A Contribution from Judy Ruo-ying CHEN

陈若英是我在北大法律系的同学，此女在北大以有才思著称。现于牛津大学圣安妮学院研习英伦法律。在北大的成绩比我好，将来的帽子也要比我大。

Judy看了我的网站以后，寄来一篇她在牛津写的短文。文章的内容不是法律，而是谈语言对保持文化的重要桥梁作用。我赞同她的观点，语言是文化的载体，如果是为了严谨地学习知识，当然以阅读作者原文撰写的作品、著作为佳。

Language and Culture

©Judy Ruo-ying CHEN, 2000

To preserve the language of a nation is to preserve its special culture and history. When people can not understand the old language, they will be less tightly connceted to or even gradually lose their cultures and histories. Their enemies know much more clearerly than themselves as to this point.

We still remember that in the famous article The Last Lesson, the first thing Prussians did when they intruded France, was to replace French with Prussian in the school education. Japanese also took the same strategy in order to cut off the connection between people and their histories and cultures. This evil refused to only stay in people's memory and is still threatening certain cultures and nations. Thus both Jews and Tibetans are still fighting to preserve their languages for the sake of their cultures and histories at the edge of being extinguished.

However, we can never over-emphasize people's short-seeing to forget the past mistake, and to trade off culture for pragmatic benefits. India is a vivid example.

As living in one of the most promising emerging markets and the most attractive places for foreign investment, Indian kids are happily and confidently choosing English as their only language at school, since they will take huge advantages of being able to speak English in the future competition. So does India itself as a nation. That is why Indian government does not want to bother itself and its people to have the language of Hindu as compulsory course in schools. Seeing the tempting benefits promised by the globalisation, nobody in India still remembers that Hindu is the bridge to the unique, ancient and vulnerable Indian culture and history. In a globalised world, there is no room for different nations to keep their own cultures and traditions. History and culture are too pale and too consuming in face of a bright future with prosperity for today's human being.

However, we should ask ourselves a question: why are Jews and Tibetans still making such stubborn fighting? We, human beings, are the creature of our cultures and histories. It is the diversity of cultures and histories that keeps the world alive and evolving. Our passion for our own cultures and histories is the matrix of creativity and impetus needed for the world's future.

Indians, especially Indian government, shall feel it a shame in front of the old Jewish Rabbis and Tibetan monks, who are desperately teaching kids of their old and beautiful languages on the verge of dying.