TEDxDubai
Patricia Ryan: Don't insist on English!
帕特里夏·瑞安: 不要固执于英语！
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Readability: 3.6
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在TEDx迪拜, 资深的英语教师帕特里夏·瑞安提出了一个发人深省的问题，这个独尊英语的世界是否会妨碍其他语言传播优秀的思想？例如，如果一定要爱因斯坦通过托福，这会造成怎样的结果呢？这段演讲热情地捍卫了翻译和分享思想的价值。
Patricia Ryan - Language teacher
Patricia Ryan has spent the past three-plus decades teaching English in Arabic countries -- where she has seen vast cultural (and linguistic) change. Full bio
Patricia Ryan has spent the past three-plus decades teaching English in Arabic countries -- where she has seen vast cultural (and linguistic) change. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:16
I know what you're thinking.
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我知道你们在想什么。
00:18
You think I've lost my way,
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你们想我迷路了，
00:20
and somebody's going to come on the stage in a minute
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有人马上会上台
00:22
and guide me gently back to my seat.
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把我领回到我的座位。
00:24
(Applause)
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(掌声)
00:30
I get that all the time in Dubai.
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在迪拜老是有人这样问我。
00:33
"Here on holiday are you, dear?"
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“亲爱的，来度假啊？”
00:35
(Laughter)
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(笑声)
00:37
"Come to visit the children?
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“来看孩子们吗？
00:40
How long are you staying?"
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呆多久啊？”
00:42
Well actually, I hope for a while longer yet.
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事实上，我希望我还能多在这儿呆几年呢。
00:45
I have been living and teaching in the Gulf
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我在海湾地区已经生活和教书
00:48
for over 30 years.
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有30多年了。
00:50
(Applause)
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(掌声)
00:54
And in that time, I have seen a lot of changes.
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在这期间，我目睹了很多变化。
00:58
Now that statistic
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那些统计数据
01:00
is quite shocking.
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是令人非常吃惊的。
01:02
And I want to talk to you today
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而我今天要跟你们讲的
01:04
about language loss
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是关于语种的消失
01:06
and the globalization of English.
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和英语的全球化。
01:09
I want to tell you about my friend
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我想告诉你们，我的一个朋友
01:11
who was teaching English to adults in Abu Dhabi.
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她在阿布扎比教成年人英语。
01:14
And one fine day,
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一天，
01:16
she decided to take them into the garden
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她决定带他们去花园
01:18
to teach them some nature vocabulary.
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去教他们一些大自然用语。
01:20
But it was she who ended up learning
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但是结果她反而学了所有
01:22
all the Arabic words for the local plants,
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当地植被的阿拉伯名称
01:24
as well as their uses --
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和它们的用途--
01:26
medicinal uses, cosmetics,
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药用的，化妆用的，
01:29
cooking, herbal.
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食用的， 草药。
01:32
How did those students get all that knowledge?
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那些学生是怎样得到这些知识的呢？
01:34
Of course, from their grandparents
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当然是从他们的祖父母那里
01:36
and even their great-grandparents.
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甚至是他们的曾祖父母那里。
01:39
It's not necessary to tell you how important it is
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本来我没有必要告诉你们能够
01:42
to be able to communicate
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跨代交流是多么
01:44
across generations.
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重要。
01:46
But sadly, today,
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但是，令人惋惜的是， 今天
01:48
languages are dying
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很多语种正在
01:50
at an unprecedented rate.
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以空前的速度消失着。
01:52
A language dies every 14 days.
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每14天就有一种语言消失。
01:56
Now, at the same time,
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而同时，现在
01:58
English is the undisputed global language.
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英语又无可争辩地成为全球性语言。
02:00
Could there be a connection?
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这两者间有联系吗？
02:02
Well I don't know.
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我不知道。
02:04
But I do know that I've seen a lot of changes.
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但是我知道我已目睹了很多变化。
02:07
When I first came out to the Gulf, I came to Kuwait
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当我初到海湾时， 我到了科威特，
02:10
in the days when it was still a hardship post.
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那个时候那儿还算是一个艰苦地区。
02:13
Actually, not that long ago.
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其实也就是没多久以前。
02:15
That is a little bit too early.
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这幅图还更早一点。
02:18
But nevertheless,
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不去管它，
02:20
I was recruited by the British Council,
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我被英国文化协会招聘到这里
02:22
along with about 25 other teachers.
