Patricia Ryan: Don't insist on English!

Translator: Alan Watson Reviewer: Elvis Wei

I know what you're thinking.

我知道你哋諗咩

You think I've lost my way,

你哋覺得我走錯咗上台

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

然後有人會好快帶我返落去

and guide me gently back to my seat.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

I get that all the time in Dubai.

我喺杜拜成日會遇上呢啲問題︰

"Here on holiday are you, dear?"

「嚟呢度度假吖？」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"Come to visit the children?

「嚟探小朋友吖？你會留幾耐？」

How long are you staying?"

Well actually, I hope for a while longer yet.

其實我想留耐啲

I have been living and teaching in the Gulf

我喺波斯灣生活同教書已經超過 30 年啦

for over 30 years.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

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

呢 30 年裏面，我睇到好多變化

Now that statistic

宜家呢份數據幾嚇人

is quite shocking.

And I want to talk to you today

而我今日要講嘅係 語言消失同埋英語全球化

about language loss

and the globalization of English.

I want to tell you about my friend

我想講一講我朋友 喺阿布扎比教大人英文

who was teaching English to adults in Abu Dhabi.

And one fine day,

喺一個晴天嘅日子，佢帶學生去花園

she decided to take them into the garden

to teach them some nature vocabulary.

喺嗰度教學生一啲大自然嘅詞彙

But it was she who ended up learning

但最後卻變成我朋友 學曬所有當地植物嘅阿拉伯名

all the Arabic words for the local plants,

as well as their uses --

同埋植物用途

medicinal uses, cosmetics,

例如用喺藥物、化妝品 烹飪用途、草藥

cooking, herbal.

How did those students get all that knowledge?

呢啲學生點樣得到呢啲知識嘅呢？

Of course, from their grandparents

當然係由佢哋嘅祖父母 甚至曾祖父母獲得架啦

and even their great-grandparents.

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

所以跨世代溝通我唔需多講有幾重要

to be able to communicate

across generations.

But sadly, today,

但遺憾嘅

languages are dying

今日好多語言正以前所未有嘅速度消失

at an unprecedented rate.

A language dies every 14 days.

每 14 日就有一種語言消失

Now, at the same time,

與此同時

English is the undisputed global language.

英文卻無庸置疑成為國際語言

Could there be a connection?

當中有關聯嗎？

Well I don't know.

我唔知

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

但我知我見證好多轉變

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

當我第一次嚟到波斯灣，我去咗科威特

in the days when it was still a hardship post.

當時英文老師仍然唔係一份好工

Actually, not that long ago.

其實，我嚟呢度做嘢唔係好耐之前

That is a little bit too early.

但做老師唔太好係講緊更加早之前

But nevertheless,

總之，英國文化協會 請咗我同其他 25 位老師

I was recruited by the British Council,

along with about 25 other teachers.

And we were the first non-Muslims

我哋係第一批喺科威特嘅國立學校 任教嘅非穆斯林老師

to teach in the state schools there in Kuwait.

We were brought to teach English

我哋被派到嗰度教英文

because the government wanted to modernize the country

係因為當地政府希望國家可以現代化

and to empower the citizens through education.

同埋提升公民嘅教育水平

And of course, the U.K. benefited

當然，英國從中獲得石油財富

from some of that lovely oil wealth.

Okay.

言歸正傳

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

我見過最大嘅改變, 就係英語教學

how teaching English

has morphed

from being a mutually beneficial practice

由原本大家互惠互利嘅經濟手段 演變成今日全世界大規模嘅生意

to becoming a massive international business that it is today.

No longer just a foreign language on the school curriculum,

英語唔再係學校課程裡面嘅外語科目

and no longer the sole domain

亦唔再只係英國嘅專利

of mother England,

it has become a bandwagon

英語教學嘅商機已經成為 所有英語國家想分一杯匙嘅嘢

for every English-speaking nation on earth.

And why not?

點解唔係呢？

After all, the best education --

畢竟，根據最新嘅世界大學排名

according to the latest World University Rankings --

is to be found in the universities

最好嘅教育嚟自英國同美國嘅大學

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

So everybody wants to have an English education, naturally.

所以自然每個人都想接受英語教育

But if you're not a native speaker,

但如果你嘅母語唔係英文 你就要考英文試

you have to pass a test.

Now can it be right

但單憑英語能力決定收唔收學生 咁樣做啱嗎？

to reject a student

on linguistic ability alone?

Perhaps you have a computer scientist

譬如有一位電腦科學家，佢係天才嚟嘅

who's a genius.

