首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
As English Spreads, Indonesians Fear for Their Language Paulina Sugiarto’s three children played together at a mall here the
As English Spreads, Indonesians Fear for Their Language Paulina Sugiarto’s three children played together at a mall here the
admin
2013-05-19
74
问题
As English Spreads, Indonesians Fear for Their Language
Paulina Sugiarto’s three children played together at a mall here the other day, chattering not in Indonesia’s national language, but English. Their fluency often draws admiring questions from other Indonesian parents Ms. Sugiarto encounters in this city’s upscale malls.
But the children’s ability in English obscured the fact that, though born and raised in Indonesia, they were struggling with the Indonesian language, known as Bahasa Indonesia. Their parents, who grew up speaking the Indonesian language but went to college in the United States and Australia, talk to their children in English. And the children attend a private school where English is the main language of instruction.
"They know they’re Indonesian," Ms. Sugiarto, 34, said. "They love Indonesia. They just can’t speak Bahasa Indonesia. It’s tragic."
Indonesia’s linguistic legacy is increasingly under threat as growing numbers of wealthy and upper-middle-class families shun (避开) public schools where Indonesian remains the main language but English is often taught poorly. They are turning, instead, to private schools that focus on English and devote little time, if any, to Indonesian.
For some Indonesians, as mastery of English has become increasingly tied to social standing, Indonesian has been relegated to second-class status. In extreme cases, people take pride in speaking Indonesian poorly.
The global spread of English, with its sometimes corrosive (逐渐破坏的) effects on local languages, has caused much hand-wringing (焦虑) in many non-English-speaking corners of the world. But the implications may be more far-reaching in Indonesia, where generations of political leaders promoted Indonesian to unite the nation and forge a national identity out of countless ethnic groups, ancient cultures and disparate dialects.
The government recently announced that it would require all private schools to teach the nation’s official language to its Indonesian students by 2013. Details remain sketchy, though.
"These schools operate here, but don’t offer Bahasa to our citizens," said Suyanto, who oversees primary and secondary education at the Education Ministry.
"If we don’t regulate them, in the long run this could be dangerous for the continuity of our language," said Mr. Suyanto, who like many Indonesians uses one name. "If this big country doesn’t have a strong language to unite it, it could be dangerous."
The seemingly reflexive preference for English has begun to attract criticism in the popular culture. Last year, a woman, whose father is Indonesian and her mother American, was crowned Miss Indonesia despite her poor command of Indonesian, The judges were later condemned in the news media and in the blogs for being impressed by her English fluency and for disregarding the fact that, despite growing up here, she needed interpreters to translate the judges’ questions.
In 1928, nationalists seeking independence from Dutch rule chose Indonesian, a form of Malay, as the language of civic unity. While a small percentage of educated Indonesians spoke Dutch, Indonesian became the preferred language of intellectuals.
Each language had a social rank, said Arief Rachman, an education expert. "If you spoke Javanese, you were below," he said, referring to the main language on the island of Java. "If you spoke Indonesian, you were a bit above. If you spoke Dutch, you were at the top."
Leaders, especially Suharto, the general who ruled Indonesia until 1998, enforced teaching of Indonesian and curbed use of English.
"During the Suharto era, Bahasa Indonesia was the only language that we could see or read. English was at the bottom of the rank," said Aimee Dawis, who teaches communications at Universitas Indonesia. "It was used to create a national identity, and it worked, because all of us spoke Bahasa Indonesia. Now the dilution (淡化) of Bahasa Indonesia is not the result of a deliberate government policy. It’s just occurring naturally."
With Indonesia’s democratization (民主化) in the past decade, experts say, English became the new Dutch. Regulations were loosened, allowing Indonesian children to attend private schools that did not follow the national curriculum, but offered English. The more expensive ones, with tuition costing several thousand dollars a year, usually employ native speakers of English, said Elena Racho, vice chairwoman of the Association of National Plus Schools, an umbrella organization for private schools.
But with the popularity of private schools booming, hundreds have opened in recent years, Ms. Racho said. The less expensive ones, unable to hire foreigners, are often staffed with Indonesians teaching all subjects in English, if often imperfect English, she added.
Many children attending those schools end up speaking Indonesian poorly, experts said. Uchu Riza — who owns a private school that teaches both languages — said some Indonesians were willing to sacrifice Indonesian for a language with perceived higher status.
"Sometimes they look down on people who don’t speak English," she said.
She added: "In some families, the grandchildren cannot speak with the grandmother because they don’t speak Bahasa Indonesia. That’s sad."
Anna Surti Ariani, a psychologist who provides counseling at private schools and in her own practice, said some parents even displayed "a negative pride" that their children spoke poor Indonesian. Schools typically advise the parents to speak to their children in English at home even though the parents may be far from fluent in the language.
