gobbledonk Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 My link We've been down this road before - the tourism industry wanted all our kids to learn Japanese back in the 80s - but this time its serious. Apparently. I doubt that there is a country on the planet that doesn't want a slice of the emerging middle-class in China, but this latest 'initiative' is interesting in terms of the focus on Indonesia and a push to reinvigorate Asian languages in our schools. Indonesian has been taught in Aussie schools for many years, but if you look at the cost-cutting in Australian universities over the last decade its clear that Arts degrees just havent been paying the rent. Singaporeans don't spend money to send their kids here to major in 'Asian Studies' .... Getting back to the focus on Indonesia, it's particularly interesting given that so much of our military planning has been based on the concept of Indonesians as 'the enemy' and that has extended to various exchanges between Canberra and Jakarta over the last 50 years. Our tabloid press has been happy to demonise the Indonesians at every opportunity and I don't see that changing simply because of a 'government initiative'. This aint Sillypore, mate .... (they had some clown on telly yesterday droning on about how much better it would be for anyone looking to do business in Asia to 'speak the language'. Of course, he didnt say exactly which language that might be, or the fact that said business people might be in Shanghai one day, HK the next and Taipei the day after. All Chinese people - I'm sure they all speak Mandarin, right ? Right ....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baa99 Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Australia is already a colony of China. So you might as well learn the mother tongue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 "they had some clown on telly yesterday droning on about how much better it would be for anyone looking to do business in Asia to 'speak the language'. Of course, he didnt say exactly which language that might be ..." My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radioman Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 My link ...anyone looking to do business in Asia to 'speak the language'... The language of business in Asia rather than any specific tongue maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted October 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Australia is already a colony of China. So you might as well learn the mother tongue. Is there a single Federal, State or Local government on the planet which doesn't currently owe the Chinese money ? They've got us all by the balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted October 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 More talking heads on telly tonite navel gazing about this - the shock jocks had a field day with it this morning. Seems it was OK for me to be forced to learn Latin and French for a year, but its not OK for kids to be 'forced' to try Mandarin/Hindi/Indonesian/Japanese. I wish them luck finding enough qualified teachers .... We are a xenophobic British outpost at the wrong end of the globe, but what I find interesting is how quickly many immigrants take on the same 'fortress' mentality - I put the blame squarely on our media, our isolation and our school system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 its a curly one mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 I think English will be the lingua franca for international business for a long time to come. I know a Lao, who and whose colleagues, deal daily with the Chinese, they all speak English together, this, despite them sharing a common border and compatible political philosophy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 I think English will be the lingua franca for international business for a long time to come. I know a Lao, who and whose colleagues, deal daily with the Chinese, they all speak English together, this, despite them sharing a common border and compatible political philosophy. English is the most worst spoken language of the world...... Common border ? 2 weeks ago playing a bridgetournament in another club, table next to us are 2 Dutch ladies playing 2 guys from Brussels, and yes, all in English Shame on all of them....... BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted October 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Would you rather be a Francophone ? Common border and all ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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