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Beyond Babel (1)
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In countries, like China, where there are more people learning English than speak it in the United States.
India where millions shun Hindi to embrace the language, which makes them feel more international and in South Africa where even school children realize that a knowledge of English is a passport to a better future.
In this series we will explore the phenomenon of English. Is it the answer to our quest for an international language and if it is what will become of the other languages that are teetering on the brink of extinction?
English has now achieved this position of becoming a global language in the last 50 years or so.Something like a quarter of the world's populations speak English now. That's 1 1/2 billion, something like 400 million speak it as a first language, another 400 million or so speak it as a second language and another, well, who knows, perhaps a billion speak it as a foreign language. And as a result of this English has achieved a status that no previous language has ever done.
China has always been a destination for native English speakers, and huge investment into cities like Shanghai has led to a new wave of ex-patriots.
The development of the city's hotel industry, for example, has provided new opportunities for English speakers. British chef, Richard Taffs, is one of the firsts to take advantage of these.
Well, I came to Shanghai first of all in 1993 but I was in Manila in between, Taipei and Chengdu. And I just recently came back to Shanghai. I speak a little bit of French and I speak a little bit of German as well but definitely English is obviously the international language and the local staff are trained to learn English. So they are all attending class and all of my key people have a basic level of English.
They are taught it in school, right. They are taught it from a young age and definitely if you want to work in a five star hotel, international hotel then you must have a basic English.
English in Hong Kong is important and it is used widely. And the thing is that you don't actually really need to know the Cantonese or Mandarin to survive in Hong Kong. So English is probably the most widely used language in business anyway.
If I make a call to anybody, or make an inquiry on the phone, they might answer initially in Cantonese but if I say "hello" they switch straight to English. You might be dealing with somebody who doesn't have much English, there isn't any problem, they don't expect you to speak Cantonese, they are quite happy for you to discuss things in English. And they'll try their best to, you know, understand you. It makes it incredibly easy because if you go from an English speaking country in Europe and go to somewhere like France or Spain, then you really need to know their language in order to survive there. But here you don't need to. Here you just, you turn up, you have your job and you don't... I mean you could live here for as long as you wanted to and never learn a word of Cantonese.
The traditional native English speaking traveler has been around for a long time but now those with English as a second language are also benefiting from its global spread.
My name is Cletus Nadukoro. They call me NZ Cletus for short and I'm an assistant producer with TWI, India. Basically I'm a football correspondent.
Cletus is originally from Nigeria but his knowledge of English has enabled him to advance his career in a way, which might not have been possible in Africa.
Nigeria and India they were both colonized by the British so English has always been a first language except that Nigeria is different because it is a multi tribal society so English is, you know, generally used. But in India, Hindi and English are the acceptable languages.
For me as a foreigner, I don't have any choice, I have to definitely adapt myself to the environment I'm in. Get to, you know, chase whoever I have to chase that's part of the profession. I've been here for quite some time now so I, I don't know, I should say I've been pretty smart to pick up the Hindi language now. But you see a couple of these players are from different parts of the country and there are foreigners here. So for those who speak English I can just go straight ahead and ask them in English.
How's it going so far?
So far, so good, you know. Because you see our guys, we attack from the flanks but since this is the first match maybe that's happening for us, you know.
So for Zee Churchill as it is going now, it is going pretty well for you.
Yes, sure
Good luck, sir
Yeah, thank you very much.
My accent is pretty different from err, from you know the Indian concept but at the same time in India you just have to accept everything sometime.
The value of speaking English as a means of joining the global economy is most keenly perceived in the world's poorer countries. In South Africa with its eleven official languages, children are encouraged to learn the language, which has become the nation's lingua franca and link to the outside world.
