persa,

and then it was translated on

e despois traduciuse

into the Germanic languages of Europe

para as linguas xermánicas europeas

and the Romance languages.

e para as linguas romances.

And so light shone upon the Dark Ages of Europe.

E así puido haber luz nunha época escura para Europa.

Now don't get me wrong;

Pero espero que os profesores de inglés

I am not against teaching English,

non me malinterpreten.

all you English teachers out there.

Non estou en contra do ensino do inglés.

I love it that we have a global language.

Paréceme moi ben que haxa unha lingua global,

We need one today more than ever.

e hoxe necesitámola máis que nunca.

But I am against using it

Estou en contra de usala

as a barrier.

como barreira.

Do we really want to end up with 600 languages

De verdade queremos acabar tendo 600 linguas

and the main one being English, or Chinese?

e que a máis importante delas sexa o inglés ou o chinés?

We need more than that. Where do we draw the line?

Necesitamos máis que iso. Onde poñemos o límite?

This system

Este sistema

equates intelligence

equipara a intelixencia

with a knowledge of English,

co dominio do inglés,

which is quite arbitrary.

o que é bastante arbitrario.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

And I want to remind you

E quero recordarvos

that the giants upon whose shoulders

que os xigantes que sosteñen cos seus ombros

today's intelligentsia stand

a intelectualidade de hoxe

did not have to have English,

non tiveron que estudar inglés

they didn't have to pass an English test.

nin facer exames de inglés.

Case in point, Einstein.

Poñamos por caso a Einstein,

He, by the way, was considered remedial at school

a quen, por certo, consideraban mediocre na escola

because he was, in fact, dyslexic.

porque era disléxico.

But fortunately for the world,

Por sorte para o mundo,

he did not have to pass an English test.

non tivo que facerr exames de inglés,

Because they didn't start until 1964

porque isto non se impuxo ata 1964

with TOEFL,

co TOEFL,

the American test of English.

o exame de inglés americano.

Now it's exploded.

Agora estourou a bomba

There are lots and lots of tests of English.

e hai moreas e moreas de exames de inglés

And millions and millions of students

e millóns e millóns de estudantes

take these tests every year.

que teñen que facelos cada ano.

Now you might think, you and me,

Pode que vós, e mais eu,

"Those fees aren't bad, they're okay,"

pensemos que as taxas non están tan mal,

but they are prohibitive

pero o certo é que son prohibitivas

to so many millions of poor people.

para moitos millóns de persoas pobres.

So immediately, we're rejecting them.

Así que estamos a rexeitar a estas persoas automaticamente.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

It brings to mind a headline I saw recently:

Isto lémbrame a un titular que vin hai pouco.

"Education: The Great Divide."

"Educación: o gran divisor"

Now I get it,

Agora o entendo.

I understand why people would want to focus on English.

Entendo por que a xente se centra no inglés.

They want to give their children the best chance in life.

Queren darlles aos seus fillos as mellores oportunidades

And to do that, they need a Western education.

e, para iso, necesitan unha educación occidental.

Because, of course, the best jobs

Porque, por suposto, os mellores postos de traballo

go to people out of the Western Universities,

dánselles ás persoas das universidades occidentais

that I put on earlier.

que mencionaba antes.

It's a circular thing.

É un círculo vicioso.

Okay.

Vale.

Let me tell you a story about two scientists,

E agora vouvos contar a historia de dous científicos.

two English scientists.

Dous científicos ingleses.

They were doing an experiment

Estaban facendo un experimento

to do with genetics

sobre xenética

and the forelimbs and the hind limbs of animals.

e as extemidades anteriores e posteriores dos animais,

But they couldn't get the results they wanted.

pero non conseguían os resultados que esperaban.

They really didn't know what to do,

Non sabían que facer

until along came a German scientist

ata que chegou un científico alemán

who realized that they were using two words

que se decatou de que estaban a usar dúas palabras

for forelimb and hind limb,

para "extremidade anterior" e "extremidade posterior",

whereas genetics does not differentiate

mentres que a xenética non as diferencia,

and neither does German.

nin tampouco o alemán.

So bingo,

¡Eureka!

problem solved.

Problema resolto.

If you can't think a thought,

Se non podes chegar a un pensamento,

you are stuck.

estás atascado.

But if another language can think that thought,

Pero se outra lingua pode chegar a ese pensamento,

then, by cooperating,

cooperando

we can achieve and learn so much more.

poderíamos ter éxito e aprender moito máis.

My daughter

A miña filla

came to England from Kuwait.

foi de Kuwait a Inglaterra.

She had studied science and mathematics in Arabic.

Estudiara ciencias e matemáticas en árabe.

It's an Arabic-medium school.

Nun instituto árabe.

She had to translate it into English at her grammar school.

Tiña que traducir todo para o inglés nas súas clases de gramática

And she was the best in the class

e foi a mellor da súa clase

at those subjects.

nesas materias.

Which tells us

Isto demostra

that when students come to us from abroad,

que cando veñen estudantes de fóra

we may not be giving them enough credit

quizais non lle demos suficiente valor

for what they know,

ao que saben,

and they know it in their own language.

cando o saben na súa propia lingua.

When a language dies,

Cando unha lingua morre

we don't know what we lose with that language.

non sabemos o que perdemos con ela.

This is -- I don't know if you saw it on CNN recently --

Non sei se viron a cadena CNN ultimamente:

they gave the Heroes Award

Déronlle un premio

to a young Kenyan shepherd boy

a un rapaz pastor de Kenia

who couldn't study at night in his village,

que non podía estudar á noite na súa aldea

like all the village children,

como o resto de nenos da aldea,

because the kerosene lamp,

porque a lámpada de queroseno

it had smoke and it damaged his eyes.

botaba fume e lastimáballe os ollos.

And anyway, there was never enough kerosene,

E, de tódolos xeitos, nunca tiña suficiente queroseno,

because what does a dollar a day buy for you?

porque que se pode comprar cun dólar ao día?

So he invented

Así que este rapaz

a cost-free solar lamp.

inventou unha lámpara solar,

And now the children in his village

e agora os rapaces da súa aldea

get the same grades at school

teñen as mesmas notas

as the children who have electricity at home.

que os nenos que teñen electricidade na casa.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

When he received his award,

Cando lle deron o premio

he said these lovely words:

pronunciou estas fermosas palabras:

"The children can lead Africa from what it is today,

"Os nenos poden convertir a África de hoxendía,

a dark continent,

un continente escuro,

to a light continent."

nun continente de luz".

A simple idea,

Unha idea simple,

but it could have such far-reaching consequences.

pero que pode ter consecuencias moi importantes.

People who have no light,

A xente que non ten luz,

whether it's physical or metaphorical,

ben sexa real ou metafórica,

cannot pass our exams,

non pode facer exames,

and we can never know what they know.

e nunca poderemos saber o que esa xente sabe.

Let us not keep them and ourselves

Non deberiamos deixalos a eles nin a nós mesmos,

in the dark.

nesa escuridade.

Let us celebrate diversity.

Deberíamos aledarnos da diversidade.

Mind your language.

Sede conscientes da vosa propia lingua

Use it to spread great ideas.

e usádea para estender grandes ideas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Thank you very much.

Moitas grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)