"Sometimes the parents even ask the baby sitters not to speak in Indonesian but in English," Ms. Ariani said.
It is a sight often seen in this city’s malls on weekends: Indonesian parents addressing their children in sometimes halting English, followed by nannies using what English words they know.
But Delia Raymena Jovanka, 30, a mother of two preschoolers, has developed misgivings (担 忧). Her son Fathiy, 4, attended an English play group and was enrolled in a kindergarten focusing on English; Ms. Jovanka allowed him to watch only English TV programs.
The result was that her son responded to his parents only in English and had difficulties with Indonesian. Ms. Jovanka was considering sending her son to a regular public school next year. But friends and relatives were pressing her to choose a private school so that her son could become fluent in English.
Asked whether she would rather have her son become fluent in English or Indonesian, Ms. Jovanka said, "To be honest, English. But this can become a big problem in his socialization. He’s Indonesian. He lives in Indonesia. If he can’t communicate with people, it’ll be a big problem."
How do parents in the mall react to Paulina Sugiarto’s children’s fluent English?
选项
A、They are confused about the kids’ nationality.
B、Many of them show admiration for it.
C、They feel like making friends with Sugiarto.
D、Most of them worry about Indonesian.
答案
B
解析
首段首句提到Paulina Sugiarto的三个孩子在一个购物中心玩耍时说的并非印尼的本国语,而是英语。下一句提到其他家长对此的反应:孩子们流利的英语总是引来其他家长羡慕地问这问那,[B]“他们中的很多人对此很羡慕”正是对此的同义转述,故答案为[B]。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/iPg7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
PeopleintheUScannowcarryanartificialintelligence(AI)aroundintheirpocket,whereitwaitspatientlytobetoldwhat
Japanhasreachedanimportant【S1】______point.AfterWorldWarII,themiracleofJapan’seconomicgrowthwasachievedthrought
Japanhasreachedanimportant【S1】______point.AfterWorldWarII,themiracleofJapan’seconomicgrowthwasachievedthrought
Thewaypeopleholdtothebeliefthatafun-filled,pain-freelifeequalshappinessactuallyreducestheirchancesofeveratta
Somemarriagesseemtocollapsesosuddenlythatyou’dneedacrystalballtopredicttheirdemise(灭亡).Inother【1】,though
Wheredopesticidesfitintothepictureofenvironmentaldisease?Wehaveseenthattheynowpollutesoil,water,andfood,tha
Sheworksinadministration___________(她一天中的绝大多数时间都花在文书工作维护记录上).
MostparentsIsupposehavehadtheexperienceofreadingabedtimestorytotheirchildren.Andtheymusthaverealizedhowdif
MostparentsIsupposehavehadtheexperienceofreadingabedtimestorytotheirchildren.Andtheymusthaverealizedhowdif
Peopletendtobemoreimpressedbyevidencethatseemstoconfirmsomerelationship.Thusmanyare【B1】______theirdreamsarepr
随机试题
历史老师在课上讲述南京大屠杀的情景时不禁义愤填膺,声音一度哽咽。这种情绪状态属于()。
患者女,30岁。反复出现抽搐发作两天,病前曾因工作上的事情与同事发生过争吵。抽搐发作为阵发性,发作时呼之不应,口角歪斜,对光反射存在,1分钟左右缓解,事后有时能回忆发作时的情况。脑电图检查结果正常,脑脊液压力为0.75kPa,白细胞数为10×109/L
医学人道主义的核心内容是
初治急性早幼粒细胞白血病首选的药物是
某市A区申某与谢某在B区共同违反了《治安管理处罚法》的相关规定,B区公安分局辖区内某派出所对谢某处以500元罚款,把申某移送到B区公安分局处理。B区公安分局对申某处以拘留15日的处罚。请回答下列问题:如谢某和申某均申请复议,下列有关复议机关的确定正确的
水泥密度试验时,两次试验结果的差值不应大于()kg/cm3。
下列选项中,关于“安全控制的目标”的论述,不正确的是()。
下列有关发行可转换债券的特点表述正确的有()。
4岁的洋洋独自在幼儿园玩滑梯,由于滑梯已损坏,摔下滑梯,造成颅脑中度损伤,轻度后遗症。带班姚老师说:“当时孩子们正在午睡,近两点,洋洋起来,自己一个人出去了,过了20分钟,见洋洋还没回来,急去寻找,结果在滑梯下发现。”(1)材料涉及的法律关系主体有哪些?
试研究级数(α>0)是绝对收敛、条件收敛还是发散?
最新回复
(
0
)