Patricia Ryan: Don't insist on English!

翻译人员: Jenny Yang 校对人员: Angelia King

I know what you're thinking.

我知道你们在想什么。

You think I've lost my way,

你们想我迷路了，

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

有人马上会上台

and guide me gently back to my seat.

把我领回到我的座位。

(Applause)

(掌声)

I get that all the time in Dubai.

在迪拜老是有人这样问我。

"Here on holiday are you, dear?"

“亲爱的，来度假啊？”

(Laughter)

(笑声)

"Come to visit the children?

“来看孩子们吗？

How long are you staying?"

呆多久啊？”

Well actually, I hope for a while longer yet.

事实上，我希望我还能多在这儿呆几年呢。

I have been living and teaching in the Gulf

我在海湾地区已经生活和教书

for over 30 years.

有30多年了。

(Applause)

(掌声)

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

在这期间，我目睹了很多变化。

Now that statistic

那些统计数据

is quite shocking.

是令人非常吃惊的。

And I want to talk to you today

而我今天要跟你们讲的

about language loss

是关于语种的消失

and the globalization of English.

和英语的全球化。

I want to tell you about my friend

我想告诉你们，我的一个朋友

who was teaching English to adults in Abu Dhabi.

她在阿布扎比教成年人英语。

And one fine day,

一天，

she decided to take them into the garden

她决定带他们去花园

to teach them some nature vocabulary.

去教他们一些大自然用语。

But it was she who ended up learning

但是结果她反而学了所有

all the Arabic words for the local plants,

当地植被的阿拉伯名称

as well as their uses --

和它们的用途--

medicinal uses, cosmetics,

药用的，化妆用的，

cooking, herbal.

食用的， 草药。

How did those students get all that knowledge?

那些学生是怎样得到这些知识的呢？

Of course, from their grandparents

当然是从他们的祖父母那里

and even their great-grandparents.

甚至是他们的曾祖父母那里。

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

本来我没有必要告诉你们能够

to be able to communicate

跨代交流是多么

across generations.

重要。

But sadly, today,

但是，令人惋惜的是， 今天

languages are dying

很多语种正在

at an unprecedented rate.

以空前的速度消失着。

A language dies every 14 days.

每14天就有一种语言消失。

Now, at the same time,

而同时，现在

English is the undisputed global language.

英语又无可争辩地成为全球性语言。

Could there be a connection?

这两者间有联系吗？

Well I don't know.

我不知道。

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

但是我知道我已目睹了很多变化。

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

当我初到海湾时， 我到了科威特，

in the days when it was still a hardship post.

那个时候那儿还算是一个艰苦地区。

Actually, not that long ago.

其实也就是没多久以前。

That is a little bit too early.

这幅图还更早一点。

But nevertheless,

不去管它，

I was recruited by the British Council,

我被英国文化协会招聘到这里

along with about 25 other teachers.

同时招来的还有其他25个老师。

And we were the first non-Muslims

我们是最早在科威特

to teach in the state schools there in Kuwait.

公立学校教书的非穆斯林。

We were brought to teach English

我们被请来教英语

because the government wanted to modernize the country

因为政府想要发展国家现代化

and to empower the citizens through education.

让公民通过学习提高自己。

And of course, the U.K. benefited

当然， 英国也因此收益于

from some of that lovely oil wealth.

那些让人喜爱的石油财富。

Okay.

好。

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

这是我看见过的主要变化--

how teaching English

英语教学是怎样

has morphed

演变的

from being a mutually beneficial practice

使它从一个互惠的交流方式

to becoming a massive international business that it is today.

变成如今的一个规模巨大的国际交流。

No longer just a foreign language on the school curriculum,

它不再只是学校课程的一门外语课。

and no longer the sole domain

也不再是

of mother England,

英国特有。

it has become a bandwagon

对地球上每个说英语的国家而言

for every English-speaking nation on earth.

说英语已成为潮流。

And why not?

为什么不呢？

After all, the best education --

毕竟，最好的教育--

according to the latest World University Rankings --

根据最新的世界大学排名--

is to be found in the universities

最好的大学总是

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

在英国或者美国。

So everybody wants to have an English education, naturally.

自然每个人都想得到英语教育。

But if you're not a native speaker,

如果你的母语不是英语的话，

you have to pass a test.

你要通过一个考试。

Now can it be right

那么仅仅根据

to reject a student

学生的语言能力

on linguistic ability alone?

