Sunday, April 25, 2010

MALAYSIANS SHOULD BE PROUD OF THERI ENGLISH HERITAGE

Language: Bring back British English

HUSSAINI ABDUL KARIM, Shah Alam
letters@nst.com.my
2010/04/15

I HAVE a friend, Prof Dr Gerhard Leitner -- an honorary member of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, the Free University Berlin, and the Department of English Language and Literature, Habelschwerdter, Berlin, Germany -- who has been following the current development on the study and teaching of the English language in Malaysia.

He noted that "Malaysians should be proud of their English heritage".

"What I have seen is that the Malaysian government is calling for a return to British norms and that they want to bring in native teachers, including Australian ones.

"That doesn't make much sense since they (Australians) don't speak British English," said Prof Leitner, who will be speaking at University Malaya in July this year.

There must be a lot of confusion about the access to all sorts of English in Malaysia, such as American English and Australian English.

We have also developed our very own local forms. At the same time, we need to meet the demands of English for international participation.

We, therefore, should, as Malaysians, go back to our original source and develop our English based purely on British English.

Says Prof Leitner: "I see similarities with Europe, where the direction of going for forms or not is difficult. But we don't have local forms that would request legitimacy.

"However, there is a lot of talk about European English (in the EU institutions that are reaching out into the business world) and when I listen to our students in Berlin who come from Spain, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Africa, the Middle East and also from Britain and US, there is diversity.

"So the fight for good and against bad English is hard, to say the least. Lingua franca English may indeed be a way to go."

I agree. Lingua franca is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic history or structure of the language: though pidgins and creole often function as lingua francas, many lingua franca are neither pidgin nor creole. Synonyms for lingua franca are "vehicular language" and "bridge language".

Whereas a vernacular language is used as a native language in a single speaker community, a vehicular language goes beyond the boundaries of its original community, and is used as a second language for communication between communities.

For example, English is a vernacular in the United Kingdom, but is used as a vehicular language (lingua franca) in the Philippines.

Therefore, the best, most practical and cheapest way to teach or re-teach our students English language at primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, would be to bring back our retired British-trained English teachers. They understand our culture and, most importantly, the needs of our students much better.

DO MALAYSIANS GOING OVERSEAS REQUIRE INTERPRETERS??

When pride turns to shame

2010/04/19 NST LETTERS

I REFER to Hussaini Abdul Ka-rim's letter "Bring back British English" (NST, April 15).

I am proud to be a Malaysian. During my visits to other countries, people from all walks of life, whether at work-related functions or casual meetings, have told me that Malaysians speak good English.

But if our leaders do not emphasise the need to master English, Malaysians will in future find themselves at a loss when they travel overseas.

I am happy that Malaysian leaders and delegates who go overseas on official business do not require English-language interpreters and can communicate proficiently in the language, while the leaders of other countries need interpreters.

But our current leaders attended school in a different era. Today, the stress in the education system is different.

Just think about when someone from our present schooling generation becomes a leader and attends an international gathering. Can you imagine the embarrassment of not being able to understand other leaders without an interpreter?

KRISHNAN UNNI
Alor Gajah

Speaking English is not Unpatriotic - by Hassan Talib

Not unpatriotic

2010/04/19 NST

I CONSIDER Malaysia fortunate for having been colonised by the British.

Unlike other colonial masters, the British left behind a highly- structured public administration, an orderly system of government and, above all, the English language.

Citizens of non-Commonwealth countries struggle to be proficient in English as the language is alien to them. But not Malaysians schooled before the adoption of the National Education Policy, when Bahasa Malaysia came to be used as the medium of instruction.

The present generation views English as an alien language and has difficulty mastering it despite the efforts of the Education Ministry.

Worse still, there are some who consider English a colonial language that should not be learned if one considers oneself a true Malaysian.

Once upon a time, we put the British to shame with our Queen's English.

Today, we have to import British teachers to teach us Queen's English, as proposed by the ministry recently.

The rationale, perhaps, is that the court jester speaks better English than the young Malaysians of today.

Indeed, due to nationalistic sentiments, we are now behind other Commonwealth countries where English is concerned. Even the Scandinavians speak better English than us.

We have to be realistic that in the borderless world, English is the accepted lingua franca.

It is a universal language and not identified with the British anymore.

One is not unpatriotic for speaking Queen's English, as exemplified by our prime ministers past and present.

Our problem today is how to create a level playing field where urban and rural students can be proficient in English while not compromising on the National Education Policy. It is a tough act to juggle.

Certainly, half a loaf is better than none. But a half-baked solution will not solve the problem either.

For those who can afford it, there are international schools to turn to. But those who can't afford it have to make do with what is available. After all, some have argued that the Sekolah Kebangsaan have produced scientists and professionals and that we are on the way to achieving developed-nation status by 2020.

HASSAN TALIB
Gombak