學(xué)習(xí)法語還有用嗎

What is the point of learning French? In anotoriously monoglot nation such as ours, theanswer is usually something along the lines of the oldjustification for forcing cod-liver oil down children’sthroats: it is good for you.

學(xué)法語的意義何在?在像英國這樣眾所周知的單語國家，答案通常是類似強(qiáng)迫孩子把魚肝油吞下去的古老理由：這對你有好處。

It is time to realise that in many parts of the world,being expected to learn French is positively bad foryou. If you were to emerge from school unable to add up, you would, rightly, be furious. Yet itis possible to finish schooling all over the world fluent in French but ignorant of the skillabsolutely necessary get by in the global economy: English.

是時候意識到這一點了：在世界很多地方，被期望學(xué)法語對你確實有壞處。如果你從學(xué)校畢業(yè)卻不會做加法，你理所應(yīng)當(dāng)?shù)貢械綉嵟?。然而，在世界各地都可能發(fā)生以下這種情況：你在完成學(xué)業(yè)后能說一口流利的法語，卻不會說一門在全球化經(jīng)濟(jì)中生存絕對必須掌握的語言——英語。

There is one big culprit for this absurd state of affairs. The bloc known as “La Francophonie”passes itself off as a pale imitation of the Commonwealth, if you can imagine anything quite soetiolated. Actually, the comparison is unfair to the Commonwealth , which is a well-meaning,low-key organisation doing good by stealth. La Francophonie has a more strident tone,promoting “active solidarity” (whatever that is) between member states, based on “the Frenchlanguage and its humanist values”.

這種荒謬的事態(tài)有一大罪魁禍?zhǔn)?。名?ldquo;法語國家組織”(La Francophonie)的聯(lián)盟假裝自己是一個類似英聯(lián)邦(Commonwealth)一樣的組織——如果你能設(shè)想如此蒼白無力的模仿的話。實際上，這種比較對英聯(lián)邦而言是不公平的。英聯(lián)邦是一個悄悄做好事的善意、低調(diào)的組織。法語國家組織的風(fēng)格更為激烈，旨在促進(jìn)成員國之間基于“法語語言及其人文主義價值觀”的“積極團(tuán)結(jié)”(誰知道這個詞是什么意思)。

There is nothing inherently evil in promoting the teaching of French and its “humanist values”.And there is nothing wrong with encouraging the cultivation of dahlias. But we might lookaskance at an organisation which proclaimed that growing dahlias was the way to thrive in the21st century.

促進(jìn)法語教學(xué)及其“人文主義價值觀”教育在本質(zhì)上并沒有什么不好。鼓勵栽培大麗花也沒有什么錯。但如果一個組織宣稱種植大麗花是在21世紀(jì)取得成功的方法，我們或許會用懷疑的眼光打量它。

In many of the countries where French is most actively taught — one thinks immediately ofnorth Africa — the indigenous tongue is very different. So learning a foreign language whichuses a different alphabet is no mean feat. The problem is not that French is impossible tolearn: you can hear it spoken perfectly in Tunisia, Algeria or Morocco. No, the real problem withFrench is that it is a useless language.

在法國教學(xué)最積極的國家(人們馬上會想起北非)中，很多國家的母語與法語截然不同。因此學(xué)習(xí)一門使用不同字母的外國語言是一種了不起的成就。問題不在于法語不可能學(xué)會：在突尼斯、阿爾及利亞或者摩洛哥，你都能聽到人們說一口流利的法語。不，法語真正的問題是它是一門無用的語言。

Let us block our ears to the middle-class English and their forelock-tugging deference toFrance’s highly subsidised rural living, high-speed trains and “marvellous food”. Homage toEscoffier is no principle for modern life.

讓我們堵住耳朵，不去理會英國中產(chǎn)階級以及他們對法國的高補(bǔ)貼鄉(xiāng)村生活、高速列車和“絕世美食”的敬意。對頂級大廚奧古斯特•埃斯科菲耶(Auguste Escoffier)的崇敬并不是能夠指導(dǎo)現(xiàn)代生活的原則。

No one is going to deny that, historically, France has enhanced civilisation. European culturewould be a thin thing without Montaigne, Descartes, Debussy and Cézanne, to say nothing ofthe dictator’s dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte. The problem is that it is all long past and the newworld is anglophone. In the centuries-long struggle between English and French there is onevictor, and to pretend otherwise is like suggesting that Johnny Hallyday is the future of pop.

沒人打算否認(rèn)法國在歷史上促進(jìn)了文明的發(fā)展。如果沒有蒙田(Montaigne)、笛卡爾(Descartes)、德彪西(Debussy)和塞尚(Cézanne)，更不必說第一個現(xiàn)代獨裁者拿破侖•波拿巴(Napoleon Bonaparte)，歐洲文化將單薄得多。問題在于，這些早已成為過去，英語是新世界的通用語。英語和法語長達(dá)數(shù)世紀(jì)的斗爭決出了一個勝者，假裝結(jié)果不是這樣就像是說約翰尼•阿利代(Johnny Hallyday)是流行音樂的未來一樣。

There is really no reason for the British to gloat about this victory, for it is much more to dowith the legacy of an empire built generations ago, and with the dominance of the US in themodern world. But the outcome of the struggle is clear: English is the language of science,technology, travel, entertainment and sport. To be a citizen of the world it is the one languagethat you must have.

對于這場勝利，英國人真的沒有什么理由沾沾自喜，因為決定這場勝利的，主要是一個在數(shù)代人以前建立的帝國的遺產(chǎn)以及美國在現(xiàn)代世界的主導(dǎo)地位。但這場斗爭的結(jié)果很明確：英語是科學(xué)、技術(shù)、旅行、娛樂和運(yùn)動的語言。要當(dāng)一個世界公民，英語就是你必須掌握的那一門語言。

How the French government chooses to spend its money is its affair. For most of us, the onlyimportant question is whether promoting French language and values does any good. When theone-time German South West Africa attained independence as Namibia, it sensibly adoptedEnglish as its official language, for the very good reason that it would give its citizens a future.

法國政府選擇如何花錢是它自己的事。對我們大多數(shù)人來說，唯一重要的問題是推廣法語及其價值觀能否帶來任何好處。當(dāng)曾經(jīng)的德屬西南非州(German South West Africa)以納米比亞的身份獲得獨立后，該國理智地采用英語作為官方語言，因為一個充分的理由：英語會給該國公民一個未來。

The truth is that while other imperial powers were running down their flags around the world,France never really decolonised. Promotion of the French language and its supposed values isjust another form of imperialism.

真相是，當(dāng)其他帝國主義國家在全世界各地降下自己的旗幟時，法國從未真正地去殖民化。推行法語及其所謂的價值觀只不過是帝國主義的另一種形式。

There is absolutely nothing wrong with studying any language as a hobby or mentaldiscipline. But let us not pretend that understanding Sanskrit has great practical value.

作為一種愛好或者頭腦訓(xùn)練方式學(xué)習(xí)任何語言當(dāng)然沒有任何過錯。但讓我們不要再假裝懂得梵文有很大的實用價值。

If you are a native English speaker, by all means learn Chinese or Arabic or Spanish. If youmust, study French, because it is a beautiful language. But let us have no truck withsuggestions that it is much worth learning as a medium of communication.

如果你的母語是英語，請務(wù)必學(xué)習(xí)中文、阿拉伯語或者西班牙語。如果你非要學(xué)法語，那就學(xué)吧，因為它是一門美麗的語言。但請拒絕接受法語作為溝通媒介非常值得學(xué)習(xí)的說法。