Wow, that's a lovely song indeed. "If Dreams Do Come True" is the name of the song and remember dreams do come true only if you work hard. Yes, you're still with me, Mmamotse Maloka. Now the time is twenty-five minutes before eleven o'clock. This is your favourite radio station, CDC Radio. I know I've been spoiling you with a lot, a lot of music but now is the time, you know, my favourite educational programme. I know children are dying to hear this programme which is brought to you by the OLSET, the Open Learning Systems Education Trust. It's time for you to relax and enjoy the programme.
"English in action, English is fun, English in action, I want to learn..."
You're listening to English in Action, produced by the Open Learning Systems Education trust.
OLSET was founded as the first radio learning programme in anticipation of the change in the educational system in South Africa.
"I want to learn, I want to learn...."
Our programmes are half hour programmes, the content is perhaps 12 minutes of English language teaching itself. A lot of the programme is about, you know, comprises dramas, music, songs, games, stand up, sit down activities.
"Hello, good day, how do you do, I'm fine, pleased to meet to you, pleased to meet you too."
Music, I think, not just for South African children, but for children all over the world, is a great motivator. I think that it doesn't matter about your culture or your religion or your race, I think music stimulates all people and all children in particular. We found that music is a great way to engage children in what we call total physical engagement.
Mr. Mlambo has a farm, eei eei oo...
They learn a lot through singing, a lot. Rhymes, counting, a lot of things through singing, they learn a lot.
... with a moo moo here and a moo moo there...
A major part of the consideration in the programme is also supporting teachers in English language teaching, which as you may know is not the easiest of subjects to teach in a country that is as multi lingual as South Africa. So we've got to ensure that the programmes also support teachers and also goad them into a new classroom practice that's in keeping with our new national curriculum.
Lovely.
Tell me children, what is in the hand?
What is in the hand?
A feather
It's a… what?
A feather
Where is a feather?
These children are so fluent in English. The little ones, they are so fluent. You don't tell them what to say they just talk language.
My name is Kanisele. My surname is Zhola.
When I grow up I'd like to be a nurse.
When I grow up I want to be a lawyer.
