Applied Languages

Australians risk being marooned in the dated jobs and industries of the 20th century unless a $11.3 billion mass Asian language literacy plan is acted on within a generation, according to Michael Wesley, a leading expert on international relations.

Ahead of today’s Sydney launch of a report documenting “a precipitous decline” in the study of languages at universities, Professor Wesley said it was not enough to rely on a fluent elite to project Australia’s interests in the region. “Simply relying on an elite means the rest of Australian society – as our economy internationalises and becomes more knowledge-intensive – will be trapped in 20th-century industries, while other countries will be moving ahead and taking part in the 21st-century knowledge economy,” he said.

The report from Professor Wesley’s Asia Institute at Griffith University says Mandarin, Japanese and Indonesian should be given priority since they are the languages of Australia’s two largest trading partners and closest neighbour respectively.

Professor Wesley said it was critical for the country’s prosperity that half of all Australians became competent in a key Asian language over the next 30 years. “The world of the future is going to be an Asian-centred knowledge economy, and essential to getting ahead in the knowledge economy is getting our human infrastructure right, and essential to that is being able to speak to people in languages other than English,” he said.

The Griffith report proposes an Australian strategy for Asian language proficiency, under which universities and schools would bid for funding from a new national Asian languages institute to ensure that the number of preparatory, primary and secondary school students taking Mandarin, Japanese or Indonesian is doubled within five years.

Successful bidders would have to commit to ensuring that all students up to year 10 received at least 150 minutes of instruction in the target language a week. After 15 years, the key languages group would be expanded to include Vietnamese, Thai, Farsi, Bengali, Cambodian, Lao and Burmese.

Professor Wesley pointed to World Bank forecasts showing the Asia-Pacific as a leader in the emerging knowledge economy, and contrasted this with the “alarming” finding that 75 per cent of Australians spoke no language other than English.

He said the new pools of talent opening up in the knowledge economy were not in the English-speaking world but in fast-developing Asian nations such as China, Korea, Taiwan and India. “The majority of consumers of knowledge products – from web-based materials to films – will consume products in languages other than English, and will develop knowledge products in indigenous languages, so it stands to reason that countries that can work with these indigenous capacities stand to gain,” he said.

Asked why Australia should embark on such a monumental task in learning foreign languages when English already was the lingua franca of global business, Professor Wesley conceded this was the “key argument” against his proposal. “(But) learning another language is the quickest way to understanding that the way you think about the world is not universal; it’s shaped by your culture,” he said.

Read more: The Australian

For the past six months, policemen in Khajuraho have been getting lessons on foreign languages to help visitors from abroad. So the next time a foreign tourist asks for help, they can confidently rattle off a “Bonjour” or an “Hola”!

“Being an international tourist destination, Khajuraho attracts a large number of foreigners every day. But due to language problems, they have to face many difficulties,” Anil Mishra, the Chhatarpur Additional Superintendent of Police, said.

Khajuraho, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is a village in Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, some 380 km from Bhopal. It is famous for its erotic sculptures which were built by the Chandela rulers between the 9th and 12th century.

Hundreds of foreign tourists visit the village every day and sometimes they face tough situations because of their inability of communicate in the local dialect. “For the last six months we have started a multilingual training camp for our staff. We have roped in language experts, authorised and identified tourist guides to teach English, Spanish, French, Italian and other international languages,” Mr. Mishra said.

The police initiative to have their personnel interact with foreign tourists in their own language will not only boost tourism but also improve the image of the police, officials said. After finishing their routine work, police personnel are asked to gather in a makeshift classroom at the Khajuraho police station. Authorised tourist guides and language experts have been roped in to help hone the skill of policemen in languages such as English, Spanish, French and Italian.

Surya Bhan Singh, a Sub-Inspector, said: “Khajuraho is an international tourist destination, and the knowledge of English and foreign languages like Japanese is proving a great help to foreign tourists. We are learning these languages properly and the results are interesting. Tourists are very satisfied with our efforts.”

English language expert A.H. Siddiki said: “Knowledge of foreign languages is very essential in Khajuraho. Earlier tourists had to face many problems. They usually avoid going to the police station for any help because of the language barrier. Now the situation is improving because of this initiative.”

Read more: The Hindu