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

但他需唔需要有律師一樣嘅語言能力？

Well, I don't think so.

我唔覺得要

We English teachers reject them all the time.

但身為英語老師嘅我哋 卻總係拒絕收呢啲人

We put a stop sign,

我哋喺佢個人發展嘅路上處處設限

and we stop them in their tracks.

將學生擋喺路上

They can't pursue their dream any longer,

令佢哋無法追求自己嘅夢想

'til they get English.

直至佢哋通過咗英文考試 我哋至畀佢過

Now let me put it this way:

容我換個方式講

if I met a monolingual Dutch speaker

如果我遇到一位只會講荷蘭文嘅人

who had the cure for cancer,

而呢個人能夠醫好癌症

would I stop him from entering my British University?

我會阻止佢入英國大學嗎？我諗唔會

I don't think so.

But indeed, that is exactly what we do.

但事實上，我哋的確咁樣做

We English teachers are the gatekeepers.

我哋英語老師嘅工作就係把關

And you have to satisfy us first

學生必須先令我哋覺得佢哋嘅英文夠好

that your English is good enough.

我哋至會畀佢哋上

Now it can be dangerous

但咁樣可以係危險嘅

to give too much power

因為社會將太多權力交畀一小撮人

to a narrow segment of society.

Maybe the barrier would be too universal.

或者呢種升學障礙全世界都有

Okay.

"But," I hear you say,

我聽到你哋話

"what about the research?

「咁研究呢？佢哋全部都用英文。」

It's all in English."

So the books are in English,

書藉用英文寫

the journals are done in English,

期刊都係用英文寫

but that is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

但呢個只係自我滿足嘅情況

It feeds the English requirement.

有英語需求自然就有英語供給

And so it goes on.

所以英語出版長做長有

I ask you, what happened to translation?

我想問大家，翻譯發生咗啲咩呢？

If you think about the Islamic Golden Age,

如果你哋諗返伊斯蘭嘅黃金時代

there was lots of translation then.

當時翻譯盛行

They translated from Latin and Greek

啲人將拉丁文同希臘文 翻譯成阿拉伯文或波斯文

into Arabic, into Persian,

and then it was translated on

然後再由阿拉伯文同波斯文翻譯成 歐洲日耳曼系以及羅曼系嘅語言

into the Germanic languages of Europe

and the Romance languages.

And so light shone upon the Dark Ages of Europe.

可以話文明照亮咗歐洲嘅黑暗時代

Now don't get me wrong;

但唔好會咗意，我唔係反對英語教學

I am not against teaching English,

all you English teachers out there.

尤其在座咁多位英語老師喺度

I love it that we have a global language.

我好高興我哋有一個國際語言

We need one today more than ever.

國際語言今時今日更加需要

But I am against using it

但我反對用英語阻止他人升學發展

as a barrier.

Do we really want to end up with 600 languages

唔通我哋真希望世界剩返 600 種語言

and the main one being English, or Chinese?

其中以英文或者中文做主流？

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

世界需要更多語言

咁幾多語言先至夠多呢？

This system

呢個制度將成績同英語水平畫上等號

equates intelligence

with a knowledge of English,

which is quite arbitrary.

咁係相當武斷嘅

(Applause)

（掌聲）

And I want to remind you

我想提醒各位

that the giants upon whose shoulders

站在巨人肩膀嘅當代知識分子 唔需要識英文或者通過英語考試

today's intelligentsia stand

did not have to have English,

they didn't have to pass an English test.

Case in point, Einstein.

愛因斯坦就係其中一個例子

He, by the way, was considered remedial at school

順便講下，愛因斯坦曾被學校認為 係需要補救嘅學生

because he was, in fact, dyslexic.

因為佢有讀寫障礙

But fortunately for the world,

但佢當時嘅世界好好彩

he did not have to pass an English test.

佢唔需要通過英語考試

Because they didn't start until 1964

因為美國英語測驗托福 1964 年先至開始

with TOEFL,

the American test of English.

Now it's exploded.

宜家英語測試氾濫

There are lots and lots of tests of English.

有太多英語測試

And millions and millions of students

甚至每年過百萬嘅學生都參加呢啲考試

take these tests every year.

Now you might think, you and me,

宜家你會認為呢啲考試費用唔貴 價錢合理咁

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

but they are prohibitive

但對於幾百萬窮人嚟講 呢啲考試太過奢侈

to so many millions of poor people.

So immediately, we're rejecting them.