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同时招来的还有其他25个老师。
02:24
And we were the first non-Muslims
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我们是最早在科威特
02:26
to teach in the state schools there in Kuwait.
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公立学校教书的非穆斯林。
02:29
We were brought to teach English
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我们被请来教英语
02:31
because the government wanted to modernize the country
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因为政府想要发展国家现代化
02:35
and to empower the citizens through education.
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让公民通过学习提高自己。
02:38
And of course, the U.K. benefited
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当然， 英国也因此收益于
02:40
from some of that lovely oil wealth.
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那些让人喜爱的石油财富。
02:43
Okay.
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好。
02:45
Now this is the major change that I've seen --
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这是我看见过的主要变化--
02:48
how teaching English
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英语教学是怎样
02:50
has morphed
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演变的
02:52
from being a mutually beneficial practice
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使它从一个互惠的交流方式
02:56
to becoming a massive international business that it is today.
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变成如今的一个规模巨大的国际交流。
02:59
No longer just a foreign language on the school curriculum,
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它不再只是学校课程的一门外语课。
03:03
and no longer the sole domain
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也不再是
03:05
of mother England,
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英国特有。
03:07
it has become a bandwagon
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对地球上每个说英语的国家而言
03:09
for every English-speaking nation on earth.
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说英语已成为潮流。
03:12
And why not?
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为什么不呢？
03:14
After all, the best education --
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毕竟，最好的教育--
03:17
according to the latest World University Rankings --
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根据最新的世界大学排名--
03:20
is to be found in the universities
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最好的大学总是
03:22
of the U.K. and the U.S.
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在英国或者美国。
03:26
So everybody wants to have an English education, naturally.
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自然每个人都想得到英语教育。
03:30
But if you're not a native speaker,
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如果你的母语不是英语的话，
03:32
you have to pass a test.
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你要通过一个考试。
03:34
Now can it be right
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那么仅仅根据
03:36
to reject a student
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学生的语言能力
03:38
on linguistic ability alone?
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就拒绝一个学生的做法合适吗？
03:40
Perhaps you have a computer scientist
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也许你们中一个计算机科学家
03:42
who's a genius.
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是一个天才。
03:44
Would he need the same language as a lawyer, for example?
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那例如，他需要有和律师一样的语言能力吗？
03:47
Well, I don't think so.
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我并不这么认为。
03:51
We English teachers reject them all the time.
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我们做英语老师的总是否定他们。
03:54
We put a stop sign,
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我们放置一个禁止通行的标志，
03:56
and we stop them in their tracks.
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我们在他们的发展轨道上挡住了他们。
03:58
They can't pursue their dream any longer,
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他们不能继续追寻他们的梦想，
04:00
'til they get English.
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除非他们掌握了英语。
04:04
Now let me put it this way:
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现在我这么说吧，
04:07
if I met a monolingual Dutch speaker
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如果我遇到一个只会说荷兰语的人
04:11
who had the cure for cancer,
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他能治愈癌症，
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would I stop him from entering my British University?
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我会阻止他进入英国大学吗？
04:16
I don't think so.
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我想不可能。
04:18
But indeed, that is exactly what we do.
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但是事实上，我们正是这样做的。
04:21
We English teachers are the gatekeepers.
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我们英语老师是把关的。
04:24
And you have to satisfy us first
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你得先令我们满意
04:27
that your English is good enough.
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你的英语要足够好。
04:31
Now it can be dangerous
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这就可能很危险
04:33
to give too much power
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把很多权力
04:36
to a narrow segment of society.
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交给了社会的一个窄小的团体。
04:38
Maybe the barrier would be too universal.
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可能这个造成的障碍影响面就太广了。
04:41
Okay.
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好吧。
04:43
"But," I hear you say,
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“但是” 我听见你们说，
04:46
"what about the research?
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“那科研呢？
04:48
It's all in English."
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它们都是用的英语。”
04:50
So the books are in English,
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书是英语的，
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the journals are done in English,
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研究刊物是英语的，
04:54
but that is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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但是这是一个自我实现的假定。
04:57
It feeds the English requirement.
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它正好符合需要英语的条件。
04:59
And so it goes on.
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于是它就继续这样发展下去。
05:01
I ask you, what happened to translation?
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那我问你，翻译还需要吗？
05:04
If you think about the Islamic Golden Age,
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如果你想想伊斯兰的黄金时代，
05:08
there was lots of translation then.
