Zimibabwe: Zim must learn Chinese

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Zim Must Learn Chinese

>>From The Herald (Harare)
April 12, 2006

By Sifelani Tsiko
Harare

FOR a long time as Zimbabweans we had become accustomed to thinking that
speaking and writing English was sufficient for all our needs. This had
also crippled us into believing that we could not learn any other language
besides English. Early this year, talk about plans to introduce Chinese
into the country's education system was met with resistance. I was also
sceptical about learning Chinese, joining the bandwagon of people with a
stunted view of the world. But travelling is seeing. When I was in Beijing
recently, I realised the importance of learning a foreign language. I was
mistaken to think that English as influential as it was, is spoken in
every corner of the world. In Beijing, the Chinese speak in their native
tongue. My failure to understand Chinese created barriers.

I couldn't enjoy the experience of being in China until I met a young
Zimbabwean who was fluent in Chinese. Her language skills made a
difference for me and made my stay in Beijing enjoyable. Linguists say a
traveller who knows the language of the country not only has an easier
time solving everyday problems associated with travel, but also has a more
pleasant experience and greater understanding both of the people of a
foreign country and their culture. During my stay in Beijing, I realised
that many business, political and educational leaders are belatedly
realising that the whole world does not speak English. Whilst critics in
Zimbabwe deride policies aimed at promoting the learning of Chinese, their
Western counterparts -- the owners of the same English we boast about --
are busy opening up universities and other institutions to promote the
learning of and understanding of Chinese culture.

Western universities are fighting for the Chinese educational market, to
help prepare their own people as well as Chinese students for a role in a
multilingual global society. Zimbabweans must be encouraged to learn
Chinese, not by making it compulsory, but by communicating the benefits
that go with it. Zimbabweans do not live in isolation. They have to take
their rightful place in this ever-changing interdependent w orld in which
diverse cultural and linguistic groups converge. The Chinese prefer to
converse, to do business and to negotiate in their native tongue. And by
learning Chinese, Zimbabweans can develop the tools for dealing with
various types of survival challenges, technical skills, interpersonal
exchanges and to clinch better business deals with their counterparts.

It also leads to an expanded awareness of the need to conduct not only
business, but also diplomatic relations in the language of the host
country. Growing joint university programmes between Chinese and Western
institutions combine global and local approaches to learning, something
that if adopted here can help open up opportunities for young Zimbabweans
who are increasingly becoming mobile. There is a growing desire among the
young generation to travel abroad and learning Chinese can help them
prepare for future opportunities. Western countries are "looking East" in
a big way as a result of increased activities in international business
and the inflow of huge amounts of foreign capital into China. In the
United States, there is a new foreign language policy that has now seen
the Chinese language being taught at primary, high school and university
level. It aims to prepare students to take up business opportunities in
one of the world's fastest growing economies. The Americans now see sense
in learning Chinese after years of mistrust and a stunted anti-communist
world view.

Zimbabwe must also take up the challenge to promote joint university
programmes between itself and China to prepare our young scholars for the
future. Given the giant economic strides registered in China, there is no
doubt that this giant Asian country will continue to play a prominent role
in world affairs. This role demands that Zimbabweans be able to understand
the language and culture of the Chinese to promote business and other
bilateral relations. Learning a foreign language, of course, takes time
and shoul d be started at an early stage. And moves by Old Windsor Primary
School to introduce Chinese are laudable and can open the doors for young
Zimbabweans to the future. We should not discourage but interest students
about learning Chinese in much the same way as we interest them to learn
English, French, Afrikaans, Spanish and Portuguese. Learning foreign
languages will also help to build our corps of foreign language
translators and interpreters.

Other students can even open up language translation businesses in future.
China is prepared to fund programmes that promote the learning of Chinese.
Conversely, China is also benefiting from a small but growing army of
Zimbabwean English language teachers who are going to China to teach
English at a number of institutions in the giant Asian nation. These
Zimbabweans are now mastering Chinese while at the same time using their
skills to teach the English language to the Chinese. And, I believe every
language Zimbabweans master will en hance their enjoyment and reduce their
frustration and isolation as they travel around

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200604120132.html

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			  Harold F. Schiffman

		Professor of Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
			Dept. of South Asia Studies
			805 Williams Hall Box 6305

			University of Pennsylvania
			Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

       			Phone:  (215) 898-5825
			Fax:  (215) 573-2138

			Email:  haroldfs at ccat.sas.upenn.edu
			http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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