If you want job, firstly, if you can't talk English it is difficult, going to interviews, must know English. It is a most important language here in South Africa.
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英语的故事（一）
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在中国，学习英语的人比全美国说英语的人还要多。
在印度，数百万人渐渐疏远印地语，而转向使他们更国际化的英语。在南非，连孩童们都知道懂英语才能有更好的前程。
在这个系列片中，我们将深入了解有关英语的现象。英语真是我们所追求的全球通用语言吗？如果是，那么其它那些面临消失的语言又将如何呢？
在最近约50年里，英语已成为全球通用的语言。现在，全世界大约有1/4的人在说英语，也就是15亿人。其中4亿人将英语作为母语，还有4亿人将它作为第二语言，另外可能有10亿人将英语当作外语来说。英语已经达到了其它语种前所未有的重要地位。
中国一直是以英语为母语的人的好去处，进入上海等城市的巨额投资引发了外国人大量涌入的浪潮。
比如城市宾馆行业的发展，就为会讲英语的人提供了机遇。英国厨师理查德·塔弗先生就是首先抓住机遇的一个。
我在1993年来过上海，那时我在马尼拉工作，还去过台北和成都。我是刚刚回到上海的，我能讲一点法语和德语，
但显然英语才是国际性的语言。当地员工都在接受英语培训，他们参加培训班。我的主要助手都具有基本的英语水平。
他们从小就在学校学习英语。如果你想在五星级国际饭店工作，必须具备基本的英语能力。
在香港，英语很重要，被广泛运用。事实上，你不必懂广东话和普通话也能在这里生存。在商务活动中，英语是应用最广的语言。
如果我给某人打电话或是作一个电话调查，最初他们可能会用广东话回答。但我一说"Hello"，他马上就会换成英语应答。可能有些人的英语不是太好，但是没有问题，他们并不指望你说广东话，并且乐于和你用英语讨论，他们会尽量理解你的意思。这使一切变得相当的容易。如果你是来自欧洲一个讲英语的国家，去的是像法国或西班牙这样的国家，你必须懂那里的语言才能生存，但在这里就不必这样。在这里，你找到一份工作想待多长都可以，一点广东话也不用学。
不只是以英语为母语的人长期以来享有便利，现在，英语的全球性传播也让那些以英语为第二语言的人从中获益。
我叫克雷多斯·纳都卡罗，他们简称我为NZ·克雷多斯，我是印度TWI的助理制片人，是个足球记者。
克雷多斯是尼日利亚人，他能说英语，这使得他能在印度发展事业。而在非洲这是不可能的。
尼日利亚与印度以前都是英国殖民地，两国都以英语为第一官方语言。但不同的是，尼日利亚是多部落社会，所以只有英语被普遍使用；而在印度印地语和英语都是通用的。
作为一个外国人，我并没有太多选择，只能适应我所处的环境，去追着采访那些必须关注的人。这是职业的要求。我在这里已经有一段时间了，所以应该说我挺聪明的，
自然而然地学会了印地语。但有些球员来自非印地语的其它地区，这里还有外国人。所以对那些说英语的人，我就直接用英语采访他们。
“一切都好吗？”
“还不错，因为你看我们的小伙子们，我们从侧面进攻。
但由于是第一场比赛，所以可能会发生一些意想不到的事情。”
“不过从眼下看，一切都挺不错的。”
“的确。”
“祝您好运！”
“谢谢！”
我的英语口音和印度英语口音不一样，但有时你不得不去接受这一切。
英语成为了参与全球经济的手段，这一点在那些比较贫穷的国家里得以充分体现。南非共有11种官方语言，但那里却鼓励孩子们学习一种既能成为通用于各个种族，又可以与外界交流的语言。
这首歌真好，它的歌名是《如果梦想成真》。记住，只要努力，你的梦想一定能变成现实。我是马莫茨·马尔卡，现在是10点35分，您正在收听的是您所喜爱的CDC电台。我已为您播放了许多音乐节目，现在播放我喜爱的教育节目。孩子们一定等不及了，这是开放式学习体系教育基金会（OLSET）带来的英语教学节目，请大家放松下来欣赏我们的节目。
English in Action, English is Fun，
English in Action, I want to learn...
您正在收听的是《活学英语》节目，由开放式学习体系教育基金会制作。
OLSET是南非建立的第一个提供广播学习教程的机构，以期能带来南非教育体系的转变。
I want to learn, I want to learn...
我们的节目每期半小时内容有12分钟的英语教学，许多节目是有关戏剧、音乐、歌曲、游戏，还有起立、坐下等活动。
Hello, good day, how do you do,
I'm fine, pleased to meet to you,
Pleased to meet you too.
音乐是巨大的推动力，不仅对南非的孩子是这样，对全世界的孩子也一样。这与文化、宗教、种族无关。我觉得音乐能激励所有人，尤其是孩子们。我们发现音乐能很好地吸引儿童，我们称这种方式为“全方位参与”。
Mr. Mlambo has a farm, eei eei oo...
他们通过唱歌学到很多东西，童谣、数数，他们学到许多东西。
With a moo moo here
and a moo moo there...
我们这个教程的主要考虑就是协助老师开展英语教学。您或许知道，在南非这个多语种国家，教英语可不容易。所以，我们必须保证这个教程能帮助老师们，鼓励他们进行一种新的教学活动，从而与我们国家新的课程设置保持一致。
真棒！
告诉我孩子们，手里拿着的是什么？
一根羽毛。
是什么？
羽毛。
羽毛在哪里？
这些孩子们能流利地说英语，这么小就这么流利。你不用告诉他们说些什么，他们就能用语言交谈。
我叫卡尼西里，我姓苏拉。
我长大了，要做一名护士。
我长大了，要做一名律师。
不懂英语找工作是很困难的。首先去面试，你得懂英语。在南非英语是最重要的语言。
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