Importance of Learning Asian Languages Essay

If I asked an English speaker, â€Å"Hello, how are you?†, the answer almost invariably will be â€Å"I’m fine, thank you†. This brief dialogue itself establishes a relationship between the two people. It not only stands proof of the two individuals’ ability to speak English but also their collective ability to converse in a common language. From the very beginning a certain level of trust is created as both persons can comprehend what the other is saying and thus, within the limitation of his or her expression, know what the person is thinking. With this also comes fluency in the conversation and in the vocalization of ones thoughts. Not only does this make the interaction faster, it also allows both persons to speak their mind freely and without much hesitation. Now instead, think of a French speaker asking â€Å"Commo à §ava?†, his translator translating, â€Å" How are you?†, the English speaker answering, â€Å"I’m fine, thank you† and the translator translating back, â€Å"Je suis bien, merci†. Quite evidently, the conversation becomes longer and quite tedious. But beyond that, the two individuals also feel a disconnect, as neither of them know for sure what the other is saying. The existence of the middleman disrupts the trust that would otherwise be established in the relationship. Also, both individuals hesitate and think twice before saying anything, pondering its interpretation in the other’s language. The purpose of the above examples is to show the benefit of conversing in a common language. If there is such a radical difference in communicating so briefly, the differences in longer and more complex conversations will be drastic. A common language gives the individual more access, establishes trust and therefore gives the individuals power. Throughout history we have witnessed expansion of various empires and in the process interaction of societies speaking different languages. Examples can be taken from the invasions of Indian kingdoms by the British Empire, British colonization of Australia or from the forceful inhabitation of Native American lands by the European immigrants while USA was being founded. The pattern in all these has been the same. The invaders start from trade. Through this they learn about the native people’s society and culture. Language is an inevitable need of trade and so the foreign traders learn the local language and the natives learn the tradersà ¢â‚¬â„¢. Slowly this gives the invaders access to the local community and gradually colonization takes place. Thus, we see how language gives power. Even in the current scenario, things have not changed a lot. Although the purpose of knowing a foreign language may not be to take over another country, language still gives the individual who speaks it an immense amount of power. It is so in all aspects of the word, the more people you can communicate with, the more are your chances to succeed. This power is exactly what the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard wants the citizens of Australia to have. Asia is progressing rapidly, but why would Australians knowing Asian languages â€Å"power Australia into the world’s top 10 wealthiest nations by 2025†? This is because as Asian countries progress and become global leaders, due to their economic and populous advantage, a large part of the world’s business will be conducted with or through them. India and China consist of 5/14th of the world’s population and this population spreads around the globe, knowing Mandarin or Hindi will give the speaker a great tactical advantage in an increasingly competitive world. But you may ask that if a common language is the only thing attracting Australia to have its citizens learn languages like Hindi and Mandarin, what’s wrong with their native English itself? The answer to this has two sides. The first is that English is becoming an increasingly global language and in the coming days, everyone who will do business with the Asians will almost definitely know English. In such cases, having a common language will not be enough. Knowing their native language and establishing an intimate relationship is what will give the language speakers an edge over the others. The other side is that as evidently seen today, a large percent of the Indian population speaks English and in terms of the people who do business, all of them speak English. But in the case of the rest of eastern Asia, few people, even in the corporate world speak fluent English. These aren’t baseless claims. There are various reasons behind this phenomenon such as the British rule over India for over 200 years, the mostly secondary sector development of countries like China and Japan and India’s global dependence for its services export. Since the beginning of British rule in India, many Indians have been learning English to facilitate themselves to get better jobs in the British government. Even after independence, English remained deeply incorporated in the Indian education system. Thus, English was never introduced to Indians as a global language learnt to facilitate communication as is being done now in various countries. It was imposed on on Indians as a necessity to survive in the British common wealth. This is why even the Indian lower middle class knows a moderately good level of English. Also, as India has developed, its tertiary sector has developed tremendously, specifically in the field of Information and Technology. The blooming IT industry far outmatches the demand for IT services in India and therefore there is a need to outsource these services. Thus, interaction of the average Indian with the outside world has increased and so has his need to speak English. As opposed to this, countries like China and Japan have seen the most development in the secondary sector. With the highest population and cheap labour, China has become the manufacturing hub of the world. But this surge in the manufacturing sector has resulted in only the entrepreneurs of these countries being in communication with the rest of the world. Their laborers, with no need to communicate with people outside the country, have found no need to learn English. As these Asian superpowers rise, the existing world leaders relatively decline in their economic and political status. With this in mind and considering that the whole of Europe barely amounts to half the population of China, learning learning Asian languages will be much more advantageous that learning European languages except for specific purposes. One could argue that some European languages like Spanish and French could be used in communication in earlier Spanish and French territories like South America and Quebec but this wouldn’t provide any advantage considering the economic and populous strength of Asian countries. Although all the pros favor learning Asian languages, it isn’t such an easy task, especially for a country that has been under British rule and speaks English that has a completely different script than any of the Asian languages. In this aspect it would be easier for students in Australia to learn European languages, as the script is the same as English. Another factor affecting the foreign language Australians would prefer to learn is their ancestry. Most of the Australian population consists of European immigrants who moved to Australia during the British rule. Many of these immigrants now in the 4th or 5th generation after the migration see a loss of culture in the generation following them and therefore would prefer that their children learn their mother tongue and be well rooted in their origins. Although a valid argument, people need to make a conscious choice between the past and the future. Learning their original European languages may give them a better taste of their own culture but by doing that, they are possibly depriving themselves the chance of a better future. Even the aspect of education is quite debatable. It is a well-known scientific fact that as you grow older, your ability to learn different languages decreases. The language learning agility during childhood allows children to master various languages irrespective of the differences between them. I myself have learnt English, French and Spanish, all having the same script while also knowing Hindi and Gujarati, both of which follow a different script than that of European languages. There are people out there who know various languages from many scripts and you don’t need to be a linguist to learn them, you just need to be a kid! This unconventional tactic to teach Australian citizens Asian languages could prove to be a great advantage to learners in this Asian century and could facilitate Australia to make it one of the ‘top 10 most wealthiest countries by 2025’ which, as stated by Julia Gillard, the Australian Prime Minister, is the primary goal of this initiative. To materialize this goal will take a lot of effort and will put a great toll on Australia’s education budget. If achieved though, Australia won’t be far behind the Asian giants in the coming global race.