Papua New Guinea
Global English has taken the world by storm and its
identity is associated with economic success and social
advance. ‘After all, the sun never set on the British
Empire, and the English language was naturally basking
in that global sunshine.’ (Kachrus,1983). The English
language is used in the multiplicity of economic and
social contexts - international business, science,
technology, diplomacy, academic conferences, pop music
and advertising. This predominant position evolved from
colonial expansion of the British Empire preceding American
economical and technological supremacy. However, its
imposing accomplishment is not unanimously welcomed. Even
those who uses English regularly may not view English in
positive light. The spread of Global English leads to
contradictory views and attitudes; it was seen as creating
disintegration and disparities yet it also provides
economical and social opportunities around the world.
We shall examine these universal contradictory
views: the ‘English Only’ education causes
increasing social and economic problems;
along with this it promotes elitism and
inequalities and English is accused of being a
‘killer’ of languages and cultures. On the
other hand it is viewed positively as a language
of prosperity and social advance and a
necessary means of access to advanced
technology that link them to the world economy.
In Papua New Guinea, the majority view English as
the principal cause of an endless struggling
existence. The majority who are school-leavers are left
stranded in poverty due to their lack of competency in
the English language;would view the ‘English Only
Policy’ education negatively, the fundamental cause of
their miserable lives. The ‘English only policy’ educational
system in Papua New Guinea where students have to
learn a language that they do not know even its oral form
resulted in large numbers of school-leavers and a
small group of elites. Most parents are not able to pay
for the school fees amounting to 50 percent of
their wages while those who could almost afford these fees
may not be able to find classroom places for the children.
Those who managed to attend school face difficulties;
lessons conducted in English in which most students are
unfamiliar with, lead to confusion. When they eventually
failed the eliminatory exams they were pushed out of
primary schools. The school leavers are divided into two
groups: the ‘School-pushouts’ and the ‘Rascal’. The School
pushouts are considered ‘useless’ and the misfits of the
society. Lacking in the competency of the English language
and the necessary skills to contribute to either the
traditional or industrial industry, most find themselves
in low-paid wage work. The other group -the Rascals are
viewed as the most despised people in the PNG society. They
are school dropouts who had to resort to crimes to survive.
They are different from the School-pushouts who perhaps seem
to passively accept a life destined to poverty, the Rascals
are the more rebellious lot. They seek criminal activities
to earn more money to live a European lifestyle. However,
these crimes might not guarantee them success.
For the minority in PNG English is the ladder to
the superior, successful lifestyle. Flanking the
English language is the dream of a European
lifestyle. Papua New Guineans develop a flavour
of the European culture: the ‘town life’ –the European
food, European music and European fashion. For the
School-pushouts and the Rascal, this remain an elusive,
unattainable dream. The elite on the other hand, having
graduated from the PNG educational system, competent
in English, are successful and powerful in the industrial
society. They view the English language positively, like a
magic wand, granting them a life of success with a price-
a parallel aversion for their own culture and an alienation
from it. English is the guardian angel that rescue them from
a vicious cycle of poverty, a worthwhile reason for trading
their culture with the trimmings of an affluent European
lifestyle. Another group of people in PNG are the Experts
-the expatriates. They are imported professionals, business
people and senior public servants who live a life of luxury
in PNG. For these English-speaking Experts, their competency
in English was often taken for granted in their own
countries until they are offered an exceedingly high income
and high standard of living by the PNG government, English
is then the instrument of their lavish lifestyle. These
disparities between the School-pushouts, the Rascals, the
Elites and the Experts in PNG increases socio-economic
inequalities.
The PNG government stress on ‘English Only’
education policy and its costly imported English
-speaking professionals echoes its belief that the
success of the country’s economy is achieved
solely through the vehicle of the English language.
The foreseeable inequalities in Papua New Guinea arise
mainly from the lack of competency in English skills for the
majority of its citizens at the price of its ineffective ‘English
Only’ educational system. Nothing is done to improve
their welfare instead the PNG government pays an
astronomical amount of salaries to imported English
-speaking professionals who may not even find a job
in their own countries. Some of these expatriate experts
were being hired by the government to resolve its internal
‘law and Order’ problem. The reality of life here is
equalities. To illustrate, a security guard
working 12 hours a day get paid only K72 per week and
cannot afford even to put his children in the ‘English Only’
school, had to protect the ‘Expert Expatriate’ who earns
K2000 per week with other benefits – luxury car and
apartment, yacht club membership, private school for
his children, maid services and air-tickets for his family.
This disapproving viewpoint of ‘inequality’ is
shared by many others in other parts of the world.
To many immigrants, competency in English promote
elitism and increases socio-economic inequalities in the
English-speaking countries. The British colonial
economic has made the English language
dominant in many of its colonies thus there is a fanciful
belief worldwide that the English language will propel third
world economy very quickly. The significance of English in
international trade and technological research will not
only help people achieve success in their individual
position but also in their countries’ economies. The
increased surge of people who are seeking a better future;
wanting to study or migrate to English-speaking countries
triggers this unequal economic world. Immigrants to
English-speaking countries often found themselves trapped
in a position where their competency is dependent on their
fluency in English rather than their education or
professional experience. For example, Chilean refugees who
migrated to Canada in 1970 found that their competence in
English was used to label them as impoverished, unskilled
working class even in spite of their professional, middle
-class status in Chile. Although fluency in English language
is necessary for entrée to better jobs and opportunities,
however, English language is seldom uniformly accessible.
