Mother tongue can never be a burden
Recently, six universities in Shanghai made the English language compulsory in their joint exams, and left out Chinese. There is a trend among institutions to emphasize the importance of foreign languages and ignore our mother tongue. This gives the impression that the Chinese language has become more like a burden. This will only hurt our culture and traditions, says an article in Huashang News. Excerpts:
Ji Xianlin, the great linguist and scholar, once said many countrymen were sorry to have Chinese as their mother tongue. This trend seems to be growing, for six universities in Shanghai recently made the English language compulsory for their joint exams and left Chinese out of their scheme of things.
That's bad news. There is no doubt that the English language is a very important medium of education.
But that is no reason why we should forget the importance of our mother tongue and the traditions and culture of which it is an integral and important part.
It is the Chinese language that makes China a nation. It is the language we communicate with people throughout this vast country.
Once we stop according due respect to our mother tongue, our history, culture and traditions could also become a matter of shame for us. And the result of such a development can only be bitter and painful.
Alphonse Daudet and his opinion on la derniere classe (the last class) both have been controversial.
But one of his thoughts is shared universally: that the national language of a country is directly related to its culture and traditions, and it is essential for holding up the national spirit. A nation without its own culture and traditions can never be innovative.
What we are doing reminds one, in a different way, of Czeslaw Milosz, the Polish writer and poet, who insisted on writing in his mother tongue even during exile.
The Nobel Committee described his poems as "documented in Polish and nourished in Polish traditions and culture" while presenting him the Nobel Prize for Literature. Readers can find eternal value in his charming poems and writings. One who writes in his/her mother tongue is one of the happiest persons in the world.
Therefore we should not view our mother tongue as a burden. Only through our own language can our culture find the glory it truly deserves.
(China Daily 01/27/2010 page9)