所以考試令到好多人卻步

(Applause)

（掌聲）

It brings to mind a headline I saw recently:

呢樣令我諗起最近睇到嘅 一個新聞標題：

"Education: The Great Divide."

「教育：分開人嘅工具」

Now I get it,

我終於明白點解 大家都想焦點擺喺英語度

I understand why people would want to focus on English.

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

因為佢哋想孩子得到最好嘅機會

And to do that, they need a Western education.

為咗達成，佢哋需要畀孩子西方教育

Because, of course, the best jobs

畢竟，唔可否認

go to people out of the Western Universities,

最好嘅工都係留返畀 西方大學畢業出嚟嘅人

that I put on earlier.

就好似我之前所講咁

It's a circular thing.

呢個係一種循環

Okay.

Let me tell you a story about two scientists,

等我講兩位科學家嘅故事

two English scientists.

They were doing an experiment

有兩位英國科學家做一項 用到動物前後肢嘅遺傳學實驗

to do with genetics

and the forelimbs and the hind limbs of animals.

But they couldn't get the results they wanted.

但佢哋得唔到佢哋想要嘅結果

They really didn't know what to do,

佢哋唔知點算

until along came a German scientist

直到嚟咗一位德國科學家

who realized that they were using two words

佢發現前肢同後肢喺英文裡面 係兩隻唔同嘅字

for forelimb and hind limb,

whereas genetics does not differentiate

但遺傳學同德文都唔會分

and neither does German.

So bingo,

所以，得咗！

problem solved.

問題解決咗

If you can't think a thought,

如果你諗唔到嘢，你會卡喺度

you are stuck.

But if another language can think that thought,

但如果用另一種語言可以諗到嗰樣嘢

then, by cooperating,

講唔同語言嘅我哋就可以透過合作 達到目的，學到更多

we can achieve and learn so much more.

My daughter

我個囡由科威特嚟到英格蘭

came to England from Kuwait.

She had studied science and mathematics in Arabic.

因為佢喺阿拉伯讀中學

It's an Arabic-medium school.

佢用阿拉伯文讀科學同數學

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

喺英國文法學校裡面 佢要翻譯所有嘢做英文

And she was the best in the class

而佢呢兩科擺全班第一

at those subjects.

Which tells us

呢樣話畀我哋聽，當外國學生嚟搵我哋

that when students come to us from abroad,

we may not be giving them enough credit

我哋未必有按到佢哋所知道嘅嘢畀足分

for what they know,

and they know it in their own language.

因為佢哋用佢哋自己嘅語言 去講佢哋知道嘅嘢

When a language dies,

當一個語言消失

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

我哋唔肯定有咩係同個語言一齊消失

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

呢個…我唔知大家最近有冇睇 CNN

they gave the Heroes Award

佢哋頒咗一個英雄獎 畀一位年輕嘅肯亞牧童

to a young Kenyan shepherd boy

who couldn't study at night in his village,

同村裡面其他小朋友一樣 佢無辦法夜晚讀書

like all the village children,

because the kerosene lamp,

因為火水燈產生嘅煙霧會整傷佢隻眼

it had smoke and it damaged his eyes.

And anyway, there was never enough kerosene,

再者，佢冇足夠火水

because what does a dollar a day buy for you?

畢竟每日只有一蚊美金嘅收入 你可以買到啲咩？

So he invented

所以他發明咗唔使成本嘅太陽能燈

a cost-free solar lamp.

And now the children in his village

宜家佢條村嘅細路仔嘅成績 同屋企有電嘅細路仔成績都一樣

get the same grades at school

as the children who have electricity at home.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

When he received his award,

當佢攞到個獎時

he said these lovely words:

他講咗呢番可愛嘅說話：

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

「呢啲孩子可以帶領非洲

a dark continent,

由宜家呢刻一塊黑暗大陸

to a light continent."

走冋明日光明一片嘅大陸。」

A simple idea,

一個簡單嘅諗法卻有著咁深遠嘅影響

but it could have such far-reaching consequences.

People who have no light,

無論屋止冇光定係英文唔好 都通過唔到我哋嘅測試

whether it's physical or metaphorical,

cannot pass our exams,

and we can never know what they know.

而且我哋永遠無辦法知道佢哋知嘅嘢

Let us not keep them and ourselves

唔好畀佢哋同我哋自己處身於黑暗裡邊

in the dark.

Let us celebrate diversity.

等我哋一齊為語言多元化歡呼

Mind your language.

好好保護你母語

Use it to spread great ideas.

用佢嚟傳播偉大嘅諗法

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Thank you very much.

多謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）