Most immigrants have difficulties in getting an English
education through country entry and gatekeeping English
teaching programmes. Language is the chief determinant of
an immigrant’s future. English proficiency is a filtering
device and due to the control of English as a second language
programme by the grants in low socio-economic status, only
certain people are given admission to English language
education.
The role of English education worldwide has lead
to view of it either suppressing the identity of
other languages or as a defective system
producing discrimination among the population.
The peril of accentuating English-medium education
due the unfortunate colonial legacy seems only to
serve the interests of a small community at the expense of
the rest of the population. In Hong Kong the compulsory
English education ‘has helped spread English more widely
in the community, on the other hand, has increased the
number of low achievers.(education Commission,1995). In
PNG, the English educational system is evidently producing
illiteracy thus increasing social and economical problems.
Robert Phillipson (study guide 8, band 3) claims ‘Once we
sent gunboats: now we send English teachers’, this
reflects his cynical view of English education. He insists
that English should not have a major role in education at
the cost of other languages except for certain useful
purposes. In contrast, Malaysia chose a different path,
it decided to promote the Malay language and reduce the
use of English in order to create a new national identity.
However, recently there are concerns that the declining
standard of English has a detrimental impact on
Malaysia’s position in the global economy. In choosing to
replace the English language, they failed to maintain the
demand of global competence for English from multinational
and private-sector companies.
Additionally the spread of Global English is seen
as a ‘killer’ of human and cultural heritage; a
menace that stifles indigenous languages and
wipe out cultures in its course. The cultural view
here is that other languages and cultures even if it is a
minority or non-territorial language like Gipsy should be
preserved and recognized as part of the human heritage
rather being trample on by giant economic progress
and linguistic imperialism. The British colonial empire
had bestowed the foundation of the English
language while in the twentieth century technological and
economic developments and efficient communication further
thrust the spread of English around the globe.
Modernization associated with global English will rock
the perilous foothold on the conventional ways of language
and culture. In modernization, developments have led to the
opening of the jungles, the building of dams for electricity
and thus the relocation of small tribal communities in some
countries have resulted in the loss of their language and
culture. People have no choice, dictated by economical
success, they are compel to give up their minority language
in favour of the dominant English language. Learning the
English language may seem objective but people may not be
aware that they become implicated in the system of
dominance. According to Mari Rhydwen (Band 6)(although born
in Wales but is not Welsh-speaking). British were using
people to further their colonial goal. She claims that a
highly educated Welsh may not get prestige, power and money
unless they were doing colonial services. Welsh who were
supporters of Welsh nationalism found themselves opposing
British English influence were torn between the need to
accept English for economic reasons and preserving their
cultural heritage.
In contrast, many people view English positively,
as the chief provider to economic and social advance;
essential for means of access to high-tech
communication and information. Consequently, the
global economical inequalities within countries and
unfortunate language loss are seen as an inevitable process;
that interlink both cultural and economic
spheres therefore leading to mounting interdependent of
geographically diverse people and countries. As a realistic
approach, some see English as a language of work; without
making English the predominant significance in their daily
life, they accept it as a indispensable business tool,
necessary for global communication. This view is expressed
by Wing Cheung So, a resident in Hong Kong ‘English is like
a suit of clothes- you put it on for work and take it off
again as soon as you arrive home. English is the language
for business and has little to do with my real life’
(study guide 8, p.17). Li Yang Kang, the modern-day guru,
creator of ‘Crazy English’ language-learning system
provide a more serious view; he promises ‘international
enlightenment’ in learning English. He claims that
conquering English will make China a proud and prosperous
nation.
In this satellite era, the internet, television,
the media and advertisements have successfully
constructed the English identity, associating it with
the superior lifestyle. Thepowerful impact of English
language satellite television can profoundly influence
people in identifying with its superior language and
culture. English is widely used in mass media
advertising to promote products that have distinctively
values of ‘Englishness’ or ‘Americanness’. More people are
watching English television, for example, while the Swedish
language seems at stake, Swedish children are found mainly to
be watching English television; the English language seems
more natural and is no longer foreign to them. The English
language is associated with a superior way of life, western
culture, western technologies and western lifestyles.
The spread of Global language had conflicting
meanings in different parts of the world, it is
seen as a mechanism for endorsing elitism
and inequalities, annihilating traditional cultures
and languages, on the other hand, it is considered
an indispensable provider of economical success.
What is the fate of English in the future? Some
sees English grow into new structure or more people
might become multilingual- harmonising rather than
maintaining cultural authenticity or perhaps English
language may have a new role of standardizing
cultures and the diverse cultures will fuse into one global
culture. In another view Hooke forecasts that
the economies of USA and Japan will be weaken
because they fail to grow bigger, and the economy
of China will overtake USA, so could the Chinese
language become the next global language and take
over English? Global English the global villain or
God-send; its multiple roles seems hazy and its
future fuzzy, yet presently if you do not embrace it,
your future will be at stake.
(2150 words)
Bibliography:
Sharon Goodman and David Graddol. (2002), Redesigning English: new texts, new identities, The Open University.
Complementary study: Readings, The Open University.
VCD 5 (TV 8), English everywhere, The Open university.
CD 8, Band 2:English 2000, Band 3: Big languages, little languages,
Band 5, English and the global economy & band 6, Losing languages, The Open University.
No comments:
Post a Comment