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当时有很多翻译。
05:11
They translated from Latin and Greek
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他们把拉丁文和希腊语
05:14
into Arabic, into Persian,
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翻译成阿拉伯语和波斯语，
05:16
and then it was translated on
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然后又翻译成
05:18
into the Germanic languages of Europe
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欧洲的日耳曼语
05:20
and the Romance languages.
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和罗曼语。
05:22
And so light shone upon the Dark Ages of Europe.
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于是欧洲黑暗的时代被点亮了。
05:27
Now don't get me wrong;
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不要误会；
05:29
I am not against teaching English,
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我不是反对教英语，
05:31
all you English teachers out there.
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或是你们在座的所有英语老师。
05:33
I love it that we have a global language.
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我热爱我们有一种全球性语言。
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We need one today more than ever.
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我们今天比过去任何时候都需要它。
05:38
But I am against using it
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但是我反对用它
05:40
as a barrier.
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设立障碍。
05:42
Do we really want to end up with 600 languages
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我们真的只想留下600种语言
05:45
and the main one being English, or Chinese?
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而主要语言只是英语和中文吗？
05:48
We need more than that. Where do we draw the line?
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我们需要更多，我们在哪里划这条界线呢？
05:51
This system
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这个体制
05:53
equates intelligence
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把智能
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with a knowledge of English,
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和英语能力划等号
05:59
which is quite arbitrary.
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这是非常武断的。
06:01
(Applause)
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(掌声)
06:07
And I want to remind you
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我想提醒你
06:09
that the giants upon whose shoulders
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而当代知识分子所站立在
06:12
today's intelligentsia stand
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那些“巨人肩膀”上的伟人，
06:14
did not have to have English,
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他们也并不都具有英语能力，
06:16
they didn't have to pass an English test.
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他们不需要通过英语考试。
06:18
Case in point, Einstein.
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爱因斯坦就是个典型。
06:22
He, by the way, was considered remedial at school
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其实，他在学校的时候是个需要补课的学生
06:25
because he was, in fact, dyslexic.
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因为他诵读有困难。
06:27
But fortunately for the world,
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但是也是这世界的幸运，
06:29
he did not have to pass an English test.
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他不必通过英语考试。
06:32
Because they didn't start until 1964
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因为1964年
06:35
with TOEFL,
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托福考试还没设立，
06:37
the American test of English.
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这是一种美式英语测试。
06:39
Now it's exploded.
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现在已经泛滥了
06:41
There are lots and lots of tests of English.
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各种各样的英语测试。
06:44
And millions and millions of students
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每年成千上万的学生
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take these tests every year.
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参加这样的考试。
06:48
Now you might think, you and me,
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你会觉得，你和我都这么认为
06:50
"Those fees aren't bad, they're okay,"
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这些考试价格还是合理的，
06:52
but they are prohibitive
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但是数百万穷人
06:54
to so many millions of poor people.
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却望而却步。
06:56
So immediately, we're rejecting them.
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所以一开始我们就把他们挡在了外面。
06:58
(Applause)
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(掌声)
07:01
It brings to mind a headline I saw recently:
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这让我想到我最近看见的一条新闻：
07:04
"Education: The Great Divide."
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“教育：大鸿沟。”
07:06
Now I get it,
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现在我明白了，
07:08
I understand why people would want to focus on English.
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为什么人们都关注英语。
07:11
They want to give their children the best chance in life.
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他们希望给予他们的孩子最好的人生机遇。
07:15
And to do that, they need a Western education.
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而要达到这个目的，他们需要西方教育。
07:18
Because, of course, the best jobs
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因为，显然，最好的工作
07:20
go to people out of the Western Universities,
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都让西方大学的毕业生拿走了，
07:23
that I put on earlier.
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就跟我之前说的一样。
07:25
It's a circular thing.
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这是个循环。
07:27
Okay.
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是吧。
07:29
Let me tell you a story about two scientists,
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让我们告诉你们两个科学家的故事
07:31
two English scientists.
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有关两个英国科学家。
07:33
They were doing an experiment
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他们在做一个实验
07:35
to do with genetics
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跟遗传学有关
07:37
and the forelimbs and the hind limbs of animals.
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以及研究动物的前后肢，
07:40
But they couldn't get the results they wanted.
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但是他们无法得到他们想得到的结果。
07:42
They really didn't know what to do,
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他们有点束手无策，
07:44
until along came a German scientist
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直到一个德国科学家参与后
07:47
who realized that they were using two words
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他发现他们在研究前肢和后肢时
07:50
for forelimb and hind limb,
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用的是两个词，
07:52
whereas genetics does not differentiate
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而遗传学上并不区分两者
07:56
and neither does German.