就拒绝一个学生的做法合适吗？

Perhaps you have a computer scientist

也许你们中一个计算机科学家

who's a genius.

是一个天才。

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

那例如，他需要有和律师一样的语言能力吗？

Well, I don't think so.

我并不这么认为。

We English teachers reject them all the time.

我们做英语老师的总是否定他们。

We put a stop sign,

我们放置一个禁止通行的标志，

and we stop them in their tracks.

我们在他们的发展轨道上挡住了他们。

They can't pursue their dream any longer,

他们不能继续追寻他们的梦想，

'til they get English.

除非他们掌握了英语。

Now let me put it this way:

现在我这么说吧，

if I met a monolingual Dutch speaker

如果我遇到一个只会说荷兰语的人

who had the cure for cancer,

他能治愈癌症，

would I stop him from entering my British University?

我会阻止他进入英国大学吗？

I don't think so.

我想不可能。

But indeed, that is exactly what we do.

但是事实上，我们正是这样做的。

We English teachers are the gatekeepers.

我们英语老师是把关的。

And you have to satisfy us first

你得先令我们满意

that your English is good enough.

你的英语要足够好。

Now it can be dangerous

这就可能很危险

to give too much power

把很多权力

to a narrow segment of society.

交给了社会的一个窄小的团体。

Maybe the barrier would be too universal.

可能这个造成的障碍影响面就太广了。

Okay.

好吧。

"But," I hear you say,

“但是” 我听见你们说，

"what about the research?

“那科研呢？

It's all in English."

它们都是用的英语。”

So the books are in English,

书是英语的，

the journals are done in English,

研究刊物是英语的，

but that is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

但是这是一个自我实现的假定。

It feeds the English requirement.

它正好符合需要英语的条件。

And so it goes on.

于是它就继续这样发展下去。

I ask you, what happened to translation?

那我问你，翻译还需要吗？

If you think about the Islamic Golden Age,

如果你想想伊斯兰的黄金时代，

there was lots of translation then.

当时有很多翻译。

They translated from Latin and Greek

他们把拉丁文和希腊语

into Arabic, into Persian,

翻译成阿拉伯语和波斯语，

and then it was translated on

然后又翻译成

into the Germanic languages of Europe

欧洲的日耳曼语

and the Romance languages.

和罗曼语。

And so light shone upon the Dark Ages of Europe.

于是欧洲黑暗的时代被点亮了。

Now don't get me wrong;

不要误会；

I am not against teaching English,

我不是反对教英语，

all you English teachers out there.

或是你们在座的所有英语老师。

I love it that we have a global language.

我热爱我们有一种全球性语言。

We need one today more than ever.

我们今天比过去任何时候都需要它。

But I am against using it

但是我反对用它

as a barrier.

设立障碍。

Do we really want to end up with 600 languages

我们真的只想留下600种语言

and the main one being English, or Chinese?

而主要语言只是英语和中文吗？

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

我们需要更多，我们在哪里划这条界线呢？

This system

这个体制

equates intelligence

把智能

with a knowledge of English,

和英语能力划等号

which is quite arbitrary.

这是非常武断的。

(Applause)

(掌声)

And I want to remind you

我想提醒你

that the giants upon whose shoulders

而当代知识分子所站立在

today's intelligentsia stand

那些“巨人肩膀”上的伟人，

did not have to have English,

他们也并不都具有英语能力，

they didn't have to pass an English test.

他们不需要通过英语考试。

Case in point, Einstein.

爱因斯坦就是个典型。

He, by the way, was considered remedial at school

其实，他在学校的时候是个需要补课的学生

because he was, in fact, dyslexic.

因为他诵读有困难。

But fortunately for the world,

但是也是这世界的幸运，

he did not have to pass an English test.

他不必通过英语考试。

Because they didn't start until 1964

因为1964年

with TOEFL,

托福考试还没设立，

the American test of English.

这是一种美式英语测试。

Now it's exploded.

现在已经泛滥了

There are lots and lots of tests of English.

各种各样的英语测试。

And millions and millions of students

每年成千上万的学生

take these tests every year.

参加这样的考试。

Now you might think, you and me,

你会觉得，你和我都这么认为

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

这些考试价格还是合理的，

but they are prohibitive

但是数百万穷人

to so many millions of poor people.

却望而却步。

So immediately, we're rejecting them.