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德语也不区分。
07:58
So bingo,
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所以瞧儿，
08:00
problem solved.
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问题解决了。
08:02
If you can't think a thought,
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如果你想不通
08:04
you are stuck.
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就卡住了。
08:07
But if another language can think that thought,
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但是用另外一种语言就可以想通，
08:09
then, by cooperating,
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那么，通过合作
08:11
we can achieve and learn so much more.
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我们可以教学相长，受益颇多。
08:16
My daughter
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我的女儿
08:18
came to England from Kuwait.
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从科威特回到英国。
08:21
She had studied science and mathematics in Arabic.
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她已经用阿拉伯语学了科学和数学。
08:24
It's an Arabic medium school.
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那是在一所阿拉伯中校。
08:27
She had to translate it into English at her grammar school.
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在文法学院学习时，她要把所学的内容翻译成英语。
08:30
And she was the best in the class
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在她们班上，她的这些科目
08:32
at those subjects.
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是最好的。
08:34
Which tells us
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这告诉我们
08:36
that when students come to us from abroad,
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当学生从海外来就读
08:38
we may not be giving them enough credit
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也许我们没有给他们足够的认可
08:40
for what they know,
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对于那些他们已经懂得的知识而言
08:42
and they know it in their own language.
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因为他们已经通过他们的语言掌握了这些知识。
08:45
When a language dies,
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当语言消失，
08:47
we don't know what we lose with that language.
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我们不知道我们还失去了什么。
08:50
This is -- I don't know if you saw it on CNN recently --
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我不知道你们是否看最近的CNN--
08:54
they gave the Heroes Award
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他们颁发了一枚英雄奖
08:56
to a young Kenyan shepherd boy
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给一个年轻的肯尼亚牧童，
08:59
who couldn't study at night in his village,
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在他所住的村庄里，他和其他在村里的孩子一样
09:02
like all the village children,
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无法在夜晚读书，
09:04
because the kerosene lamp,
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因为煤油灯烟
09:06
it had smoke and it damaged his eyes.
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会弄伤他的眼睛。
09:08
And anyway, there was never enough kerosene,
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而且，他也没有足够的煤油
09:11
because what does a dollar a day buy for you?
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他们每天只有一美元的收入，能买什么呢？
09:14
So he invented
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所以他发明了
09:16
a cost-free solar lamp.
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不需要花钱的太阳能灯。
09:19
And now the children in his village
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现在他们村里的孩子们
09:21
get the same grades at school
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都能在学习上取得一样的好成绩
09:23
as the children who have electricity at home.
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跟那些家里有电的孩子一样。
09:27
(Applause)
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(掌声)
09:33
When he received his award,
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当他得到这个奖励时，
09:35
he said these lovely words:
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他说了这些可爱的话：
09:37
"The children can lead Africa from what it is today,
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“儿童可以带领今天的非洲
09:40
a dark continent,
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从一个黑暗的大陆
09:42
to a light continent."
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走向一个光明的大陆。”
09:44
A simple idea,
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一个简单的想法
09:46
but it could have such far-reaching consequences.
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但是其影响是深远的。
09:50
People who have no light,
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无论是实际生活中还是社会意义上
09:52
whether it's physical or metaphorical,
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不能享受光明的人
09:55
cannot pass our exams,
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都无法通过我们的测试，
09:58
and we can never know what they know.
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我们也无法了解他们拥有的知识。
10:01
Let us not keep them and ourselves
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我们不能让他们和我们自己都
10:04
in the dark.
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身处于黑暗里。
10:06
Let us celebrate diversity.
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让我们一起为多元化欢呼。
10:09
Mind your language.
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重视你的语言。
10:12
Use it to spread great ideas.
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用它来传播优秀的思想。
10:16
(Applause)
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(掌声)
10:23
Thank you very much.
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非常谢谢。
10:25
(Applause)
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(掌声)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Patricia Ryan - Language teacherPatricia Ryan has spent the past three-plus decades teaching English in Arabic countries -- where she has seen vast cultural (and linguistic) change.
Why you should listen
UK-born language teacher Patricia Ryan has spent most of the past 40 years teaching English in the countries of the Arabian Gulf.
She is currently teaching at Zayed University in Dubai, and studying for a second Masters degree in Law.
Patricia Ryan | Speaker | TED.com