所以一开始我们就把他们挡在了外面。

(Applause)

(掌声)

It brings to mind a headline I saw recently:

这让我想到我最近看见的一条新闻：

"Education: The Great Divide."

“教育：大鸿沟。”

Now I get it,

现在我明白了，

I understand why people would want to focus on English.

为什么人们都关注英语。

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

他们希望给予他们的孩子最好的人生机遇。

And to do that, they need a Western education.

而要达到这个目的，他们需要西方教育。

Because, of course, the best jobs

因为，显然，最好的工作

go to people out of the Western Universities,

都让西方大学的毕业生拿走了，

that I put on earlier.

就跟我之前说的一样。

It's a circular thing.

这是个循环。

Okay.

是吧。

Let me tell you a story about two scientists,

让我们告诉你们两个科学家的故事

two English scientists.

有关两个英国科学家。

They were doing an experiment

他们在做一个实验

to do with genetics

跟遗传学有关

and the forelimbs and the hind limbs of animals.

以及研究动物的前后肢，

But they couldn't get the results they wanted.

但是他们无法得到他们想得到的结果。

They really didn't know what to do,

他们有点束手无策，

until along came a German scientist

直到一个德国科学家参与后

who realized that they were using two words

他发现他们在研究前肢和后肢时

for forelimb and hind limb,

用的是两个词，

whereas genetics does not differentiate

而遗传学上并不区分两者

and neither does German.

德语也不区分。

So bingo,

所以瞧儿，

problem solved.

问题解决了。

If you can't think a thought,

如果你想不通

you are stuck.

就卡住了。

But if another language can think that thought,

但是用另外一种语言就可以想通，

then, by cooperating,

那么，通过合作

we can achieve and learn so much more.

我们可以教学相长，受益颇多。

My daughter

我的女儿

came to England from Kuwait.

从科威特回到英国。

She had studied science and mathematics in Arabic.

她已经用阿拉伯语学了科学和数学。

It's an Arabic-medium school.

那是在一所阿拉伯中校。

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

在文法学院学习时，她要把所学的内容翻译成英语。

And she was the best in the class

在她们班上，她的这些科目

at those subjects.

是最好的。

Which tells us

这告诉我们

that when students come to us from abroad,

当学生从海外来就读

we may not be giving them enough credit

也许我们没有给他们足够的认可

for what they know,

对于那些他们已经懂得的知识而言

and they know it in their own language.

因为他们已经通过他们的语言掌握了这些知识。

When a language dies,

当语言消失，

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

我们不知道我们还失去了什么。

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

我不知道你们是否看最近的CNN--

they gave the Heroes Award

他们颁发了一枚英雄奖

to a young Kenyan shepherd boy

给一个年轻的肯尼亚牧童，

who couldn't study at night in his village,

在他所住的村庄里，他和其他在村里的孩子一样

like all the village children,

无法在夜晚读书，

because the kerosene lamp,

因为煤油灯烟

it had smoke and it damaged his eyes.

会弄伤他的眼睛。

And anyway, there was never enough kerosene,

而且，他也没有足够的煤油

because what does a dollar a day buy for you?

他们每天只有一美元的收入，能买什么呢？

So he invented

所以他发明了

a cost-free solar lamp.

不需要花钱的太阳能灯。

And now the children in his village

现在他们村里的孩子们

get the same grades at school

都能在学习上取得一样的好成绩

as the children who have electricity at home.

跟那些家里有电的孩子一样。

(Applause)

(掌声)

When he received his award,

当他得到这个奖励时，

he said these lovely words:

他说了这些可爱的话：

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

“儿童可以带领今天的非洲

a dark continent,

从一个黑暗的大陆

to a light continent."

走向一个光明的大陆。”

A simple idea,

一个简单的想法

but it could have such far-reaching consequences.

但是其影响是深远的。

People who have no light,

无论是实际生活中还是社会意义上

whether it's physical or metaphorical,

不能享受光明的人

cannot pass our exams,

都无法通过我们的测试，

and we can never know what they know.

我们也无法了解他们拥有的知识。

Let us not keep them and ourselves

我们不能让他们和我们自己都

in the dark.

身处于黑暗里。

Let us celebrate diversity.

让我们一起为多元化欢呼。

Mind your language.

重视你的语言。

Use it to spread great ideas.

用它来传播优秀的思想。

(Applause)

(掌声)

Thank you very much.

非常谢谢。

(Applause)

(掌声)